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Old oak common open day 2 September


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Apparently there is an open day at old oak common this year celebrating 111 years of the great western railway

 

I thought the GWR had their 150th anniversary in 1983, which was 'celebrated' at Swindon by cutting D818.

 

This year would be the 184th year.

 

(or are they being pedantic and cutting out the BR(W) years?)

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I thought the GWR had their 150th anniversary in 1983, which was 'celebrated' at Swindon by cutting D818.

 

This year would be the 184th year.

 

(or are they being pedantic and cutting out the BR(W) years?)

According to wikipedia Old Oak Common Depot was opened in 1906. I guessing it's 111 years of OOC not the GWR.

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It does make sense in relation to 111 years of OOC.  But what opened 111 years ago is mainly no longer there although the surviving main part of the carriage shed might date from then - but that's a pretty tenuous link.  Just about everything else that was there in 1906 has long since been radically altered or has, of course, vanished.

 

Having in the past been very much involved with one particular Old Oak open day (see link below)  it will be interesting to see what will be seen at this one  although a Class 800 of some sort and a 387 are obvious candidates.  As the action will inevitably have to concentrate on the carriage shed area (if we are to have any sort of vaguely accurate historical association) it would be really nice if a series of passenger stock down through the years could be assembled but I doubt that is at all likely to happen.  And will there be a steam worked shuttle from Paddington - not so easy now that 1A is no longer available.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/58165-the-stationmaster-looks-at-old-oak-common-open-day-in-1981/

 

I thought the GWR had their 150th anniversary in 1983, which was 'celebrated' at Swindon by cutting D818.

 

This year would be the 184th year.

 

(or are they being pedantic and cutting out the BR(W) years?)

 

GW 150 took place in 1985 - continuing the GWR's practice of dating anniversaries from the granting of its bill on 31 August 1835, thus it is GW 182 this year.

Edited by The Stationmaster
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Copied from the WNXX thread as I couldn't link to the topic directly, you have to be logged on.

 

"LEGENDS OF THE GREAT WESTERN

Iconic London depot to be revealed to members of the public in celebration of 111 years of engineering excellence

Exactly 111 years since opening on 17 March 1906, GWR has today announced Old Oak Common (OOC) depot will be opened to members of the public.

Celebrating its contribution in maintaining the Legends of the Great Western, the depot will hold an open day on Saturday 2 September; OOC111.

On display will be a unique collection of trains and locomotives, both old and new, which make the Great Western ‘God’s Wonderful Railway’. Full line up to be announced soon.

During its 111-year history, the depot and its dedicated, highly skilled staff have maintained everything from the Kings and Castles of the steam era, to the diesel-powered Westerns and Warships.

In 1976 the depot was the maintenance hub in the Western region for the newly introduced High Speeds Trains, the iconic trains which changed the face of Intercity travel in the UK.

While the HST fleet still operates today it is soon to be replaced after over 40 years of service by the new Hitachi Intercity Express Train, which will provide another step change in passenger experience when they begin passenger services later this year.

Tickets will go on sale shortly and demand is expected to be high for this unique event.

All profits will go to the depot’s chosen charity Place2Be, which provides mental health support for children in schools and whose patron is HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.

In May 2016 GWR’s St Philips Marsh depot raised over £20,000 for charity with a celebration of 40 years of the High Speed Train."

 

HTH

 

Rob

Edited by mezzoman253
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post-1767-0-54829000-1489845749_thumb.jpg

 

Maybe this Shed Pass might bring back memories of how it was done in the old days - but getting in through the sleeper fence without a Shed Pass was much more fun!

 

 

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It does make sense in relation to 111 years of OOC. But what opened 111 years ago is mainly no longer there although the surviving main part of the carriage shed might date from then - but that's a pretty tenuous link. Just about everything else that was there in 1906 has long since been radically altered or has, of course, vanished.

 

Having in the past been very much involved with one particular Old Oak open day (see link below) it will be interesting to see what will be seen at this one although a Class 800 of some sort and a 387 are obvious candidates. As the action will inevitably have to concentrate on the carriage shed area (if we are to have any sort of vaguely accurate historical association) it would be really nice if a series of passenger stock down through the years could be assembled but I doubt that is at all likely to happen. And will there be a steam worked shuttle from Paddington - not so easy now that 1A is no longer available.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/58165-the-stationmaster-looks-at-old-oak-common-open-day-in-1981/

 

 

GW 150 took place in 1985 - continuing the GWR's practice of dating anniversaries from the granting of its bill on 31 August 1835, thus it is GW 182 this year.

This true and it also had the advantage of drawing attention away from the fact that Brunel was late in opening the railway.

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new Hitachi Intercity Express Train, which will provide another step change in passenger experience when they begin passenger services later this year.

 

 

Step change in passenger experience................................but in which direction ?? :)

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I understand all of the negativity in the above posts and can understand the questioning behind such an event, however if I could just put forward my own personal thoughts:

  • Yeah I went round the depot with my Dad as a kid in the early 80's and yep it's gone
  • OOC is still currently a depot of some description which as I understand is due to close
  • Maybe the current staff there are proud of their heritage and wish to show off their skills (one last time) keeping the current GW mainline running with an aging fleet
  • Maybe they do want to promote new fleets, what operator wouldn't in this day an age
  • I don't work in the rail industry (to my dismay at times) so I don't get to see the inner workings of a current rail depot and collect images to base my modelling on
  • And for Christs sake it's for charity, maybe the men and women working there currently think we all might like to see it one last time and from the proceeds maybe a few lives will be changed

Perhaps that is a nice parting gesture on their part  :sungum:

 

Sorry rant over, shoot me down or delete the post admin, I just feel at times we all forget a bigger picture

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