The “Mecca” for W.R. London enthusiasts was Old Oak Common – a mile or two out of London, just north of Wormwood Scrubs. It covered a large area where locos were serviced and repaired: prior to returning to duties out of Paddington, as there was no sidings there for carriages, and only limited space for engines requiring a quick turn around. Although I rarely had time to visit it, I always always window-hung from the carriage door, craning my neck attentively to see what was on shed.
Soon after nationalisation’Star’ Class 4016 “THE SOMERSET LIGHT INFANTRY (PRINCE ALBERT’S)” is parked up at Old Oak Common with other locos. Before it lie trackwork on wooden sleepers standing proud of the ballast, and points levers for working by railmen, not signalmen. Lighting towers, telegraph poles, sacks and pipes complete the picture. 49###AA02-OOC-s4016-PARKD
King Class 6026 “KING JOHN” is dwarfed by the huge coaling stage at Old Oak Common on 10th April 1961. It’s smokebox, being cleaned out by a rail worker, seems inordinately full of ash – that will no doubt be added to the piles around the locos wheels. 6104##A01-OOC-s5026-COALG
This ‘Planet News’ photograph shows 5955 “GARTH HALL”, the GWR’s first oil-burning passenger locomotive, following its trial run from Paddington to Old Oak Common on 8th August 1946. The caption intimates 25 Castle Class locos and 19 freight locos are to be converted; each tank load permitting 250 miles of travel; and the change will save 50,000 tons of coal yearly. 460808A01-OOC-s5955-PARKD
This 1947 rear view of a locomotive’s tender shows it being fuelled with oil at Old Oak Common, now it has a tank that has replaced its coal storage area. The Fox photo print has a caption pasted to the reverse saying sixteen plants are to be built for conversion from coal to oil, Old Oak being the largest, with two 175,000 storage tanks, one of which is seen in the background. 471112A01-OOC-S_LCO-FUELG
A dramatic three-quarters view of D601 “ARK ROYAL” parked up at Old Oak Common Depot on 20th August 1961. A few years into her service now, she has had some of her flatter bodyside louvres replaced with wider, more protrusive ones. Copyright: RK Blencowe Negative Archive. 610820A01-OOC–D601-PARKD
I also approached Old Oak from the canal footpath side, and this is the sort of view I had, though the camera brings it a bit closer. These 47s are pictured around the turntable in the steel headcode era, where great rationalisation of the site was taking place. 8#####A01-OOC-DEPOT_VI__Sc6
Amidst the detritus typically associated with a depot, a side road on Old Oak Common hosts a dusty but soundly-painted D849 ‘SUPERB’ in 1961. It has inset headcode boxes displaying three blanks and a broken blind, but has yet to receive yellow ends. 61###AC01-OOC—D849-PARKD
D1710 in two-tone green livery leads a rake of maroon carriages under Scrubbs Lane bridge at Old Oak Common – viewed from the Wormwood Scrubbs side, now occupied by North Pole depot. The canal is under the further span of the bridge, behind the wall. 64###AB01-OOC-D1710-PAS_U
D7057 – the only Hymek I ever saw at Penzance – heads westward with a maroon rake of coaches before the Grand Union Canal near Old Oak depot. The ballast before it has been laid very neatly, and, opposite, trees dominate the backdrop to the scene. 640627A01-OOC-D7057-PAS_D
The turntable at Old Oak Common is crowded with locomotives – dominently Class 42/3 ‘Warships’, but also Claas 22 ‘Warships, Class 35 ‘Hymek’s and Brush Type 4s. Also in the background is a “Blue Pullman” set. 6####IO10-OOC-D_LCO-PARKD
Western Region diesel power outside the running shed at Old Oak Common. From right to left, a Class 22 “Baby Warship” in green, small warning panel, livery; a shiny blue and white Hymek; a Class 42 “Warship”; a two-tone green Class 47; and finally another blue Hymek. It is a shame that the D6XX Warships were not here represented by an example. 6####IO07-OOC-D_LCO-PARKD
Its nameplate displaying san serif lettering on a red background, 47079 “GEORGE JACKSON CHURCHWARD” is parked up at Old Oak Common on 5th November 1976. This was the longest nameplate on a British diesel locomotive, and looked particularly appropriate when in black on original green livery. 761105A01-OOC-47079-PARKD
814 “DRAGON’ is parked up on line from Old Oak Common’s turntable area in the company of a ‘Brush’ Type 3 locomotive. Beside it is a stack of loco fuel drums and in the background old buildings including white paint on a wall where a building once stood before it. The leading nearside bogie displays a little oval builder’s plate, wheres the NBL locos were diamond shaped. 6####JG01-OOC—814-PARKD
D1044 “WESTERN DUCHESS” in maroon livery is given the all clear to enter the Old Oak Common in the twilight of a day in May 1969. High behind the retaining wall is the canal and towpath that gave a good vantage point for scanning the depot and in the left distance one of the signal boxes soon to be replaced by a power box to the photographer’s left. 69####A02-OOC-D1044-LIG_U
Construction work is still continuing on the Westway road through west London as D6340 heads out with the 5A37 freight in 1969. The loco is in initial rail blue livery with seriffed ‘D’ prefix to its numbers, and in the evening gloom behind there is a ramp and loading platform that a ‘Door to Door’ container is parked against. New flats are also mushrooming behind. 69####A01-RGH-D6340-GDS_D
With headcodes reflecting their identities, 1072 “WESTERN GLORY” and 1009 “WESTERN INVADER” are parked up beside the turntable on Old Oak Common depot with 47047. These loco’s sides are superficially clean, but underframes and rooflines are caked with grime. 7604#AA04-OOC-D1009-PARKD
D7093 runs light from Old Oak Common depot back to Paddington, passing before the canal wall. The “D’s” of its numbers have been painted out, and it wears a Southern Region headcode. Behind the loco is another track, rising above the GW Main Line. 7####DM01-OOC-D7093-LIGHT
Outside the main shed at Old Oak Common Depot Open Day on 15th August 1967 are D1610, D7035, D6354 and D1060 “WESTERN DOMINION”. In the background are canal-side buildings; closer in are large white fuel tanks; and in front rusting brake blocks. D1610 is surprisingly still in pristine two-tone (non-corporate) livery at this late time. 670715A01-OOC-LOCOS-PARKD
The distinctive raised roofline of Hymek 7028 leads the eye towards the accommodation block at Old Oak depot, parked around the turntable with a Class 47. The fringe of this area was the farthest I ventured in my sole illegal visit here, before my courage failed. 7####DO01-OOC-d7028-PARKD
08573 seems dwarfed by the many sidings of Old Oak carriage depot for storing stock, at a quiet time of the day. The furthest ones are the main lines from Paddington (left) to the West (right) and beyond them Wormwood Scrubs Common – the near side of which was once a good vantage point for the lines, but now houses North Pole depot. 901218A01-OOC-08573-SHNTG
The Eric Curnow Collection 