Due to the technical operational difficulties of running and maintaining a mainline service from London to Bristol, as well as the need for servicing locomotives going to Oxford, Didcot became an obvious midpoint maintenance and stabling point.
Having built a timber-framed 7 ft ¹⁄₄ in (2,140 mm) broad gauge shed on the original site during the railways development west in the 1800s, in June 1932 a new steel-framed half-brick 4-road through shed (210 by 67 feet [64.01 m × 20.42 m]), was completed by the GWR under the Loans and Guarantees Act (1929).
With shed code DID, it also included a repair shop (84 by 42 feet [25.6 m × 12.8 m]), coaling stage (43 by 36 feet [13.11 m × 10.97 m]), sand furnace (10 by 10 feet [3.05 m × 3.05 m]) and 65 feet (19.81 m) turntable plus associated offices (210 by 15 feet [64.01 m × 4.57 m]).
During World War II, a standard steel-framed with corrugated iron-panel covered ash shelter was erected.
Due to the technical operational difficulties of running and maintaining a mainline service from London to Bristol, as well as the need for servicing locomotives going to Oxford, Didcot became an obvious midpoint maintenance and stabling point. Having built a timber-framed 7 ft ¹⁄₄ in (2,140 mm) broad gauge shed on the original site during the railways development west in the 1800s, in June 1932 a new steel-framed half-brick 4-road through shed (210 by 67 feet [64.01 m × 20.42 m]), was completed by the GWR under the Loans and Guarantees Act (1929). With shed code DID, it also included a repair shop (84 by 42 feet [25.6 m × 12.8 m]), coaling stage (43 by 36 feet [13.11 m × 10.97 m]), sand furnace (10 by 10 feet [3.05 m × 3.05 m]) and 65 feet (19.81 m) turntable plus associated offices (210 by 15 feet [64.01 m × 4.57 m]). During World War II, a standard steel-framed with corrugated iron-panel covered ash shelter was erected.
Didcot Railway Centre