Where does the time go?

It’s July and the school holidays have nearly started so we are getting ready for our busiest time of year.

Of course it’s also the holiday period and our own volunteers and staff tend to go away so it’s quite difficult to find enough volunteers to cover all the turns.

We have had a fairly relaxing time for the past two months as, although we are open every day, things tend to be quiet so we can get on with other work as well.

And we have a very busy August to plan for with our Rails on the Western Front event on July 19 and 20th and then Flying Scotsman’s visit for the August Bank Holiday.

Those of you who visited earlier in the year will have seen the little Great Western Railway engine, No 813, that we hired for our DRC 50 celebrations and she is coming back for August.

Although our two demonstration lines are relatively short, compared with a heritage railway, we still have a lot of track at Didcot and even more points.

Our permanent way team (according to Google the permanent way is the finished trackbed of a railway together with the track and other permanent equipment.) has a lot of work to do to keep it in order.

Their latest job was relaying a length of track near Welford Park ticket office.

Sometimes I wonder if we need to bother with trains as so many visitors were intrigued by our man on the mini digger!

Our other volunteers have been working hard to get the centre looking smart.

The gardening team have done a great job planting the pots outside the refreshment room with colourful flowers.

Other plants don’t need quite so much work and the honeysuckle outside our mess room smells wonderful.

Members of the Signal & Telegraph Group have been working on their garden areas too as well as installing signalling equipment in our new exhibition area.

The only one who doesn’t seem to have been very busy is Marmalade.

In the hot weather she has been seen lying flat out in various cool places around the centre.

I’m sure she has been working in the cooler evenings though.

If you are looking for a great day out why not pop over and visit.

We’re open every day and running the trains on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.

For more information about the centre and its upcoming events visit: didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk

Tickets are available online for the arrival of the Flying Scotsman next month.