A NEW Year’s Day treat was in store for visitors to Didcot Railway Centre, who feasted their eyes on the trains and enjoyed rides on the first steam day of the year.

Local dad and railway centre member Martin Parr brought two-year-old son Isaac along to get up close and personal with the locomotives.

He said: “It was lovely. It was a little bit damp and not overly busy because the weather was dreadful, but because of that there was lots of room to run around.

“Isaac is train-obsessed and it’s a local facility, so we go a couple of times a month for a walk around. The people down there are fantastic. The staff are extraordinary people and always very eager to help.”

The next two steam days will run on the weekend of February 11 to 12 when visitors will have the opportunity to ride in 1930s coaches pulled by a rotating series of locomotives on the site’s main line and branch. For more information on events, visit didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk