The Great Western Society was the inspiration of four schoolboys who in 1961 saw steam trains disappearing from British Railways and decided to try to preserve one of the Great Western Railway push and pull ‘auto-trains’, an 0-4-2 tank engine and autocoach. This was successfully achieved in 1964 and the Society soon had other engines in its collection and had to look for somewhere to house them.

They were offered the use of Didcot engine shed which had become redundant with the end of steam trains on British Railways and moved in 1967. This was the beginning of Didcot Railway Centre which in the forty years since then has expanded with station buildings and signal boxes rescued from other parts of the Great Western Railway.

Didcot Railway Centre is now recognised as one of the leading centres of its type with a large collection of Great Western Railway locomotives, carriages and wagons and the members of the Great Western Society are recreating some of the lost locomotives withdrawn before preservation was thought of.

A section of Brunel’s broad gauge railway has been built complete with a working replica of the ‘Fire Fly’ locomotive dating from 1840. This terminates in the original transfer shed used for transferring freight from broad to standard gauge which has been moved from its former location in what is now the car park of Didcot Parkway station. A new Science, Learning & Railways exhibition in two converted railway carriages was opened in 2006 with the enthusiastic support of local schools and this offers children the opportunity of learning about the development of railways using interactive exhibits.

Didcot Railway Centre is open at weekends throughout the year and daily during most school holidays. There is a programme of Steamdays when you can travel on the steam trains and special events such as Family Activity Weekends and Days Out with Thomas for younger visitors. You can walk round the engine shed, visit the locomotive works, the small relics display and then relax in the Refreshment Room or sit in the picnic area and watch the trains go by!

Didcot is 10 miles south of Oxford. The Centre adjoins Didcot Parkway rail station served by First Great Western Trains from London, the Thames Valley, Bristol, Oxford, etc. By road it is on the A4130 signed from the A34 and M4 (junction 13).