The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a legend in its own time. It had a style and elegance all its own that few other railway companies could hope to match. The GWR is long gone now, of course, but its unique liveries, locos and rolling stock still live on thanks to the work of volunteers from the Great Western Society. Founded by four schoolboys in the 1960s, it is now one of the largest preservation societies in the world, working tirelessly to preserve the legacy of the GWR. This fascinating video takes you behind the scenes at the Didcot Railway Centre to meet the volunteers, look at their skilled restoration work on derelict locos and rolling stock and to discover how the heritage of the GWR is being painstakingly preserved. There's plenty of steam action too, with locos including 5051 Dryslhvyn Castle, 6998 Burton Agnes Hall, 7202 and 3822 heavy freights and tank engine 1466 - plus rare visitors LMS Princess Elizabeth and King George V and splendid archive footage from the glory days of the GWR itself. Every aspect of the Society's work is covered, from 'steaming up' at four in the morning through signal box, shunting and turntable operations to the preservation of GWR artefacts in the Society's Museum and its detailed recreation of a 1920s branch line station at Didcot Halt. Other highlights include special 'double headers', 'mass steamings' and night events.
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