The early diesel era of this famous Western Region maintenance depot has been recreated in ‘OO’ gauge by MALCOLM BENTLEY, oozing atmosphere galore.
Above: A busy scene at the depot as a ‘Warship’ and ‘Western’ await their next turn of duty, while the turntable road appears rather congested.
Gauge: 'OO', 16.5mm Scale: 4mm: 1ft Size: 21ft x 5ft 6in Region: Western Period: 1970s Control: DCC, NCE Power Cab
OLD OAK COMMON engine shed was the Great Western Railway’s maintenance citadel in London. Opened fully in 1906, it survived the steam era and would ultimately be considerably modernised, maintaining diesel locomotives, High Speed Trains and Heathrow Express electric multiple units until 2018.
Today it is no more, its place taken by a vast new High Speed 2 station being built to provide connections with the Great Western Main Line and Elizabeth Line. The only maintenance presence in the immediate area is a new depot built around a quarter of a mile away to maintain the Elizabeth Line Class 345s.
To model such a famous place as Old Oak Common Motive Power Depot (MPD) and to do it justice proved a daunting task. The sheer, sprawling area occupied by the prototype meant that only certain principle focal points of the depot could be …
