One thing I make a point of doing on the weekend of 'Zedex', the annual convention for all things Z scale in the U.K, is to spend the pior afternoon at Didcot on the Great Western main line in Oxfordshire. This is a busy spot on the Western region where the line for Oxford branches off from the London-Swindon-Bristol line, The Great Western Railway, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, reached Didcot in 1839. In 1844 the Brunel-designed Didcot railway station was opened. The original station burnt down in the later part of 19th century. The more obvious location for the original line to Bristol would have been the town of Abingdon a little further north, but the landowner, Lord Wantage, is reputed to have prevented the railway coming close to the town.[citation needed] This and the junction of the Great Western line to Oxford created the conditions for the future growth of Didcot. The station's name also finally fixed the spelling of Didcot. Didcot's junction of the routes to London, Bristol, Oxford and to Southampton via the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway made the town of strategic importance to military logistics, in particular during the First World War campaign on the Western Front and the Second World War preparations for D-Day. The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton line has since closed and the sites of the large Army and Royal Air Force ordnance depots that were built to serve these needs have disappeared beneath the power station and Milton Park Business Park. However the Army still has Vauxhall Barracks on the edge of town. The DN&S Railway was engineered by John Fowler and built by contractors T.H. Falkiner and Sir Thomas Tancred, who together also constructed the Forth Bridge.[2] Passenger trains between Didcot and Newbury were withdrawn in 1962. The line continued to be used by freight trains for a further five years, mainly oil traffic from the refinery at Fawley near Southampton. In 1967 this traffic also was withdrawn and the line was then dismantled. A section of the abandoned trackbed south of the town has views across the town and countryside and is popular with walkers. After World War II technology changed, with steam locomotives becoming obsolete and the motor car becoming common. The station was renamed Didcot Parkway in 1985 and the site of the old GWR provender stores which had been demolished in 1976 (the provender pond was kept to maintain the water table) became a large car park so that the station would attract travellers from the surrounding area. The locomotive depot became the Didcot Railway Centre in 1967. Didcot Railway Centre Sadly even a top class rail museum sometimes has the 'Curse of Thomas the Tank' present! A view towards the yard with Didcot power station in the background Passenger traffic is busy with the mainline having regular ‘First Great Western’ HST traffic and the Oxford line having both First Great Western 165 DMUs and Virgin ‘Voyagers’ passing frequently. The yard originates some freight traffic to add to the passing container trains and the nearby Didcot Power station generates coal traffic. This video was shot last month although the weather was not particularly sparkling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuoZMbgJII
At a previous Zedex we happened upon the returning 'Bath Bristol' railtour hauled by the Railway centres GWR 4-6-0 'King Edward 1' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22zT8t-N2b4 after the King was detached the action continued all afternoon with passenger workings and the start of the busy weekend track work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw2TzDk_AlI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7mZUUqXkqI A 'Freightliner' 66 passes with a westbound intermodal
Seen stabled between the railway centre and the station last month were one of the increasingly rare 'class 60' heavy haul locos and one of the numerous class 66s A class 165 DMU on the junction for the Oxford line framed by the 'Up' signal gantry a HST heads west to Swindon and beyond Pride of place at the railway centrer are the broad gauge exhibits including the working replica of a 7ft gauge locomotive All in all well worth spending a few hours there. KEV
Kev, thank you for a fascinating pictorial of Didcot. It brought back wonderful memories of six years ago. I visited the Railway Center on 1/1/05 with my son and grandson where we spent a marvelous day. We also were able to have rides on the footplate which made the day most exciting. Unfortunately I don't remember which locomotive. However I do have a photo of its driver with my son on the footplate. Perhaps you, or someone can identify the locomotive from the little shown in the photo. Coincidently, the driver and "fireman" were husband and wife (hence the quotes), a charming couple who had spent a lengthy holiday in and around New Orleans. When they found that I was living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, about 75 miles east of New Orleans, they, especially she, could not say enough about their stay. If this couple is still serving at Didcot, and you happen to know who they are, please give them a tip of the hat for making our visit so much more enjoyable. BTW, the driver's wife is barely visible through the window on the opposite side of the cab.
I'd say it's 5051, known variously as EARL BATHURST or DRYSWYLLYN CASTLE. Sometimes it bears different nameplates on one side, sometimes both say the same. Regards, Pete Davies
Thank you Pete. The name Earl Bathurst does ring a bell, tho after nearly six years, and with my worn out memory, who's to know. :tb-wacky:
