From the opening of the Great Western Railway in 1838 through to the end of steam traction on the Western Region in 1965 the ‘engine shed’ formed an important role in both the infrastructure and operation of the railway. As the Great Western system expanded so did the need for larger locomotive servicing facilities and from the 1870s right through to the 1930s many sheds were rebuilt into larger locomotive depots or in some cases replaced by entirely new structures.

Nationalisation of the railways in 1948 saw the formation of the ‘British Railways Western Region’. Apart from a few early sub-shed closures the number of Western Region steam depots and sub-sheds remained almost unaltered until the regional boundary changes of 1958.

Using black and white and colour images from the Great Western Trust archive at Didcot, the book illustrates Western Region steam depots and ‘sub sheds’ that were in operation in the mid 1950s. With many previously unpublished photographs the book should interest modellers, historians and enthusiasts of the Western Region.

Today the unique atmosphere of the steam ‘shed’ can be still be experienced at Didcot, where the original 1932 locomotive shed forms the centrepiece of the Didcot Railway Centre.

About the Author:
Laurence Waters has written a number of books for Pen and Sword and is a well known railway historian of Great Western subjects. The Author has had a life long interest in the history and operation of the railway in Oxford . This book on the history of the railways in Oxford is his latest work, and covers the growth of the railway and its effect on the economic and social development of the area. He lives in Oxford and is the honorary photographic archivist for the Great Western Trust at Didcot Railway Centre. He has been instrumental in saving a number of important photographic collections for the Great Western Trust and currently leads a small team of volunteers who research and catalogue the ever increasing collection of images being donated to the Trust’s archive

Author - Laurence Waters  
Publisher - Pen & Sword Transport
Hardback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781399070225
Published: November 2023

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