CAN you imagine driving along the A338 at Grove and having to swerve to avoid a steam locomotive coming towards you alongside the road?

That was the case for over 70 years, when the Wantage Tramway ran from Wantage Road station to the centre of town.

The single-track railway ran for just over the two miles most of the way following what is now the A338, starting in 1875, first of all with horses pulling the carriages but eventually with steam power taking over.

The original locomotives, all owned by the Wantage Tramway Company, were of the tram type which meant they were fully-enclosed so no moving parts could be a danger to anyone on the outside.

These tram type engines were OK for passenger workings but not of much use on much heavier goods trains.

The company needed something more substantial, so decided to see what secondhand locos were for sale.

Eventually they acquired a steam locomotive built in 1857 by the George England Company in London, named Shannon which had originated on the Sandy and Potton railway. Shannon was sold to the London and North Western Railway in 1862 before being sold to the tramway company in 1878 for just over £365. She had just four wheels and weighed 15 tons in working order.

Shannon was designed for very short journeys so it must have been quite a marathon as she was steamed for her journey from the LNWR Crewe works to Wantage. I am not sure how long it took but it must have been quite a challenge to keep her out of the way of the normal trains of the day. Arriving in Wantage she was used on the goods trains that delivered the many commodities that the town needed as well as taking goods manufactured in the area to Wantage Road station for onward distribution vis the Great Western Railway's network.

Once Shannon had arrived at Wantage she was numbered No 5 and was referred to as Jane but never carried that name. The original drawings from when she was built showed she had a different appearance to her later condition. Victorian engine men were hardy souls and Shannon was built without a cab so the driver and fireman suffered all what the weather could throw at them. Eventually she did get a cab and did have some other changes to make her a more reliable locomotive.

That is a snap shot of her early career: one day I will expand on her life and why she is now one of the most important locomotives we have at Didcot Railway Centre.