Didcot Railway Centre 15th February 2025

I started my 2025 trainspotting season with a visit to Didcot Railway Centre on a wet and rainy 15th February 2025, during my visit the Railway Centre hosted a Wallace and Gromit event although I was here mainly for the steam engines, the engines running were Large Prairie 4144 on the main demonstration line while GWR railcar No.22 ran on the branch line. Things were going well until 4144 started having water troubles and had to be taken off, luckily another locomotive was available in the form of the mighty GWR Castle Class 4079 Pendennis Castle which was about to take part in a photo charter later that evening. Didcot was once a steam shed situated in a triangle junction where lines to Oxford, Birmingham and Worcester turned north and routes to Swindon, Bristol, Cardiff and Penzance headed west, now the depot has become a tourist attraction and saw main line locomotives visiting the shed such as King class 6024 King Edward 1st, 60163 Tornado, 5043 Earl of Mount Edcombe, 7029 Clun Castle, 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley and 60103 Flying Scotsman,the centre also saw the return of its first locomotive 14xx class tank 1466 to steam, Didcot Parkway Station which was next door to the Railway Centre saw passenger services, odd freight trains and the occasional Railtour, at Didcot Parkway class 66 66068 arrived for a crew change before setting off with a freight train, this type of freight diesel locomotive has the same type of engine as the speedy class 67 locomotives. My visit was worth it despite the bad weather but let's hope there's something exciting going on at Didcot Railway Centre in 2026.