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
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
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_
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
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
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
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 