A Steamy winters evening inside the Shed at Didcot Railway Centre

About this event

Our first event of this type was way back in November 2016 and was an outstanding success with huge amounts of atmosphere and images created to die for! Since that first event we have returned a number of times and never fail to be amazed at just what is on offer during every visit. So much atmosphere you can not fail to be amazed.

Our evening starting at around 17.00 will see us concentrate exclusively in the main Shed using one of the Societies Hall's or Manor's locomotives as our main focus of the photography, however this will be closely accompanied by other engines stabled in the Didcot Shed. These shoot would not be complete without some human interest, so along with our loco's for the evening we will be accompanied by a group of 4 or 5 re-enactors in period outfits portraying loco crews, cleaners, fitters and maybe even a works foremen, all helping us recreate images that will transport you back to the 1960's, or before when these kind of scenes could be found up and down the land. 

Loco's will be bought to life using our tried and tested methods that see us utilise smoke machines, steam machines and creative lighting.

We plan to finish around 22.00 which we feel will give everyone plenty of time in a relaxed way to fully capture all the scenes on offer, these will also be a short break around 19.00 so that everyone can draw breath and recharge with a meal in the on site cafe (at extra cost).

The shed has stood on the site for around a hundred years and during it’s time has seen many residents from the Great Western Railway to British Railway before passing into the ownership of the current custodians, the Great Western Society. During its time little has changed and to this day it still holds so much of its original fixtures and fittings. The shed is not only a Mecca for railway enthusiasts but is also a huge draw for any photographer that wants to record history and make images that will impress and push the boundaries of any industrial scene.

We plan to set up a number of cameo’s around the shed with different engines being used as the backdrop to our evenings photography, loco’s synonymous with the Western Region and the GWR before. The shed has 4 roads that will have different opportunities to capture throughout the evening just as there would of been when this was a working shed. We plan to backlight many of our scenes to evoke, stimulate and enhance what we hope will be a cold night on shed.

This event is limited to 25 photographers to ensure comfortable surroundings and easy use of tripods. We therefore recommend booking early to avoid disappointment, given how popular previous events at the Centre have been.

Images courtesy of David Turnbull.

Event requirements

Equipment

• Spare batteries
• Camera
• Lense cloths
• Filters
• Lenses
• Tripod

Knowledge

• All levels welcome

Fitness

• Low

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes
• Torch
• Warm clothing