Following a successful steam test work has progressed on 6023 King Edward II with cladding and pipework being fitted to the complete boiler.
A milestone was reached on Saturday 24 July when the boiler was gently reunited with the frames using the 50t gantry in Didcot's lifting shop.
This epic restoration from scrapyard condition is now in its final stages. For the record, the team who fitted the boiler were: Peter Turner, Karl Buckingham, Pete Gransden, Dennis Howells, Tony Johnson, Nick Crook, Mike Rudge, Martin Walker, Richard Varley, James Bushnell and Phil Neale.
You can follow progress with the final stages of recommissioning on the project website and on Phil Neale's Photopic site.
As ever funds towards the groups big 'final push' are more than welcome.
Download the King appeal form (Word format)
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
The total refurbishment of the Society's 1940 built GWR Diesel Railcar is nearing its final stages.
This vehicle is one of only two examples remaining, and the only one in running order. It is powered by two 9.6 Litre 8-Cylinder AEC engines through a Wilson epicyclic gearbox.
Externally it has been almost completely repanelled and repainted. Since then much work has been undertaken on its mechanical and electrical systems and the final stage is the interior refurbishment.
The interior has been repainted and the seats have all been re-upholstered in GWR green shell pattern and await re-fitting. On Saturday 17 July green linoleum is shewn being fitted on the floor of the large saloon. The small saloon has already been completed, with the newly upholstered seats installed.
A re-liveried locomotive was unveiled on 20 June to mark the 175th anniversary of the Great Western Railway.
First Great Western teamed up with the Great Western Society to launch Class 57 No. 57604 ‘Pendennis Castle’, which had been repainted in original Great Western Green.
The repainted Class 57 was unveiled at Didcot Railway Centre alongside a much older engine of the same name, which is currently undergoing restoration work at the centre.
57604 ‘Pendennis Castle’ was built in 1965, as part of a fleet of 512 similar locomotives. It was renumbered as a Class 47 in the 1970s and, in 2004, was fitted with a different engine and reclassified as a Class 57 giving it the capability to haul the sleeper service between Paddington and Penzance. It was named Pendennis Castle shortly after starting this service.
The steam locomotive No. 4079 ‘Pendennis Castle’ was, when new, pitched against an LNER A1in a series of trials in 1925, and proved the better of the two. The GWR then sent the locomotive to the second Wembley Exhibition in October 1925 where she was displayed next to Flying Scotsman.
During an almost faultless 40-year career she clocked up 1.75 million miles and remains in its original condition. She was sold by British Railways in 1964, and was eventually bought by the world’s leader in finding, mining and processing the earth's mineral resources, Rio Tinto. The company shipped it to Australia in May 1977, where she was used to haul tourist trains before the need for a complete overhaul saw her withdrawn in 1994.
The cost of repairs was high and she was donated to the Great Western Society at Didcot, who agreed to repatriate it. Shipped back to England in 2000, a lengthy restoration project is still ongoing and it is hoped the Pendennis Castle will be back in use in a few years time.
First Great Western Operations Director, Kevin Gale, said: “It is very exciting to be able to celebrate our heritage in this way. A huge thanks goes out to the Didcot Railway Centre for their support and agreeing to host the event. It is a great contrast of the history of the railways, while looking forward to the future and what exciting developments lie ahead”.
Drew Fermor, Pendennis Castle restoration team leader at Didcot Railway Centre, said: “We were delighted when we found out that FGW’s Pendennis Castle was coming to meet ours during the 175th anniversary year of the original Great Western Railway.
It is fantastic that FGW has continued this long tradition by giving the name to one of its locomotives and even more so to see it in a highly appropriate livery this year.”
Great Western Society chairman, Richard Croucher, said: “We still have more work to do on our Pendennis Castle but we hope that, when she is complete, the two locomotives can perform together out on the main line as a living demonstration of both the fascinating history of the Great Western Railway and the vital contribution that it still makes to our modern society.”
The Steam Railmotor project has been given an award by The Transport Trust for restoration work being undertaken on Railmotor 93.
The Trust give these restoration awards to projects that are current, rather than complete, to encourage and recognise work in progress. The awards are not restricted to railway related items and amongst others receiving awards this year were projects as diverse as helicopter restoration and rebuilding a mobile cinema.
On Monday 14th June Society Chairman Richard Croucher and Vehicle Project Manager Graham Drew attended the Trust's award ceremony at London's Camden Roundhouse, on behalf of all the Project Team. The award was presented by HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
It now seems that the expected visit on Saturday 19 June of No. 4965 ‘Rood Ashton Hall’ with the Red Dragon railtour will not take place.
The tour remains scheduled to be hauled by No. 4965 from Solihull to Didcot. The Hall was originally due to come onto Didcot shed for servicing and remain there for the day before hauling the return leg but it is now expected that the Hall will return immediately to Tyseley.
However, as a result of the re-organisation of the railtour, we are expecting LMS Princess class pacific No. 6201 ‘Princess Elizabeth’ to visit us, once again, on the afternoon of Friday 18 June in preparation for taking over the Didcot-Swansea leg of the railtour early on Saturday morning.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
On Saturday 29 May Didcot Railway Centre is expecting a visit from LMS Princess class pacific No. 6201 ‘Princess Elizabeth’ hauling the now rather inappropriately named Britannia Banker railtour from Tyseley. (The tour was originally to have been hauled by Britannia class pacific No. 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ but this locomotive is unavailable).
The train is scheduled to arrive at Didcot Station at 12:35 and leave at 15:45, so the locomotive should be at Didcot Railway Centre from about 12:50 to 15:20.
Broad Gauge Locomotive ‘Fire Fly’ and visiting prairie tank No. 5521 are also expected to be in operation on that day.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
Didcot Railway Centre finished its highly successful nine day GWR175 Extravaganza with perhaps a less noted, though no less noteworthy, achievement on Sunday 9th May.
For the first time, at Didcot, we fielded an all female crew when a train on the main demonstration line, hauled by Pannier Tank No. 9466 driven by Marie Saville and fired by Ann Davies, came under the control of guard Ann Middleton. As an added bonus, Sarah Sewell was present on the platform in her capacity as trainee Station Staff.
It's not just fun for the boys at Didcot Railway Centre!
Whilst the GWR 175 Extravaganza was taking place a Didcot, it was announced, on May 4, that the Great Western Society is to be given the remains of: Prairie Tank No. 4115, Churchward 2-8-0 No. 2861 and 2-8-0 Tank No. 5227, together with a 3000 gallon tender; by the Vale of Glamorgan Council.
This follows on from the acquisition, from the same source, in 2005 of 7927 ‘Willington Hall’ and an 8F boiler as part of our project to build a replica Hawksworth 4-6-0 ‘County’ class locomotive - 1014 ‘County of Glamorgan’, with some of the Hall parts also going to the Llangollen based project to build a replica Grange - 6880 ‘Betton Grange’.
The existence of the ‘Barry Ten’ – the last ten locomotives to leave the famous South Wales scrapyard of Dai Woodham – led some to think that recovered key components could form the basis not only of the new Hawksworth ‘County’ 4-6-0, but also several other locomotives including a new Churchward ‘County’ 4-4-0 and a 4-4-2 ‘County Tank’ (The Three Counties Project), as well as a 47XX 2-8-0.
The Council of the Great Western Society sees these locos as seed corn for the future as well as being a useful source of spares.
There are no immediate prospects of any work beginning on a ‘County’ 4-4-0 or ‘County Tank’. However, following an article in 2002, floating the possibility of building a 47XX 2-8-0, quite a large number of people came forward to offer help and assistance – both physical and financial – but for various reasons the timing then was not ideal. In many respects the present timing is not ideal either, but there is widespread feeling that the opportunity to embark on construction of a 47XX should be grasped whilst there are people willing to contribute to the project and the Barry Ten locomotives are still available. It is clear that the Society does not currently have the resource to tackle a project on this scale and if it is to take place then it will need to be on a separately funded and organised basis (See separate story below).
The GWS would like to acknowledge the efforts made by the Vale of Glamorgan Council with regard to the remaining Barry Ten locomotives and thank them for the support they have shown the Society.
If assurance is needed that this has been a wise move, one only has to think back to 1970 when auto trailer No. 212 was acquired for preservation. At the time the idea of restoring such a cannibalised hulk seemed like wishful thinking, yet today with fully restored Steam Railmotor No. 93 poised to emerge, it is revealed as the visionary move it was.
We believe that there will be interest in both the 47XX and Three Counties Projects and invite those interested to come forward by contacting the GWS Chairman Richard Croucher at Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7NJ, or by e-mail to chairman@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
The GWR 47XX large-wheeled 2-8-0 is a locomotive with almost universal appeal. Churchward’s final masterpiece, just nine of which were built between 1919 and 1921, were designed for fast goods work but were frequently used on passenger services – especially holiday expresses on summer Saturdays – a role that was honoured in the late 1950s by the application of British Railways lined green passenger livery to the whole class. It is in this guise that most enthusiasts remember these imposing engines with great affection.
The idea of building a new 47XX 2-8-0 was floated in an article in 2002. Recent speculation in the press has rekindled interest in such a project and people have naturally looked to the Great Western Society as the organization that could possibly undertake the task.
In a similar vein to the GWS Saint Project, which has utilized parts from a ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0, any scheme to build a new 47XX could make extensive use of GWR standard parts from other remaining ex-Barry locomotives that have little or no chance of being restored in their own right. Thee GWS has secured an option to acquire prairie tank No. 4115 and Churchward 2-8-0 No. 2861 as parts donors for a 47XX 2-8-0. No. 4115 would yield three of the four 5ft 8in driving wheel sets needed together with the extension frame assembly, whilst No. 2861 would provide an outside-steam-pipe cylinder block which can be modified to suit the 47XX, as well as the pony truck. The 4,000 gallon tender which came to the GWS with Maindy Hall could be used with a 47XX following a thorough overhaul, but many other parts, not least the boiler, would have to be manufactured.
When Churchward put No. 4700 into traffic it carried a standard Swindon No.1 boiler, the same type used by the 28XX class, as well as ‘Hall’ and ‘Grange’ 4-6-0s. However, testing soon showed that a larger boiler was needed for these engines and the new No.7 was created specially for them – no other locomotives carried this boiler and it is considered that the great majority of people would prefer to see a new 47XX carry the No.7 boiler.
GWS chairman Richard Croucher said: “We know that it is technically feasible to build a 47XX 2-8-0. Many of the parts are available and even the unique No. 7 boiler can be built in the UK. We also know that many, many people would like to see a 47XX running once again.”
“Whilst the GWS would be happy to coordinate such a project, as well as contributing the experience gained on other new builds and the extensive research and preparatory work already carried out for a 47XX, the Society does not currently have the capacity or resources to undertake another major locomotive project. For this reason we propose creating an entirely new team to tackle this project as a stand-alone entity outside the GWS, which may be incorporated as a charitable trust. The physical work of building the locomotive could be undertaken at Didcot or elsewhere – we have a completely open mind at this stage.”
“As the appeal of the 47XX extends far beyond the traditional GWR sphere of interest we are hoping that many people not previously involved with the Great Western Society will support the project,” Richard added. “But, before we can move forward with this we need to know that there is a good prospect of raising sufficient funding for the project, that we will be able to source and coordinate all the necessary skills and – most importantly – that we can assemble a project team composed of people able to devote the considerable amounts of time and expertise that the project will require.”
“To get the ball rolling I would like to ask everyone who may be prepared to support the 47XX project just to make contact, either by writing to me, Richard Croucher, Chairman, Great Western Society, Didcot Railway Centre, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 7NJ, or by email to chairman@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk. At this stage all you need do is write a couple of lines saying how you think you could help – perhaps by making a regular or one-off donation, contributing a skill such as draftsmanship or engineering, or best of all by becoming a member of the project team. Please do not send any money at present.”
“If there is sufficient support for the idea we propose to call an open meeting later this year at Didcot at which all interested parties can attend to learn more about the project, the work done so far and the diverse ways in which it will be possible to help. Our invitation to pledge support will remain open until 31 December 2010; at that time we will judge whether the project is viable based on the support indicated.”
One thing is certain: this call to action is the last realistic chance to make a 47XX project happen. If the task is not commenced in the next year or two there just won’t be enough people with the interest and commitment to see it through. So this really is make or break. There has been a lot of talk about building a 47XX over the years and now it’s time to turn words into actions. Will we see a 47XX run again, or will Churchward’s final triumph be consigned forever to history? It’s your choice.
The visiting locomotives are starting to arrive in time for next week's GWR Extravaganza.
5029 'Nunney Castle' and Bill Parker's prairie tank, No. 5521 were already on shed at the weekend 24/25 April, where they were photographed next to some of the resident locomotives.
By Wednesday 28, 7827 'Lydham Manor' from Paignton and Mike Little's 0-4-2 tank No. 1450 had also arrived at the Railway Centre, and are pictured being given a final brush-up.
3717 'City of Truro' was delivered to the west yard at Didcot on Wednesday and is waiting to be shunted across to the Centre as is Dennis Howell's Pannier Tank No. 9466 which arrived in the west yard on Thursday.
By the opening day of the extravaganza, on Saturday 1 May, we should be in a position to enjoy the spectacle of 14 GWR designed locomotives in steam, and as many again on static display. Along with all the other attractions it should be quite an event.
Shunting of locomotives and rolling stock to get everything into position has been going on for the last week or so as final preparations are made, and it is becoming clear that this is going to be the gala event of GWR 175!
See the GWR 175 page for more details of the event.
After passing a hydraulic test on 15 March, the boiler of 6023 ‘King Edward II’ was ready to contain fire once again - for the first time in 48 years.
Therefore on 28 March project leader Dennis Howells & GWS chairman Richard Croucher jointly lit the first fire. The boiler was allowed to warm through with pressure building slowly over the following week.
After many steamings to fine tune the boiler it was time for the official steam test. This took place on 12 April, the boiler was brought round above working pressure to lift her safety valves and passed the test successfully.
Now the group can work towards reuniting the boiler with the frames.
You can follow progress with the final stages of recommissioning on the project website and on Phil Neale's Photopic site.
As ever funds towards the groups big 'final push' are more than welcome.
Download the King appeal form (Word format)
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
As a fitting start to our GWR 175 celebrations, Didcot Railway Centre has been awarded a 'Red Wheel' plaque by the Transport Trust, recognising the Centre as a transport site of special significance.
The plaque, which is mounted on the outside of the Great Western Trust museum, was unveiled by Sir William McAlpine on Good Friday.
The award is part of a major new transport heritage initiative to commemorate Britain’s rich and globally important legacy in the development of transport. The Red Wheel programme will eventually mark hundreds of sites of special historic interest with a distinctive Red Wheel plaque and will be administered by The Transport Trust, the hub of the transport preservation and restoration movement in Great Britain.
The Didcot plaque reads: ‘Didcot Railway Centre – 1932 Great Western Railway Engine Shed complex, now developed to preserve the spirit and style of the GWR for future generations’.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
A replica 2nd class broad gauge coach, which has been rebuilt at Didcot, entered traffic at Easter.
The vehicle was originally built by British Rail to run with replica Broad Gauge locomotive 'Iron Duke' during the GWR 150 celebrations in 1985. With a body constructed in softwood, it suffered quite badly from wet rot in the intervening 20 years before arriving at Didcot on loan from the NRM. It has now been completely rebuilt, from the chassis upwards, in 'iroko' hardwood by Pete Silver and the Fire Fly team.
The coach was relaunched into service by Helen Ashby, Head of Knowledge and Collections at the National Railway Museum on Good Friday. Broad gauge trains, including this coach, are next scheduled to run during the first weekend (1 - 3 May) of Didcot's GWR 175 Extravaganza.
Didcot Railway Centre will feature in a series of programmes presented by Dan Cruickshank on Great British Railways to be broadcast on National Geographic channel during May. The programmes are being made by ITN Factual, and filming took place at Didcot on Saturday 20 February
One of the programmes concentrates on Brunel and apparently involves Dan Cruickshank and Steven Brindle, author of a biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, speculating on why the broad gauge ended up just a quarter inch wider than 7ft and also discussing the spartan conditions offered to 3rd class passengers at the beginning of the railway age, as exemplified by our open broad gauge coach
Another programme in the series will cover the role of railways during World War I, and for this episode Dan Cruickshank spent some time on the footplate of locomotive 5322 with Alex Beasley and Pete Gransden. 5322 served in France during 1917 and 1918 hauling supplies from Calais to the Western Front, and is restored in Railway Operating Division khaki livery.
The programmes featuring Didcot are to be broadcast on the National Geographic channel at 21:00 on Wednesdays 5 and 12 May.
Introductions Days will be held at Didcot Railway Centre on 27 March and 17 April, between 10am and 3.30pm when young people aged 15 and over can find out more about joining the Great Western Society and becoming volunteers.
Future arrangements will be explained and new volunteers will be introduced to those who have been coming to the Centre before. There will be a guided tour with the opportunity of discussing both the work being carried out by the restoration groups and the activities involved in the running of the Centre.
It may be possible for volunteers to help with one of the activities and projects during the day.
For more information or to book your place call Roger Orchard on 01235 817200 or email info@didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
Or why not have a look at our Young Volunteers' page?
In the 1930’s speed on the railways was always headline news. All the UK’s railway companies found some reason to boast of their speed and technological achievements, so no wonder every boy wanted to be an engine driver. Now bring that thought though to 2009 and the world is no different, but its F1 that is making the claims. Every F1 team boasts of their capabilities and every boy wants to be an F1 driver.
So why not feel the passion and see the technology and majesty of the speeding steam locomotives of the 1930’s and enjoy the story of F1’s longest serving independent F1 team by joining us on the unique Steam and Speed day out experience.
Dates for this event in 2010 are:
To book your place or for more details see the Steam and Speed page.
What has happened to that GWR narrow gauge slate wagon that we waited so long for?
It was there one day and gone the next. Well, as it turns out a bunch of teenagers came on site stripped it down and carted it all away! Before I hear that someone has called the police I can assure you that it’s all OK - a team of A Level Design Technology students from Reading School, under the management of GWS member and teacher Drew Fermor, has taken on the restoration of the vehicle in conjunction with the Great Western Trust.
The students all have an interest in engineering and design and they are led by fellow GWS member, Reading School student and No. 1014 project volunteer Iain McDonald who agreed to be project supervisor. The school have managed to organise a gap in the students' teaching schedule to enable them to work on the wagon on Wednesday afternoons.
The wagon itself has been subjected to very close scrutiny and the consensus was that it was VERY rusty – the chassis itself was largely rusted to the point of no return, the floor was more hole and iron oxide than floor and that it was going to be a big job to put it to rights. The decision has been taken to recover as much of the wagon as possible including the cage on top, the wheel sets, axle boxes, couplings, etc and build a new chassis from scratch. The strip down took two working sessions and this lightened the wagon to the point where it could be lifted by 8 young, strong people (or rather 7 young, strong people and a teacher!) and taken to its new restoration site, which is behind the frames of No. 4079 in the Locomotive Works.
The students have now been introduced to the joys of the wire brush attachment on the angle grinder, the scraper and paraffin in order to clean up all of the salvaged components. The axle boxes have all been finished and are looking fantastic. A coat of rust preventative paint has begun to be applied to the parts that have been cleaned. The steel order for the new chassis components has been placed and should be delivered shortly.
The honour of being first locomotive to steam in 2010 went to Pannier Tank No. 3650.
Details of all our Steam Days and other openings can be found on the 2010 Calendar, or you can download a printable copy of the Didcot Railway Centre 2010 Leaflet if you prefer.
We look forward to welcoming you to Didcot in the coming year.
The most recent meeting between the Great Western Society, in the company of our local MP, Ed Vaizey, and Network Rail representatives, finally took place at the end of November.
The meeting began with the Manager who had been responsible for the Great Western Route Utilisation Survey (GWRUS) outlining what this had entailed. Amongst the suggestions were proposals to build a new flyover at Didcot East and two new platforms on the avoiding line. Both had been examined and costed in detail and we were told that neither stood up as a business case. It is assumed by the Society therefore that any risk to the main demonstration line is beyond the horizon. However, Network Rail have reconfirmed their desire that this chord of land should be treated separately to all the other land at Didcot Railway Centre.
We then had a discussion as to what use Network Rail might wish to make of the site and none of the Network Rail representatives could see any reason for wanting to take back any part of the site. This has been reiterated in a subsequent letter from Network Rail offering the Society a new 35-year lease and advising us that in the very unlikely event of the site being required for operational use, compensation would be offered in respect of any investment made. We accept that it is impossible to foresee the future and at some time in the future rail expansion could affect our site, but this would be subject to compensation terms.
Network Rail have taken away a number of points we made, including our desire for the period to be longer than 35 years and we will continue negotiations to try and better the terms. In due course the agreed proposals will need to be submitted to the Office for Rail Regulation and it is probable that this process will also take some time.
Nevertheless this is a very positive step forward with Ed Vaizey commenting that “We are making progress, and we will get a lease that the railway centre can live with”. Richard Croucher, Society Chairman, added that “this is a great boost to the future - by allowing us to invest in refurbishing the historic locomotive depot buildings, which are listed, as well as realise our master plan for the site. The railway centre already has a collection of international importance, and site improvements will make it world class, on a par with any other national railway museum.”
Over the weekend of 26/27 September Didcot Railway Centre marked the 150th anniversary of Brunel's death.
As well as replica broad gauge locomotive Fire Fly, two 19th Century locomotives, tank engines 1338 and 1340 were in steam. The event also marked the re-entry into passenger service of 19th Century Coach No. 416. This coach has recently been restored and was carrying passengers for what is thought to be the first time in more than 70 years!
With the recent closure of the rail siding at Milton Depot, Didcot Railway Centre temporarily had no means of getting large loads (such as visiting locomotives) on or off the premises.
We have therefore developed our siding in the DBS west yard to provide a concrete pad for coal deliveries and to infill the siding to allow locomotives to be unloaded.
As always this has required a large amount of paperwork in the background to ensure that the Great Western Society has guaranteed access, initially for a fifteen year period, and to gain the necessary permissions to undertake the work. We have also received confirmation that we can move locomotives and other heavy loads over the bridge giving access to West Yard, and that various transport firms are happy to use that route.
The work was completed on 18 September (on budget and five hours early!). As expected the first locomotive to use the new facility, on Wednesday 30 September, was 'Thomas' arriving for his October holiday!
During Tornado's visit to Didcot, Britain's two newest main steam locomotives were posed together. A1 4-6-2 Tornado, completed 2009, and broad gauge 2-2-2 Fire Fly, completed 2005, made a unique scene, representing state-of-the-art express passenger steam locomotives of the 1940s and 1840s respectively.
Lord Faulkner of Worcester visited Didcot Railway Centre on 23 August and discussed plans for the centre's future development with Peter Jennings, duty manager on the day, and Richard Antliff, civil engineering manager.
Lord Faulkner, who was chairman of the Railway Heritage Committee until he recently stood down on his appointment as a minister in the government, and was visiting Didcot in a personal capacity, said: “I was delighted to pay another visit, with my grandson, to Didcot. It is a vibrant, successful railway heritage centre, and plays an essential role in telling the story of the Great Western Railway and its wonderful history. My great-grandfather was a GWR driver, and my father worked for the company for a while too. During my visit I was comprehensively briefed about Didcot's plans for the future, and I hope that I may be able to help their aspirations come to fruition.”
The set of four jacks recently installed in the carriage shed at Didcot were used for a real job for the first time on Saturday 22 August to lift Mk1 brake first coach No M14007. Previously they had only been used for testing and training purposes.
The coach is owned by the Railway Carriage Company and is currently on hire to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust as the support vehicle for Tornado. The opportunity was taken to carry out maintenance on the bogies during the two week rest from main line running while Tornado visited Didcot.
The jacks were obtained by the Railway Centre from Swindon and refurbished by Matterson Cranes of Rochdale, the original manufacturer. In the process the lift capacity of each jack was increased from 6.5 to 8.5 tons, making them capable of lifting the Ocean Saloons which are the heaviest coaches at Didcot.
On Sunday 16th August A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado, Britain’s newest main line steam locomotive, arrived at Didcot Railway Centre for a short stay.
The locomotive will be staying until 2 September and will be hauling passenger trains on our main demonstration line on Wednesday 26 August and on the Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday 29 - Monday 31 August).
For more information about 60163 Tornado see the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust website.
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
BBC Radio 4's The Long View, which looks at the past behind the present, used Didcot's unrivalled collection of GWR documents as research material when recording their programme to be broadcast on Tuesday 4 August. They are linking the GWR's financial woes in 1867 (and the government's refusal to bail them out) with the present situation over the East Coast Main Line franchise and the government taking it back from National Express into public management.
The programme team used locomotive 1340 for sound effects, and interviewed GW Trust chairman, Peter Rance inside the small relics museum. The trust's collection includes all the GWR annual reports, and a copy of the letter from Benjamin Disraeli, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, refusing the company's request for a £1 million loan from the government in 1867.
The programme will be broadcast at 9.00am, and repeated at 9.30pm, on Tuesday 4 August.
London North Eastern Railway A4 Class Pacific 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ spent a few weeks at Didcot Railway Centre in May and June. 6007 was the 100th pacific locomotive built to the design of H. N Gresley, and was named in his honour. The locomotive arrived at Didcot at around midday on Monday 25 May and stayed until early Saturday 6 June, being due to leave the Centre at 08:30 when she was scheduled to haul the Steam Dreams ‘Cathedrals Express’ train to Chester.