Port Meadow Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line, between north Oxford and Port Meadow. The London & North Western Railway opened the halt as Summertown on 20 August 1906[1] and renamed it Port Meadow Halt in January 1907. It was closed between 1 January 1917 and 5 May 1919, and the London, Midland & Scottish Railway permanently closed it on 30 October 1926.[2] It was located on the north side of a footbridge leading from the present-day Aristotle Lane into Port Meadow, close to an occupation crossing which also gave access to the up platform.[2]
The opening of the station marked the inauguration of a rail motor car service between Oxford and Bicester. Journey time was 37 minutes and, other than Port Meadow and Bicester, the service called at Wolvercote Halt, Oxford Road Halt, Islip, Oddington Halt, Charlton Halt and Wendlebury Halt.[3] On the opening day the rail motor ran hot at the end of a return trip from Bicester in the early part of the morning and a 2-4-2 locomotive hauling an 8-wheel corridor coach replaced it; a step-ladder had to be provided for passengers to alight as the halts were only constructed of sleepers laid at rail level.[3] The rail motor service was withdrawn as a wartime economy measure in 1917 and restored in 1919. It was permanently withdrawn from 1926 due to the introduction of motorised bus services around Oxford.[3]
Little, E. (March 1930). "Portmeadow Halt, L.M.S.R.". The Why and the Wherefore. The Railway Magazine. Vol.66, no.393. Westminster: Railway Publishing Company Ltd. p.223. ISSN0033-8923.
Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (July 2005). Oxford to Bletchley. Country Railway Routes. Middleton Press. ISBN1-904474-57-8.
The Varsity Line was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway.
Oxford railway station is a mainline railway station, one of two serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about 0.5 miles (800 m) west of the city centre, north-west of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road. It is on the line for trains between London Paddington and Hereford via Worcester Shrub Hill. It is a starting point for fast and local trains to London Paddington and London Marylebone, and for local trains to Reading, Worcester, and Banbury. It is also on the north/south Cross Country Route from Manchester Piccadilly and Newcastle via Birmingham New Street and Reading to Southampton Central and Bournemouth. The station is managed by Great Western Railway, and also served by CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways trains. Immediately to the north is Sheepwash Channel Railway Bridge over the Sheepwash Channel.
Princes Risborough station is a railway station on the Chiltern Main Line that serves the town of Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire, England. It is operated by Chiltern Railways.
Bicester Village is one of two railway stations serving the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. It is 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Oxford on the Oxford-Bedford line near its junction with the Chiltern Main Line. The renamed Bicester Village station reopened on 25 October 2015 with trains initially running between Oxford Parkway and London Marylebone. All trains serving it are operated by Chiltern Railways.
Haddenham & Thame Parkway railway station is a station in Buckinghamshire serving the village of Haddenham and town of Thame in the neighbouring county of Oxfordshire, England. The station is on the western edge of Haddenham, about 2 miles (3 km) north east of Thame, and is served by Chiltern Railways.
Islip railway station serves the village of Islip, Oxfordshire, England. Islip is north-east of Oxford. Services run south to Oxford, 5 miles (8 km) away, and north-east to Bicester Village and London Marylebone. The station is currently managed by Chiltern Railways.
Claydon railway station is a former railway station on the 'Varsity Line', that served the village of Steeple Claydon in Buckinghamshire.
Winslow railway station refers to either of two railway stations which historically served or is planned to serve, the town of Winslow in north Buckinghamshire, England. The original station (1850–1968) was on the historical Varsity Line between Cambridge and Oxford or Banbury Merton Street, where it was an important stop before the routes diverged. The planned new station is to be served by East West Rail, a new or re-engineered route between the University cities that reuses the original track-bed at Winslow. In October 2020, the East West Rail Alliance announced that ground works had started on the new station earlier that summer. As of April 2020, the Alliance projects that the Oxford–Bletchley infrastructure will be fully tested and ready to use "in 2024".
Oxford Road Halt was a railway station on the Varsity Line 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the hamlet of Water Eaton, Oxfordshire.
Wolvercot Platform was a halt on the Great Western Railway line between Oxford and Banbury. The line is now known as the Cherwell Valley Line or the "Oxford Canal Line".
Yarnton Junction was a three-platform station serving the village of Yarnton, Oxfordshire. It was built in 1861 at the junction of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and Witney Railway, north of Oxford. British Railways closed the station to passengers in 1962 and it was demolished c. 1965.
Iffley Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve Iffley, a suburb of Oxford; it was actually in Kennington, and not in Iffley.
Bledlow railway station was an intermediate station on the Wycombe Railway which served the Buckinghamshire village of Bledlow from 1862 to 1963. It was one of two stations to serve the village, the other being Bledlow Bridge Halt on the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway, which was 0.75 miles (1.21 km) to the south and closer to the village. The possibility of reopening the line through Bledlow, which is now part of a long-distance footpath, has been explored by Chiltern Railways, the franchise holder for the Chiltern Main Line which runs through Princes Risborough.
Towersey Halt railway station was an intermediate station on the Wycombe Railway which served the Oxfordshire village of Towersey from 1933 to 1963. The opening of the halt was part of an attempt by the Great Western Railway to encourage more passengers on the line at a time when competition from bus services was drawing away patronage. The possibility of reopening the line through Towersey Halt, which is now part of a long-distance footpath, has been explored by Chiltern Railways, the franchise holder for the Chiltern Main Line which runs through Princes Risborough.
Fritwell & Somerton railway station was on the Oxford to Banbury line of the Great Western Railway, and was opened four years after the line, in September 1854. It was in the village of Somerton, Oxfordshire.
Horspath Halt was an intermediate station on the Wycombe Railway which served the Oxfordshire village of Horspath from 1908 to 1915, and then from 1933 to 1963. The opening of the halt was part of an attempt by the Great Western Railway to encourage more passengers on the line at a time when competition from bus services was drawing away patronage. The possibility of reopening the line through Horspath Halt has been explored by Chiltern Railways, the franchise holder for the Chiltern Main Line which runs through Princes Risborough.
Morris Cowley was an intermediate station on the Wycombe Railway which served the small town of Cowley, just outside Oxford, from 1908 to 1915, and again from 1928 to 1963. The station originally opened as part of an attempt by the Great Western Railway to enable to have more passengers access to the line, at a time when competition from bus services was drawing away patronage. The line through Morris Cowley remains open for the purposes of serving the BMW Mini factory, although the possibility of reinstating passenger services has been explored by Chiltern Railways, the franchise holder for the Chiltern Main Line which runs through Princes Risborough.
Abingdon Road Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve South Hinksey, a village near Oxford.
Hinksey Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve New Hinksey, a suburb of Oxford.
Aristotle Lane is a road in north Oxford, England.
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