A NINE-DAY steam engine festival starts at Didcot Railway Centre on Saturday to mark 175 years of the Great Western Railway.
A total of 31 locos with a combined age of 2,456 years will be at the centre on Saturday in the largest gathering of GWR steam engines since the 1960s. Fourteen steam engines will be running on the three lines, including Rood Ashton Hall, which will arrive pulling a special Rail tour from Solihull, running The festival will be opened by rail enthusiast Lord Faulkner of Worcester, a past president of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group.
An evening barbecue will feature live music from covers band Fortuned.
Throughout the week and during the bank holiday weekend, steam locomotives will be running at the centre with different days themed around different aspects of the GWR’s history.
A real ale bar, featuring 15 beers from nine breweries between London and Bristol, is available throughout the nine-day festival.
The centre is open at 10.30am throughout the festival except Saturday, May 8, when it opens at 6.30am to give enthusiasts a chance to watch seven locomotives raising steam.
Tickets are available at the centre on the day or from ticketweb.co.uk
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