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Didcot-Oxford 175th Anniversary

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Peter C

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The Didcot-Oxford branchline of the GWML turns 175 in 2019. To celebrate this, there are lots of events happening at each station along this section of line. The Cotswold Venturer railtour, a railtour which happens every year, is being hauled by 60103 "Flying Scotsman" and will be running between Paddington and Worcester, calling at Didcot (presumably to mark the special anniversary).
 
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Bedpan

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Actually there are a few Cotswold Venturers this year, the first of which is on 16th February and hauled by 60009.
 

Peter C

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Actually there are a few Cotswold Venturers this year, the first of which is on 16th February and hauled by 60009.
Oh ok - thanks!
Excuse me for being obtuse, but does the Cotswold Venturer use the same route every time (as in PAD - WSH)?
 

Taunton

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Must be 25 years ago then, 1994, when I chanced upon the weekend 150th celebration of the line at Didcot. 5051 was doing shuttles all day to Oxford with a 10-coach rake which worked up some notable speeds, especially outwards, nonstop, but also return, tender first and stopping at all stations. Driven flat out. Short distance but it was quite a run, I tell you ...
 

Bedpan

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Oh ok - thanks!
Excuse me for being obtuse, but does the Cotswold Venturer use the same route every time (as in PAD - WSH)?
The Railway Touring Company ones (I think that this is the only company that does them) all Start at Paddington and go to Worcester. I assume that they all tage the same route ie out via Swindon and back via Oxford, but I'm not absolutely certain about that.
 

Bedpan

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It would be brilliant if they could do that again. Is there still the capacity at Oxford? They could always top and tail if they needed to.
 

HOOVER29

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They could do a top n tail class 50 from Oxford to say Reading to relive the old days when they had proper trains on that stretch.
I’d have some of that.
Maybe even chuck in the odd 47 too.

Provided that they could get some decent stock.
 

Nicholas43

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The precise anniversary is 12 June. Local celebrations are planned for Saturday 15 June. Lots of info here:
http://www.didcotoxfordgwr175.org/
GWR hopes to run an enhanced service calling at all stations Didcot to Oxford. The Cotswold Venturer is fortuitous. Attempts are being made to enlist another steam operator.
 

Peter C

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Sorry to restart this thread, but seen as the event is now taking place next week I think it is appropriate.
As @Nicholas43 said, the precise anniversary is the 12th of June and GWR will be running a non-stop train between Oxford and London Paddington to mark the 175th anniversary and the first train between these two stations. It will be the 1Z77 1127 Oxford - London Paddington and the train is due to arrive in the capital at 1209.
More and more detail has been put on the website for the event now that the day is closer. A timetable has been released for GWR services between Oxford and Didcot Parkway.

They could do a top n tail class 50 from Oxford to say Reading to relive the old days when they had proper trains on that stretch.
I’d have some of that.
Maybe even chuck in the odd 47 too.

Provided that they could get some decent stock.
Unfortunately for enthusiasts such as yourself, this will not happen as
1) The event is not about the line between Oxford and Reading (it's Oxford - Didcot)
2) The event is focusing on the heritage aspect of the line (steam engines and such, that's why Didcot Railway Centre is playing a role in the day's events)

As much as I would like to see this happen, it is very unlikely now the event's timings (including railtours) have been sorted out.

Must be 25 years ago then, 1994, when I chanced upon the weekend 150th celebration of the line at Didcot. 5051 was doing shuttles all day to Oxford with a 10-coach rake which worked up some notable speeds, especially outwards, nonstop, but also return, tender first and stopping at all stations. Driven flat out. Short distance but it was quite a run, I tell you ...
I would definitely love DRC or someone similar to run a steam service for people trying to get between the two places. Yes, there are the railtours, but these are only open to those who can afford the tickets and maybe if they charged a little bit extra for the rover tickets for the special event they could run a steam service instead of a horrible Turbostar!

-Peter
 

Nicholas43

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I would definitely love DRC or someone similar to run a steam service for people trying to get between the two places. Yes, there are the railtours, but these are only open to those who can afford the tickets and maybe if they charged a little bit extra for the rover tickets for the special event they could run a steam service instead of a horrible Turbostar!
If only! In practice, GWR are running only their standard Saturday service. They are also paying Thames Travel to run a bus Abingdon>Culham>Long Wittenham (for Pendon Museum)>Didcot>Appleford>Abingdon.
GWR did an impressive test run of 1Z77 (why not 1Z75?) on 7 June: arrived Paddington 1205½.
 

Peter C

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If only! In practice, GWR are running only their standard Saturday service. They are also paying Thames Travel to run a bus Abingdon>Culham>Long Wittenham (for Pendon Museum)>Didcot>Appleford>Abingdon.
GWR did an impressive test run of 1Z77 (why not 1Z75?) on 7 June: arrived Paddington 1205½.
I thought that would be the case - when I heard that GWR would be running plenty of trains between the two places, I assumed that it was a special timetable as I thought that GWR ran very few services along the line. I like the fact that the buses are being run as well, but it would have been nice for them to do something like Oxford - Radley - Culham - Long Wittenham (for Pendon) - Appleford - Didcot as it would have provided an easy way for people to see the line's events without having to spend the money on the rail fares. Yes, they are quite cheap for one person, considering what you get, but for even a small family it can be quite the expense.

-Peter
 

Nicholas43

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Yes [the GWR175 rover tickets] are quite cheap for one person, considering what you get, but for even a small family it can be quite the expense.-Peter
Indeed. If you study the bus timetable
http://www.didcotoxfordgwr175.org/bustimes.html
you can plan, for example, Radley (or Oxford) to Culham by train, Culham to Didcot by bus, Didcot to Radley (or Oxford). But there will be no charge on the buses (whether or not you have a Rover ticket). So you'll usually be best off buying normal off-peak return(s) Radley (or Oxford) to Didcot, stopping short at Culham, and paying separately for the Didcot Railway Centre. Especially if you are a family with a Family & Friends Railcard.
 

Peter C

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Indeed. If you study the bus timetable
http://www.didcotoxfordgwr175.org/bustimes.html
you can plan, for example, Radley (or Oxford) to Culham by train, Culham to Didcot by bus, Didcot to Radley (or Oxford). But there will be no charge on the buses (whether or not you have a Rover ticket). So you'll usually be best off buying normal off-peak return(s) Radley (or Oxford) to Didcot, stopping short at Culham, and paying separately for the Didcot Railway Centre. Especially if you are a family with a Family & Friends Railcard.
OK. Thanks for that.

-Peter
 

Peter C

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OK - the big day is tomorrow and everything seems to be going well so far. The non-stop run GWR did between Oxford and Paddington on Wednesday worked a treat.
I heard somewhere on the forums that there will be an IET named after Rev. W. Awdry (creator of Thomas the Tank Engine) on the day - is this true? I remember only that one fact and a Google search comes up inconclusive.
I hope that everyone has a lovely day out tomorrow and if you are not going I hope that you have a nice Saturday.

-Peter
 

pdeaves

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I heard somewhere on the forums that there will be an IET named after Rev. W. Awdry (creator of Thomas the Tank Engine) on the day - is this true? I remember only that one fact and a Google search comes up inconclusive.
True. I think it's at or near the end of the GWR livery thread.
 

Peter C

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True. I think it's at or near the end of the GWR livery thread.
Oh OK. Thanks very much for clearing that one up for me; I really wasn't sure what was happening. Does anyone know when it will be named? I would like to see it.

-Peter
 

Peter C

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Now that the big day has been and gone, may I suggest that people begin to use this thread to post their pictures of the day? I'll begin by posting one from Didcot Railway Centre. It's of 2999 "Lady of Legend" in Edwardian GWR lined green in the workshop behind the engine shed. They'd opened this view up for the event (as far as I know it's never normally open).
-Peter20190615_123957(0).jpg
A man from the railway centre showed us around a little bit of the workshop (only as far as the end of the locomotive) as he could see that we were interested. That explains the young lad in the blue coat in the background. Him and his father were also shown around.
 

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I saw Clun Castle in various places, plus Flying Scotsman made an appearance.
 

Peter C

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I saw Clun Castle in various places, plus Flying Scotsman made an appearance.
Some very nice footage of these two iconic steam engines. I didn't get to see either of them due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was going to see Flying Scotsman at Oxford but there wasn't much left to do in Didcot and the decision was made to return home on an earlier train, thus missing out on the chance to see 60103! But I saw her at Banbury on the Great Britain XII, so...

-Peter
 

FGW_DID

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I see from http://www.didcotoxfordgwr175.org/line.html that an IET will be named after W Awdry on 15 June. I assume (no inside knowledge) that there will be some sort of depiction of Thomas the Tank Engine on it, too (as names have a relevant image with them).

The naming was mentioned in this post on the Great Western Livery thread, however I notice it is no longer mentioned on the website plus I haven’t seen any mention of the naming on any social media platforms or any internal communications.

No idea why it didn’t happen or if it still will at some stage! Personally I hope it does happen at some stage.
 

Peter C

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The naming was mentioned in this post on the Great Western Livery thread, however I notice it is no longer mentioned on the website plus I haven’t seen any mention of the naming on any social media platforms or any internal communications.

No idea why it didn’t happen or if it still will at some stage! Personally I hope it does happen at some stage.
I thought that it was a bit weird that it had been taken off the website. However, I also assumed that I had just gone mad! I also hope that it will happen at some point. It would be nice for them to commemorate the author of one of the most popular childrens' book series.

-Peter
 

davetheguard

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Here are a couple of pictures taken at the Brunel-built Culham station building on the Saturday; normally, unlike the station platforms, it is inaccessible to the public . I wonder if that double-decker bus was specially liveried for the event?
DSC04578.JPG DSC04578.JPG DSC04586.JPG DSC04591.JPG DSC04605.JPG DSC04609.JPG DSC04611.JPG
 

pdeaves

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Here are a couple of pictures taken at the Brunel-built Culham station building on the Saturday; normally, unlike the station platforms, it is inaccessible to the public . I wonder if that double-decker bus was specially liveried for the event?
View attachment 64596
Did you get any others of the bus, please? I would be interested in seeing the sides.
 

Peter C

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Did you get any others of the bus, please? I would be interested in seeing the sides.
Here are a couple of pictures taken at the Brunel-built Culham station building on the Saturday; normally, unlike the station platforms, it is inaccessible to the public . I wonder if that double-decker bus was specially liveried for the event?
View attachment 64596 View attachment 64596 View attachment 64597 View attachment 64598 View attachment 64599 View attachment 64600 View attachment 64601
The bus is like that normally. There may be a few of these buses which do the Oxford Park and Ride services and sometimes the S3 bus service through Woodstock. I've seen it quite a few times and a Google for GWR Park and Ride bus may give more photos.

-Peter


EDIT: from https://cbwmagazine.com/oxford-bus-company-streetdeck-mimics-gwr-train/amp/

Photo:
https://images.app.goo.gl/8mYgQFmfqR4C918r7
Just found this. Hope this is a good photo. There are many more on Google as already mentioned.
 

Stewart2887

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Culham Station looks great! Couldn't make it saturday, hope to see it again sometime soon. And have a pint in the Railway Inn
 

Peter C

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Another one of my photos from the day.
GWR Hall Class "Foremarke Hall" 7903, Didcot Railway Centre, 15.6.2019
Am I right in thinking that this engine was one of the ones that was there especially for the 175th event? The website said that they had some engines from the line's steam days.

-Peter
20190615_132307.jpg
 
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