Old Oak open day could be the last

‘Legends of the Great Western’ to gather for public event at London depot in September.

STEAM and the tang of smoke will drift over West London once more, as Great Western Railway plans an open day for Old Oak Common on Saturday September 2.

The train operating company is pulling together plans to celebrate the London depot’s 111th anniversary with the prospect of a line-up of classic motive power, from steam through to the new ‘IEP’ trains the company is about to put into service. The event - ‘Legends of the Great Western’ - will take place in and around GWR’s HST shed rather than the site of the old 81A steam depot, which closed to steam in 1965, and was used for the last major open day in August 2000. It has since been taken over by Crossrail, firstly as a factory to make concrete ring segments for its tunnels, and more recently to build its maintenance depot. This takeover involved the removal of the last one of OOC’s four turntables. GWR event organiser Paul Gentleman told Steam Railway that he was hoping for a line-up of eight or nine locomotives to represent classic Western motive power through the years. This would include steam, as well as modern traction, he said. Ticket prices were still to be confirmed as Steam Railway went to press, but Mr Gentleman said that it would be about £20 for adults and £10 for children. Once GWR had covered its costs, all profits would go to the charity ‘Place2Be’ which works with children at schools close to the depot, he added. No exhibits have yet been secured for the event, but Mr Gentleman said he hoped to approach Didcot Railway Centre and other owners of locomotives from the stables of Churchward, Collett and the other chief mechanical engineers of the old GWR. As well as classic ‘Top Link’ power, such as ‘Kings’ and ‘Castles’, he said he was keen to host Didcot’s steam railmotor, which might even be able to provide passenger trips. It would not be the first time in recent years that No. 93 has carried passengers in London - it worked shuttles on the Brentford branch from Southall in October 2014. This could be the final open day held at Old Oak Common, as it is earmarked to be the site of West London’s High Speed 2 station, due to open in 2026. The parliamentary bill authorising its construction received Royal Assent in February, ushering in a new era for the site that has over a century of railway history.