Waddesdon Road | |
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Location | Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire |
Local authority | Buckinghamshire |
Owner | Wotton Tramway |
Number of platforms | 1 |
Key dates | |
1871 | Opened for freight, as Waddesdon Road Siding |
1872 | Opened for passengers, renamed Waddesdon |
1894 | Rebuilt |
1899 | Public ownership (Metropolitan Railway) |
1922 | Renamed Waddesdon Road |
1935 | Closed by London Transport |
Other information | |
WGS84 | 51°51′07″N0°56′48″W / 51.8519°N 0.9468°W |
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Waddesdon Road railway station, called Waddesdon railway station before 1922, was a small halt in open countryside in Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened in 1871 as part of a short horse-drawn tramway to assist with the transport of goods from and around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire and to connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872 the line was expanded and converted for passenger use, becoming known as the Brill Tramway. In 1899 the operation of the line was taken over by the London-based Metropolitan Railway.
In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public ownership to become the Metropolitan line of the London Underground, and despite its rural setting Waddesdon Road station became a part of the London Transport system. The new management could not see a future for the line as a financially viable passenger route, and Waddesdon Road, along with the rest of the former Brill Tramway, was closed in late 1935.
The station was heavily used for the transport of construction materials during the building of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild's estate at Waddesdon Manor in the 1870s and 1880s, but aside from that it saw little use. The station was inconveniently sited and served by few passenger trains, and other more frequently served stations were in easy walking distance. In 1932, the last full year of operations prior to the Metropolitan Railway being taken into public ownership, the station was used for only 281 passenger journeys and generated just £4 of passenger revenue.
On 23 September 1868 the small Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway (A&BR) was opened. It ran south from the London and North Western Railway's Oxford to Bletchley line at Verney Junction, via Quainton Road railway station, to connect with the Great Western Railway at Aylesbury. [1]
The 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos served as Chairman of the London and North Western Railway from 1852 to 1861 and had a long interest in railways. In the early 1870s he decided to build a light railway to carry goods between his estates in Buckinghamshire and the A&BR's line at Quainton Road. [2] [note 1] The first stage of the line, known as the Wotton Tramway, was a 4-mile (6.4 km) line from Quainton Road via Wotton to a coal siding at Kingswood, [5] and opened on 1 April 1871. [2] [6] Intended for use by horse trams, the line was built with longitudinal sleepers to avoid horses tripping on the sleepers. [5] [7]
Lobbying from residents and businesses in the nearby town of Brill led to an extension being built in 1872 from Wotton to Brill railway station, at the foot of Brill Hill three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) from the hilltop town of Brill itself. Two mixed trains each day were introduced in each direction, [5] [6] [8] and the line was renamed the Brill Tramway. The Duke bought two Aveling and Porter traction engines modified to work as locomotives for the line, each with a top speed of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h), [8] [9] although a speed limit of 5 miles per hour (8 km/h) was enforced. [3]
The Duke died in 1889, and in 1894 the trustees of his estate set up the Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad Company (O&ATC) with the intention of extending the line from Brill to Oxford. [note 2] On 1 September 1894 London's Metropolitan Railway (MR) reached Aylesbury, [1] and shortly afterwards connected to the A&BR line, with local MR services running via Quainton Road to Verney Junction from 1 April 1894. [1] Through trains from the MR's London terminus at Baker Street commenced on 1 January 1897. [1] From 1 December 1899 the MR leased the Brill Tramway from the O&ATC and took over the operation of services on the line, [1] although the Tramway continued to be owned by the O&ATC. [10] [note 3]
Waddesdon Road was the first station out from the Quainton Road junction station, in open countryside immediately north of Akeman Street (the A41 road after 1919), [12] about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) southeast of Quainton Road, 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the town of Waddesdon, and 1,300 yards (1,200 m) from Waddesdon Manor. [13] The station was initially built with a single low wooden platform, primarily intended for loading and unloading freight. [14] After the 1899 transfer of services to the Metropolitan Railway, the MR introduced a single Brown Marshall passenger carriage on the line; [14] at this time, a short section of platform was raised to conventional height to allow access to the higher doors on the new carriage. [14]
Initially known as "Waddesdon Road Siding", the station was renamed "Waddesdon" shortly after opening. [12] On 1 October 1922 the nearby Waddesdon Manor railway station, on the Metropolitan Railway southeast of Quainton Road, was renamed "Waddesdon" and the former Waddesdon station was renamed "Waddesdon Road" in an effort to reduce confusion. [12]
The station was heavily used during the construction of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild's estate at Waddesdon Manor in the 1870s and 1880s. [15] The brickworks at Brill sent 25,000 bricks per week along the Brill Tramway, and 7,000 tons (7,100 t) of Bath Stone were shipped from Corsham. [15] Aside from goods traffic associated with the building of Waddesdon Manor, the station was little used other than for shipping milk from nearby farms to Aylesbury and London. [15] Inconveniently sited away from any nearby towns and villages, and with the far more frequently served Quainton Road and Waddesdon Manor stations within easy walking distance, the station saw very little passenger use. In 1932, the last year of private operation, Waddesdon Road station saw only 281 passengers and made only £4 (about £300 in 2024) in passenger receipts over the entire year. [16] [17]
Limited by poor quality locomotives and bumpy, cheaply laid track which followed the contours of the hills, trains ran very slowly in the area: in 1882 trains took 13 minutes to travel the short distance from Waddesdon Road to Quainton Road, and 57 minutes from Waddesdon Road to Brill. [18] From 1872 to 1894 the station was served by two passenger trains per day in each direction, and between 1895 and 1899 the number was increased to three per day. [19] Following the 1899 transfer of services to the Metropolitan Railway, the station was served by four trains per day in each direction until closure in 1935. [19] Improvements to the line carried out at the time of the transfer to the Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad, and the improved locomotives of the Metropolitan Railway, reduced journey times from Waddesdon Road to Quainton Road and Brill to 6 minutes and 22 minutes respectively. [18]
On 1 July 1933 the Metropolitan Railway, and all of London's other underground railways except the small Waterloo & City Railway, were taken into public ownership as part of the newly formed London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). [10] As a consequence, despite its distance from London, Waddesdon Road station became part of the London Underground network. [20] [note 4]
By this time the Brill Tramway was losing significant sums of money. Goods traffic had dwindled, and unlike other areas served by the former Metropolitan Railway there had not been a growth in population and thus passenger numbers remained low. Frank Pick, managing director of the Underground Group from 1928 and the Chief Executive of the LPTB, planned to move the new London Underground away from goods services to concentrate solely on serving passengers. [22] He saw the lines beyond Aylesbury to Brill and Verney Junction as having little future as financially viable passenger routes, [22] concluding that over £2,000 (about £150,000 in 2024) would be saved by closing the Brill Tramway. [17] [23] As a result, the LPTB decided to abandon all passenger services beyond Aylesbury. [1] [22]
The Brill Tramway was closed on 1 December 1935, [1] [24] with the last trains running on 30 November. [10] [25] Upon the withdrawal of London Transport services the railway and stations reverted to the control of the by now almost dormant Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad Company. [26] With no funds and no rolling stock of its own the O&ATC was unable to operate the line, and on 2 April 1936 the entire infrastructure of the line was sold at auction; [26] the most expensive lot sold was the 37-yard (34 m) platform of Waddesdon Road station, which fetched £7 10s (about £1,270 in 2024). [17] [26] Excluding the station houses at Westcott and Brill, which were sold separately, the auction raised £112 10s (about £8,130 in 2024) in total. [17] [26] No trace of the buildings at Waddesdon Road remains, but the former trackbed is now a public footpath known as the Tramway Walk. [15]
Metropolitan line passenger trains ceased to run north of Aylesbury from 6 July 1936. [1] London and North Eastern Railway services (British Rail from 1948) continued to run from London's Marylebone station over the line to Verney Junction via Quainton Road until March 1963, [1] and the LPTB continued to maintain and to operate freight services over the Verney Junction line until 6 September 1947. [27] After the withdrawal of services from London, Verney Junction station remained open to serve trains on the Oxford–Bletchley line. It was closed following the withdrawal of services between Oxford and Cambridge from 1 January 1968. [28]
Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 in under-developed countryside near Quainton, in the English county of Buckinghamshire, 44 miles (71 km) from London. Built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway, it was the result of pressure from the 3rd Duke of Buckingham to route the railway near his home at Wotton House and to open a railway station at the nearest point to it. Serving a relatively underpopulated area, Quainton Road was a crude railway station, described as "extremely primitive".
Verney Junction railway station was an isolated railway station at a four-way railway junction in Buckinghamshire, open from 1868 to 1968; a junction existed at the site without a station from 1851.
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two foot-bridges, one of which provides wheelchair access. Each side has a demonstration line with various workshop buildings as well as museum buildings.
Brill is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England, close to the border with Oxfordshire. It is about 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Long Crendon and 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Bicester. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish was 1,141. Brill has a royal charter to hold a weekly market, but has not done so for many years.
Brill railway station was the terminus of a small railway line in Buckinghamshire, England, known as the Brill Tramway. Built and owned by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, it was later operated by London's Metropolitan Railway, and in 1933 briefly became one of the two north-western termini of the London Underground, despite being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours' travelling time from the City of London.
Waddesdon is a closed station that served the village of Waddesdon and its manor, to the north of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The station is not to be confused with Waddesdon Road railway station at the other end of the Waddesdon Manor estate on the Brill Tramway.
Kingswood is a hamlet of 30 dwellings on the South side of the A41 from Waddesdon to Bicester and between the villages of Ludgershall and Grendon Underwood in Buckinghamshire, England. Kingswood is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district. Parish matters are currently administered via a parish meeting. There is one Italian restaurant and public house, Canaletto which opened in 2013. There is also a derelict Village Hall blown down in the Great Storm of 1987.
The Brill Tramway, also known as the Quainton Tramway, Wotton Tramway, Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch, was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately built in 1871 by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham as a horse tram line to help transport goods between his lands around Wotton House and the national rail network. Lobbying from the nearby village of Brill led to its extension to Brill and conversion to passenger use in early 1872. Two locomotives were bought but trains still travelled at an average speed of 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h).
Granborough Road railway station was a station serving the village of Granborough, to the north of Quainton in Buckinghamshire, England.
Winslow Road railway station served the village of East Claydon near Winslow to the north of Quainton in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the second station to serve the town after Winslow on the Varsity Line.
Claydon railway station is a former railway station on the 'Varsity Line', that served the village of Steeple Claydon in Buckinghamshire.
Wood Siding railway station was a halt in Bernwood Forest, Buckinghamshire, England. It opened in 1871 as a terminus of a short horse-drawn tramway built to assist the transport of goods from and around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire, as well as connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road.
The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway (A&BR) was an English railway located in Buckinghamshire, England operating between Aylesbury and Verney Junction.
The railway system of Buckinghamshire has a long and complex history dating back to the 1830s with the opening of sections of today's West Coast Main Line and Great Western Main Line. The development of Buckinghamshire's railway network was largely due to its position nationally as many long-distance routes chose to go through Buckinghamshire, especially between Britains two largest cities, London and Birmingham. The county had its own pulling power in addition, as produce such as the Aylesbury Duck could then be easily transported to the capital.
Transport in Buckinghamshire has been shaped by its position within the United Kingdom. Most routes between the UK's two largest cities, London and Birmingham, pass through this county. The county's growing industry first brought canals to the area, then railways and then motorways.
Wotton railway station was a small station in Buckinghamshire, England, built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1871. Part of a private horse-drawn tramway designed to carry freight from and around his lands in Buckinghamshire, Wotton station was intended to serve the Duke's home at Wotton House and the nearby village of Wotton Underwood. In 1872 the line was extended to the nearby village of Brill, converted to passenger use, equipped with steam locomotives, and renamed the Brill Tramway. In the 1880s, it was proposed to extend the line to Oxford, but the operation of the line was instead taken over by London's Metropolitan Railway.
Westcott railway station was a small station built to serve the village of Westcott, Buckinghamshire, and nearby buildings attached to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild's estate at Waddesdon Manor. It was built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1871 as part of a short horse-drawn tramway to allow for the transport of goods from and around his extensive estates in Buckinghamshire and to connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road. A lobbying campaign by residents of the town of Brill led to the tramway being converted for passenger use and extended to Brill railway station in 1872, becoming known as the Brill Tramway.
The Brill Tramway, also known as the Quainton Tramway, Wotton Tramway, Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch, was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately built in 1871 by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham as a horse tram line to transport goods between his lands around Wotton House and the national railway network. Lobbying from residents of the nearby town of Brill led to the line's extension to Brill and conversion to passenger use in early 1872. Two locomotives were bought for the line, but as it had been designed and built with horses in mind, services were very slow; trains travelled at an average speed of only 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h).
The Chesham branch is a single-track railway branch line in Buckinghamshire, England, owned and operated by the London Underground. It runs from a junction at Chalfont & Latimer station on the Metropolitan line for 3.89 miles (6.26 km) northwest to Chesham. The line was built as part of Edward Watkin's scheme to turn his Metropolitan Railway (MR) into a direct rail route between London and Manchester, and it was envisaged initially that a station outside Chesham would be an intermediate stop on a through route running north to connect with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Deteriorating relations between the MR and LNWR led to the MR instead expanding to the northwest via Aylesbury, and the scheme to connect with the LNWR was abandoned. By this time much of the land needed for the section of line as far as Chesham had been bought. As Chesham was at the time the only significant town near the MR's new route, it was decided to build the route only as far as Chesham, and to complete the connection with the LNWR at a future date if it proved desirable. Local residents were unhappy at the proposed station site outside Chesham, and a public subscription raised the necessary additional funds to extend the railway into the centre of the town. The Chesham branch opened in 1889.
London's Metropolitan Railway (MR) amalgamated with other underground railways, tramway companies and bus operators on 1 July 1933, to form the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB); the MR became the Board's Metropolitan line.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Westcott Line and station closed | Metropolitan Railway Brill Tramway | Quainton Road Line and station closed |