Join us for a full day of photography featuring Great Western railcar No.22 in cameos of the 1940s 

About this event

Join us for a full day of photography at Didcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire featuring Great Western Railway Railcar No.22 posed in and around the branch line platform as well as at locations along the branch including both of the beautifully-restored signal boxes.

It is a long time since 22 has had its own shoot which seems rather a shame and is the reason why we decided this beautiful machine should have its day in (hopefully) the sun! We will be starting early enough to allow us to shoot from the path looking over to Frome Signal Box and then further along the branch, as we did when we used Wantage Tramway No.5 in June 2024. At this time of year the leaves will not fully be on the trees (though there should be some fine pale greens in the foliage) which will allow us to photograph around Didcot Halt with light shining through onto the platform.

The GWR’s railcars represent one of the early steps towards development of the DMUs and units that proliferate on our railway network today. They were the forerunners of the ‘first generation’ of British Railways railcars and diesel multiple units that appeared on rural routes from the late 1950s onwards.

Over a seven-year period, a total of 38 railcars of varying designs were built between 1934 and 1941. The power units had their origins in bus engines being designed by AEC which were then further developed by the Hardy Motor Company of Southall. Initial trials were with a bus mounted upon rail wheels, from which Hardy then developed a full prototype chassis for the GWR in collaboration with the Great Western’s Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett. Bodywork was made by Park Royal who produced a very handsome design, and Car No.1 entered traffic in 1934 on the Henley-on-Thames and Windsor branch lines following an appearance at the Commercial Transport Exhibition, Olympia. No.1 proved very satisfactory and over the following years more were constructed and steadily entered traffic with later bodies being provided by the Gloucester Carriage and Wagon Company and then in-house at Swindon. The designs varied, with streamlined versions capable of 75 miles per hour, rather than the initial 40mph, made for fast main line runs. Non-passenger parcels cars and even two two-car units appeared with a driver’s cab at one end only, capable of carrying 104 passengers instead of 70, as the demand necessitated increased capacity.

The railcars were not without their problems, being prone to catching fire; Cars 9 and 37 were destroyed by fire during 1945 and 1947 respectively. However, they proved to be truly pioneering vehicles that laid the foundations for many of the self-powered units that were to follow in their hundreds in the decades to come.

No.22 was built in 1940. Allocated to Newport Shed in Wales initially, it entered service on 18th September of that year. It later worked out of Reading and latterly operated around  Worcester leading up to withdrawal in 1962. After storage at Swindon Works, the railcar was purchased for preservation in 1967 by the Midland Group of the Great Western Society. It is one of three preserved, the others being at Swindon’s STEAM Museum and the Kent & East Sussex Railway. No.22 is restored in the original Great Western livery of chocolate and cream, representing its appearance when it first entered traffic during the Second World War.

Event requirements

Equipment

• Camera
• Lense cloths
• Filters
• Lenses

Knowledge

• All levels welcome

Fitness

• Low

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes
• For those with mobility issues please email us to check the mobility limitations at this location prior to booking