It's full steam ahead for 70000 Britannia fans at Didcot Railway Centre (From The Oxford Times)

It's full steam ahead for 70000 Britannia fans at Didcot Railway Centre

12:30pm Tuesday 28th August 2012 in News

CROWDS flocked to Didcot Railway Centre to catch a glimpse of a classic steam train.

The British Railways standard Britannia class Pacific, 70000 Britannia, was in operation at the centre all weekend.

Built in early 1951 at Crewe, Britannia was the first of a class of 55 locomotives and the first Pacific locomotive to be built by British Railways after its formation.

Among the visitors were 22-month-old Charlie Cox and his dad Steve, 35, from Abingdon, pictured.

Steve said: “He’s obsessed with trains and with Thomas the Tank Engine, so it seemed like the obvious place the go.

“It was a really great day out. It was very interesting, very informative. There’s a lot of history there.

“I work with cars a lot as a hobby, and at the event you could go in all the workshops, it was absolutely fascinating.”