A century-old railway shed that housed a long disappeared train is to be reborn at Didcot Railway Centre.
 
The Great Western Society has confirmed it has got the final go ahead for a 175 foot long home for Railmotor 93, a unique railway experiment from the first decade of the 20th century.
 
In the early 1900s, the Great Western Railway experimented with building a steam engine inside a carriage to create a Railmotor, designed to carry passengers on regular stopping services.
 
The vehicles were forerunners of the diesel and electrical trains that carry passengers all over the country today.
 
But within 30 years, the rail company had abandoned the project and ripped the power units out to convert the vehicles to normal passenger carriages.
 
In 2007, the society, which owns Didcot Railway Centre, secured £768,500 of lottery funding to restore Railmotor 93 to its former glory so it could once again power its away across the country.
 
Now, after a series of setbacks, the centre has finally been able to order the building materials to start work on a shed to house it.
 
The centre's operations manager, Roger Orchard, said, "The Railmotor and trailer car will be unique in the UK. When you are applying to the Heritage Lottery fund and spending that sort of money, they expect it to be kept under cover. It is a creation of not only the vehicles, but their whole environment. Most preservation railways often do not go the next stage to build a covered shed that actually goes with their engines."
 
The society's antique diesel and steam cranes have been used to heave ex-British Rail track into place, leading to the site of the new shed.
 
Its design is based on the railmotor shed built at Southall, west London, in 1905, one of only two on the Great Western Railway.
 
As reported in the Oxford Mail last month, a series of developments are planned at Didcot Railway Centre over the next two years.
 
King Edward II locomotive number 6023 will go on display this summer after a 25 year restoration, and a £500,000 museum and library will open next year.
 
Construction will also begin next year on a £65,000 broad gauge engine shed to home the National Railway Museum's "Iron Duke" when it moves to Didcot in 2011.
 
Liam Sloan.