GIANT spanners are being put to use as staff work to get steam trains in Didcot’s railway centre ready for another year.
Boilersmith Ali Matthews was busy preparing the trains for New Year’s Day when they return to the rails after a winter break.
The 20-year-old said: “The engines need to be filled with water because they have been drained down while the weather was cold. They also need to be checked over to make sure they are fit to be steamed.”
As well as working on the engines, brake gears are tightened with the enormous tools to make sure the trains can stop quickly.
Reading resident Mr Matthews said: “It’s better to do these checks now rather than getting up extremely early on New Year’s Day.”
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