Didcot: Steam rail enthusiasts enjoy train rides at centre

There were ‘steam’ days from Good Friday to Easter Monday at the steam rail heritage centre next to Didcot Parkway.

During the ‘steam’ days at the centre, trains are running and visitors can enjoy unlimited rides, as well as calling in at other attractions, including the museum, engine shed, shop and cafe.

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Theo, eight, whose surname has not been disclosed, was a visitor before the Easter weekend, dressing up in a top hat to pose as a station master and wave a green flag in front of a steam engine.

Frank Dumbleton, a volunteer at the centre, has been taking photos of trains and volunteers for many years.

Theo dressed as a station master at Didcot Railway Centre (Image: Frank Dumbleton)

He said: “Theo visited in a period outfit top to toe – from topper to polished leather shoes – as would have been worn by railway station masters long ago.

“He was given a green flag to wave and set the train on its journey.”

Mr Dumbleton added that the steam engine, No. 31, was built by Hudswell Clarke of Leeds in 1913 for Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons, and preserved by the late Sir William McAlpine in the 1960s.

No. 31 now usually runs on the private railway at Sir William’s estate, Fawley Hill near Henley.

The engine has been at the railway centre for a boiler and mechanical overhaul, and has been repainted.

No. 31 featured in train rides across the Easter weekend, and will remain at the centre this month, before returning to Fawley in May.