Oxford railway station was popular with trainspotters
Trainspotters would often flock to the station to record the numbers of steam locomotives passing through or stopping at the platforms.
Many would be armed with books published by the Ian Allan company recording the numbers of engines and the depots to which they were allocated.
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There were often cheers when they spotted a locomotive they had not seen before.
They would underline the engine number and ‘shed’ code in their books, pleased that they had made what was described as a ‘cop’.
An online reader in the United States called Fred emailed with his memories of trainspotting at Oxford.
He was prompted to write in after seeing our story about plans, soon abandoned, to deepen the road beneath Oxford station bridge in 1905 – similar to the controversial work being done today.
He and his school friends would rush to the station to spot trains on Saturdays “after doing shopping for our mothers”.
A train of particular interest was the ‘Crewe freight’ which was often hauled by an engine from the North they had not seen before.
He recalls: “Whether it came from Crewe I never knew, but we were always keen to see it. It crossed the swing bridge and went into the Rewley Road yard, but if we stood at the north end of the London-bound platform, we could usually spot the engine number.”
(Image: Oxford Mail) The trainspotters got on to the platform by buying a platform ticket which cost a penny in old money.
To increase their chances of ‘cops’, some would try to sneak into the Oxford locomotive shed and yard at the end of Cripley Road, where the locomotives were stabled and refuelled with coal and water before setting off on their next journey.
“If we were spotted by the shed master and his staff, we would be evicted but quite often we got through and noted down the loco numbers.
“It was really good when we got a few ‘cops’.”
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He recalled that Oxford’s locomotive shed was code-numbered 81F, Didcot 81E, Reading 81D and Old Oak Common near Paddington 81A.
Our reader remembers Oxford being busy with passengers and freight, hauled by locomotives from different regions, increasing the likelihood of a ‘cop’.
Apart from main line services, local trains also ran from Oxford to Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire and in the opposite direction, to Fairford in Gloucestershire.
It is a mystery to our American correspondent and no doubt other readers why Fairford, “in the wilds”, became a destination.
The answer was given by a speaker at a recent meeting of Kidlington Historical Association.
It was originally intended to extend the line to Cheltenham, but the plan was abandoned.
