Ann Middleton is commercial manager at Didcot Railway Centre

IT’S been a busy time at Didcot Railway Centre over the past few weeks with our successful Rails on the Western Front event followed by Flying Scotsman’s visit.

We hope that Didcot residents enjoyed the Spitfire Flypasts we had over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Flying Scotsman is a Pacific steam engine – a 4-6-2. You may have heard of steam engines being referred to as Pacifics, Atlantics, Moguls, Prairies and so on – these terms refer to the arrangement of their wheels.

When seen from the side, Pacifics have four leading wheels (on two axles), six driving wheels (three axles) and two trailing wheels (one axle). Although the Great Western Railway built the first Pacific used on a British railway in 1908, it was the only one they built. The GWR’s mainline express engines had the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement of Castles and Kings, while most of the other railway companies built Pacifics. I haven’t been able to find out why the 4-6-0 arrangement was never named.

The large visiting steam engines have gone and we’re getting back to normal now. We are starting our autumn season of Heritage Diesel Days when the star of the show will be our Great Western Railway Railcar No 22. She is the only genuine Great Western Railway diesel railcar that is running and a very important part of our collection. Only two other diesel GWR rail cars have been preserved. No 4 is an earlier streamlined example (they were known as ‘flying bananas’) and is at STEAM - the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon. The third one, No 20, is being restored on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

Like most GWR vehicles, No. 22 was allocated to a number of sheds, including Reading, so she may have been spotted at Didcot. Although she is 75, she has a modern look with two open saloons and driving cabs at each end. Anyone who remembers the old London buses will recognise her engines as they are a very similar specification to those used in Routemaster buses.

The Heritage Diesel Days tend to be quieter but we can’t have too much of a rest as we have the autumn programme to organise and then Christmas (sorry!) to think about. We have started preparing for Thomas the Tank Engine’s visit in October and then again in December, and we are liaising with Father Christmas about the presents that he will be giving our young visitors this year. Fingers crossed we’ll be busy again then.