Ticket collection
Lost stations and halts
Having researched staions and halts in and around Oxford which are no longer operational, see the 'Lost stations and halts' page under the 'Bits & BOBS' menu tab, we thought it would be interesting to expand the area and collect some tickets from stations and halts in Oxfordshire , Berkshire and Buckinghamshire which no longer exist.
The Abingdon branch
The 1¾ mile Abingdon branch opened on 2nd June 1856. It was built to the broad gauge and joined the line between Didcot and Oxford just north of the bridge over the River Thames at Nuneham where a simple junction station was provided, there being no intermediate halts. There was no road access to this station and, having spartan facilities, it served merely as an interchange. Both the main line to Oxford and the Abingdon branch were converted to standard gauge in November 1872. The branch line was later extended alongside the main line for ¾ of a mile to a new station at Radley which was opened on 8th September 1873. The station at Abingdon Junction was closed and the site cleared.
ABINGDON
Passenger services were generally locomotive hauled but steam railmotors were tried out for a short period. At its peak in the 1930s there were 18 passenger trains a day in each direction. There were some through passenger trains to Oxford and beyond, mainly specials, but the line generally operated a short shuttle service between Radley and Abingdon. In the late 1940s the MG Car Company started using the railway to transport its sports cars which were built at a factory on the other side of town, and during the mid 1970s there were several car trains every week, each carrying up to 70 vehicles on special CarFlat wagons. Passenger numbers continued to decline however and the branch was listed for closure by Dr Beeching. Passenger services were withdrawn from 9th September 1963 and all the station buildings were demolished in 1971 leaving only the platform, track, goods office and the stable block. With both the regular coal and MG car traffic the branch looked to have a reasonable future as a freight only line, also seeing the occasional enthusiasts' special. However, in 1980 the MG car factory closed and for a while the only traffic was a weekly coal train, however all traffic ceased on 27th March 1984 following closure of the coal yard.
On 30th June 1984, what was left of Abingdon Station saw the very final rail traffic when two enthusiasts' specials ran from Oxford to Abingdon and back, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. A petition was raised in an attempt to keep the branch open as a heritage line for it to be operated by a preservation group, but it came to nothing. Radley station is still an important stopping place for both local and longer distance trains, although it lost all its facilities and was relegated to unmanned status when passenger operations ceased on the Abingdon Branch. Some refurbishment took place in 2008 when a new footbridge and shelters were installed, and in 2019 the platforms were lengthened to accommodate longer trains. The Station Master's house, built by the GWR in about 1899, still stands alongside the station access road.
The Watlington branch
The Watlington branch was a short, lightly constructed, line that connected Watlington with the Great Western Railway at Princes Risborough. An earlier plan to reach Watlington from the south never came to fruition when that branch was only built as far as Wallingford. Built by the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway Company, the single track standard gauge line was opened on 15th August 1872 but never made a profit and was sold to the GWR in 1883. The GWR relaid the track and added three wayside halts in an attempt to generate income. The line served mainly agricultural and industrial traffic, such as milk, lime, cement, coal and gypsum. Passenger services ended in 1957, and goods traffic ceased in 1961 with the track beyond Chinnor being lifted. The section between Princes Risborough and Chinnor remained open until 1989 to serve the Chinnor Cement Works. Part of the line is now preserved by the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway Association as a heritage railway.
When opened, four stations were provided being at Princes Risborough, Chinnor, Aston Rowant and Watlington. Three wayside halts, Lewknor Bridge Halt, Kingston Crossing Halt and Bledlow Bridge Halt were opened in September 1906 when steam railmotors were introduced, with Wainhill Crossing Halt opening in August 1925. The halts remained in use until passenger services were withdrawn on the line in 1957.
Special Railmotor Car ticket issued on the Watlington branch for a single journey between Kingston Crossing Halt and, as Princes Risborough is not mentioned, we believe Watlington. With that one exception, all the stations and halts along the branch are listed. Although not dated, the ticket must therefore date from between 1906 and 1948 as we have seen almost identical examples issued by the Railways Executive which came into being in that year.
The Lambourn Valley Railway
The Lambourn Valley Railway was a lightly laid single line about 12.5 miles long running from the town of Newbury north-west to the village of Lambourn. It was built by the independant Lambourn Valley Railway Company, and was opened in 1898 being operated by three steam locomotives, which it owned, with passenger and goods vehicles being obtained via hire-purchase.
The line ran west from a bay platform at Newbury where it also connected to the London-bound line. It ran parallel to the double track main line for about half a mile before turning northwards. There were initially seven intermediate stations before the terminus at Lambourn, being Speen, Stockcross, Boxford, Welford Park, West Shefford (renamed Great Shefford in 1900), East Garston and Eastbury.
As an independent entity the company faced financial challenges throughout its existence, and in 1904 the locomotives were sold with two steam railmotors being hired from the Great Western Railway. In 1905 the railway was taken over by the GWR and the entire branch line was upgraded and brought to GWR standards. Newbury West Fields Halt, between Newbury and Speen, opened in October 1906 and the stations at Stockcross & Bagnor and Eastbury were downgraded to halts in July 1934. Newbury racecourse had opened in 1905, and the area was well-established for racehorse training, breeding and sales which brought an increasing volume of associated traffic to the line. February 1937 saw the introduction of an AEC diesel railcar which was capable of towing a modest load. A new 2 mile long line was built in 1952 to serve an American Airforce base (RAF Welford). This connected with the Newbury end of Welford Park station and provided much needed goods traffic. Steam haulage was reintroduced on the branch trains in 1956, but by this time revenue on the line was in serious decline and passenger traffic ceased in early 1960. The section between Newbury and Welford remained open for freight traffic to RAF Welford. It was to survive into 1973 as a private line run by the USAF with the track north of Welford Park station having been lifted in 1962. Final closure of the line was marked on Saturday 3rd November 1973 when a special passenger service was operated.
Undated outward portion of Third Class return for travel between Welford Park and Stockcross. This would have been a relatively short journey of a fraction under four miles entirely on the Lambourn Valley line passing through just the one intermediate station at Boxford.
The GWR main line between Reading and Swindon
The Great Western Railway was extended from London in stages, reaching Reading on March 30th, 1840, and on June 1st opened as far as Steventon. There were only three intermediate stations, being those at Pangbourne, Goring (renamed Goring & Streatley in November 1895.) and Wallingford Road. By August 1840 the line was open to Faringdon Road (from 1864 known as Challow). The line reached Swindon on 17th December 1840 with Shrivenham being the only intermediate station between Faringdon Road and Swindon. A station did not exist at Didcot until the Didcot to Oxford branch was opened in June 1844. Wantage Road station opened as a goods station in 1846 between Didcot and Faringdon Road (as then named), with Uffington station and branch to Faringdon opening between the renamed Challow station and Shrivenham in June 1864. Wantage Road station was not to be developed and opened as a passenger station until late 1865, with the tramway from there to Wantage opening in October 1875.
On 2nd July 1866, a branch line to Wallingford was opened and Wallingford Road station was renamed Moulsford. The junction for the branch was at Moulsford station, with the branch line track running parallel to the main line for ¾ mile before curving away towards Wallingford. In 1892 the junction for Wallingford was resited down the line, and a new station built there. Moulsford station closed on 29th February 1892, being replaced the same day by the new station which was first known as Cholsey & Moulsford, later more simply as Cholsey. Some of the original station buildings can still be seen at the site of Moulsford railway station. Tilehurst station, between Reading and Pangbourne, was opened to traffic in 1882.
All intermediate stations between Didcot and Swindon were closed to passengers during 1965, but those between Reading and Didcot remained open.
SHRIVENHAM
Third Class Priviledge return for travel between Paddington and Shrivenham. This ticket looks as if it has not been issued as it is not date stamped and is in remarkable condition.
Shrivenham station was situated about ¾ mile south of the village it served. It closed to passenger services, along with the other stations between Didcot and Swindon, on 7th December 1964. The station was closed on 4th October 1965, having lost its passenger services on 7th December the previous year. The buildings were soon demolished but remnants of the platforms survived and the site of the goods yard became home to a demolition contractor.
Shrivenham was the scene of two fatal rail crashes. On 10th May 1848 six passengers were killed and 13 injured when the Exeter express struck a horse-box and cattle van which two porters had pushed onto the main line to free a wagon turntable, not realising the express had not yet passed. On 15th January 1936 an express from Penzance collided with some coal wagons just outside the station that had become detached from an earlier train. Two people were killed and 10 injured.
Just to the east of the village, and close to the village of Watchfield, lies the what was Beckett Park. The present house was built in 1830–1831 for the 6th Viscount Barrington. In 1936, following the death the previous year of Charlotte, widow of the 9th Viscount Barrington, the hall and estate were bought by the War Office for use as an artillery training school and in 1946 the estate became home to the Royal Military College of Science, later absorbed into the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. The large house still stands and enjoys Grade II listed status. In 1861, 1866, 1870 and 1874 Beckett Park played host to grand fêtes
Poster for Beckett Park - 1874
Courtesy of Shrivenham Heritage Society in aid of the GWR Widows' and Orphans' Benevolent Fund with many thousands of people travelling by train to Shrivenham. You can read all about these and other fêtes, by by selecting the 'GWR Widows and Orphans' item under the 'Company Servants' welfare' option under the 'BITS & BOBS' menu tab.
