Last Sunday we welcomed the Rock Choir to Didcot Railway Centre.

They sang a few songs outside the refreshment room and then they moved to the engine shed to meet our ‘RockStar Engine’, No 3822.

3822 is a large steam engine that was built in 1940 to haul heavy goods trains.

Their usual job would have been to haul large rakes of wagons (probably around 500 tons) at speeds of between 20 and 30 miles an hour over distances of 100 to 200 miles.

Compare that with the modern freight trains that travel at three times that speed.

She spent her working life in South Wales spending most time at Llanelli and Pontypool Road before being sent to Barry to be scrapped in 1964.

She was only there a year before we bought her and she arrived at Didcot on 21 March 1976.

A group of GWS members then formed the Heavy Freight Group to restore the engine, which they financed themselves from sponsorship, donations and sales.

This was a great success and she first ran again under her own steam in June 1985 when we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway.

3822 was used mainly at Didcot, although she did make several trips to other railways including the Nene Valley, West Somerset and East Lancashire.

While she was on the Nene Valley, she was used for a Queen video – Breakthru- where she burst through a brick wall while towing Freddie Mercury and the band.

3822 featured again when Gary Mullen of the Queen Tribute Band, Gary Mullen and the Works, came here for a publicity photo while performing at Oxford’s New Theatre and this is featured in Action Stations, our film trail.

The rock theme continued when back at Didcot in the late 1980s, 3822 welcomed Motorhead in a photoshoot for the GWR record label.

Sadly 3822 was taken out of traffic in 2010 and she is waiting her turn for restoration while the Heavy Freight Group concentrates on restoring a very large Welsh tank engine, No 7202 in our loco works.

Our ‘RockStar Engine’ is resting quietly at the back of our engine shed and she can be seen on our open days.

The Heavy Freight Mob can also be seen at Didcot as they run the Black Python Real Ale Bar, which will be open at the May Bank Holiday steam gala event to celebrate our 50th anniversary at the centre.

A Spitfire and Hurricane flypast will thunder across the skies on the Sunday.

For more information about the railway centre and its upcoming 50th anniversary visit: didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk