Buckinghamshire Railway Centre This museum near Aylesbury offers visitors a glimpse of life in the Golden Age of steam travel, and at the centre of this compact site you will find Oxford Rewley Road Station. Moved from the middle of Oxford and re-erected on site some 10 years ago, this Grade 2* listed building was constructed with the same design and materials as the Great Exhibition Building of 1851 – the “Crystal Palace”. The building now houses some of the Centre’s greatest treasures including a coach from the Royal Train of 1901 and another used in World Ward II as a mobile conference room for D-Day planning. Also of particular interest is a fully operating railway cinema coach where visitors can view period railway films.
“Waddesdon Manor and the National Trust’s Claydon House are within a few miles...” Elsewhere on Buckinghamshire Railway Centre’s 25-acre site are many displays on the theme of “The Railways in Society”, with particular emphasis on how the coming of the railways changed the way of life of an entire population in the 19th century. Live steam-hauled train rides with one of a large collection of locomotives, and miniature railway rides, are provided on Steaming Open Days. Facilities for visitors are excellent with full disabled access throughout, a gift shop, refreshment room, museum and spacious car park with designated parking for up to 10 coaches. By prior arrangement, conducted tours may be booked with an experienced guide. What else is in the area? Waddesdon Manor and the National Trust’s Claydon House are within a few miles, as are Bletchley Park and Milton Keynes shopping.
Since August 1994, trains have been running at weekends from a base at Chinnor Station. The railway is open for passenger services from mid-March until the end of October and holds many special events including Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween Spooks Express, Gala days and Murder Mystery dining trains. The next stage of development will be to negotiate a lease with Network Rail to enable the railway to continue into Princes Risborough station from Thame Junction, connecting with the Chiltern Railways route. Once the lease is obtained the railway will relay derelict track and restore the former bay platform to a condition suitable for passenger operations. The Grade II listed Princes Risborough North signal box will also be included in the lease. What else is in the area? Oxford, Henley-on-Thames and the Chiltern Hills are within easy reach.
Didcot Railway Centre Although not actively promoting itself to group business, the headquarters of the Great Western Society includes a working engine shed dating from 1932 (now listed) and a restoration centre handling some of the most ambitious projects in railway preservation. It also has a short demonstration line, museum and self-service restaurant. Didcot is undertaking some of the most impressive restoration projects in Britain, with King class locomotive King Edward II due to be steamed for the first time in nearly 50 years in April 2011, returned to service in an unusual blue livery as in the early 1950s. The locomotive Pendennis Castle, repatriated from Australia in 1999, is also being restored to main line condition, while County and Saint class locomotives – both long extinct – are being built from parts donated by other types. The engine shed’s many original features survive, including a functioning coal stage where you can see how steam locomotives were fuelled using manual labour. It has a turntable, where demonstrations are given on steam days, as well as a traverser, into the carriage and wagon works.
“ 2010 saw Didcot Railway Centre gain full accreditation as a working museum...” Another interesting feature is a section of broad gauge line using materials recovered from a disused railway in Devon, recalling the seven-foot broad gauge built by Brunel which was abandoned in 1892. A broad gauge replica locomotive, Fire Fly, operates on advertised days.
Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway
Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway This small and friendly railway on the Oxfordshire/ Buckinghamshire border is just 30 minutes away from Oxford, Marlow or High Wycombe. The railway runs for 3½ miles along the foot of the Chiltern Hills, parallel to the historic Icknield Way passing through attractive countryside, with outstanding views across the Vale of Whiteleaf where red kites can often be seen circling overhead.
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2010 saw Didcot Railway Centre gain full accreditation as a working museum by the Museums, Libraries and Archives council (MLA), as meeting the national standard for UK museums. 2011 will see celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Great Western Society as well as the unveiling of the steam rail motor, as operated on branch lines, to be housed in a new shed. Didcot is open every weekend and on certain weekdays, including school holidays. It is accessed via Didcot Parkway station. What else is in the area? Didcot is about 14 miles from the centre of Oxford, and close to historic Abingdon (for Thames cruising) and the scenic Vale of the White Horse.
THE HERITAGE RAILWAY ASSOCIATION GROUP TRAVEL GUIDE