Didcot Railway Centre

Didcot Railway Centre stands on the site of a former Great Western Railway engine shed in Didcot, Oxfordshire. The 1932 steel-framed shed still forms the core of the complex, surrounded by original railway buildings and features. A 70-foot turntable from Southampton Docks sits in its original pit, and the broad-gauge line recalls the 1830s track gauge Brunel chose for the line. The centre lies next to Didcot Parkway station, reached through a subway that links it to London and the national network. Active railway lines enclose the site on all sides, with no road access. The Great Western Society rescued the depot in 1967 and fought for a secure future, finally signing a 50-year lease in 2011. Members have restored locomotives such as the replica Firefly and built new examples from spare parts. The site hosts regular steam and diesel events and has appeared in films like Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. A small relics museum and archive preserves railway artefacts and documents. The centre also runs short passenger rides on three separate lines. Visitors enter past the former coaling stage and see the four-road engine shed with its repair shop beyond. A broad-gauge line runs to the transshipment shed, where goods once moved between gauges. The mainline platform uses a concrete section from Eynsham, while a recreated Heyford station building stands near Oxford Road Station. The branch line ends at Burlescombe Station beside the goods shed. Views across the tracks show the full length of the 1932 shed and the turntable in its pit.