Wantage Road railway station

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Wantage Road
Loco Shannon.jpg
Wantage Road station just prior to closure showing preserved Wantage Tramway loco "Shannon".
Location Grove, District of Vale of White Horse
England
Grid reference SU409913
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Great Western Railway
Pre-grouping GWR
Post-groupingGWR
Western Region of British Railways
Key dates
1846Opened
7 December 1964Closed for passengers
29 March 1965closed for goods

Wantage Road railway station was a railway station on the Great Western Main Line in the Vale of White Horse district in Oxfordshire. The station was actually at the village of Grove, Oxfordshire (then part of Berkshire), more than two miles north of Wantage. The station closed in December 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.

Contents

History

Wantage Road station was opened in 1846, six years after the section of the GWR main line that served it.

In 1873 the independent Wantage Tramway was formed to link Wantage Road station with its terminus at Mill Street, Wantage; it was built parallel to what was then the Besselsleigh Turnpike (now the A338). This short line was opened for goods on 1 October 1875, and to passengers on 11 October. [1] The tramway junction was to the east of Wantage Road station; interchange passengers walked under the bridge to reach the tramway yard, where the westernmost siding (parallel to the road) was reserved for passenger tramcars. [1] [2]

The tramway closed to passengers on 1 August 1925, and to goods on 22 December 1945. [1] [3]

On 7 December 1964 British Railways withdrew passenger services from Wantage Road and all other intermediate stations between Didcot and Swindon; the goods yard survived a little longer, closing on 29 March 1965. [2] The station buildings have been demolished but the platforms survive.

In June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) produced a report called 'Connecting Communities' in which it was suggested that Wantage Road Station would be a viable station to re-open during any expansion of the rail network. [4] If a proposed service from Oxford to Westbury is given the green light, it is hoped that a new station entitled either Wantage & Grove or Wantage Parkway can be built as part of the introduction of this service.

Signals for Wantage Road Loop on the Great Western Main Line. Signals for Wantage Road loop - geograph.org.uk - 1539401.jpg
Signals for Wantage Road Loop on the Great Western Main Line.

Future

Plans and proposals for a new railway station to serve Wantage and Grove have been around for several years. [5] In August 2018, Oxfordshire County Council published proposals and a business case for a new station in Grove with the assumption that a new station could open in 2025. [6]

As the station would be situated on a main line currently served only by intercity services, a new service would be needed to serve the station. The county council's ambition would be for a new hourly service between Bristol and Oxford which could call at all major existing stations along the route as well as the new station in Grove and new stations in Corsham and Royal Wootton Bassett. It is then hoped that this service could be extended to Milton Keynes or Cambridge once East West Rail is fully completed in 2027. [6]

Six possible locations for a new station were identified with two being shortlisted as good potential locations. One of the two potential locations is very close to the site of the former Wantage Road station, just to the north of the Williams Formula One factory with the second location being further west with access on Denchworth Road. [7] Depending on which site is chosen, the costs of building a new station is estimated to be between £11 million and £13 million. [8]

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Steventon
Line open, station closed
  British Rail
Western Region

Great Western Main Line
  Challow
Line open, station closed
Terminus  Wantage Tramway   Wantage
Line and station closed

Related Research Articles

Wantage Human settlement in England

Wantage is a historic market town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Abingdon, 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading, 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Oxford and 14 miles (23 km) north north-west of Newbury.

Brill railway station Former railway terminus in Buckinghamshire, England

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Great Western main line English railway line linking London and Bristol

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Grove, Oxfordshire Human settlement in England

Grove is a village and civil parish on Letcombe Brook, about 1 12 miles (2.4 km) north of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. Historically, a part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 7,178. It is also home to Williams Racing.

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Didcot Parkway railway station Railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire, England

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Challow railway station

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Wisbech East railway station Former railway station in Cambridgeshire, England

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Fritwell & Somerton railway station

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Wantage Tramway

The Wantage Tramway Company was a two-mile tramway that carried passengers and freight between the Oxfordshire town of Wantage and Wantage Road Station on the Great Western Main Line. Formed in 1873 to link Wantage Road station with its terminus at Mill Street, Wantage the line was cheaply built parallel to what was then the Besselsleigh Turnpike, and now the A338. The tramway closed to passengers in 1925 and to goods traffic in 1945.

Wantage railway station is a closed stone and brick built station located on Mill Street, Wantage in Oxfordshire on the Wantage Tramway line. The station closed fully in 1945 when Wantage Tramway ceased operations.

Abingdon Road Halt railway station was built by the Great Western Railway to serve South Hinksey, a village near Oxford.

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Tetbury Road railway station was built by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway to serve the Gloucestershire villages of Kemble and Coates, and the town of Tetbury.

Waddesdon Road railway station Former Brill Tramway (Later Metropolitan Railway) Station in Buckinghamshire

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.

Chalford railway station was situated on the Great Western Railway's Golden Valley Line, between Swindon and Gloucester. It was just east of the bridge carrying Cowcombe Hill over the railway. To the east of the station site lies Chalford Viaduct, and beyond that, Sapperton Long Tunnel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2003). Branch Line to Wantage - The Wantage Tramway. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN   1-904474-25-X.
  2. 1 2 Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (July 2002). "X. Wantage Road". Didcot to Swindon. Western Main Lines. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN   1-901706-84-2.
  3. Wantage Museum
  4. "Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. p. 9. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  5. Wilkinson, Ben (6 June 2012). "Wantage could get new station". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Wantage and Grove station". Oxfordshire County Council. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  7. "Wantage & Grove Station Statement of Opinion - Report" (PDF). Oxfordshire County Council. SLC Rail. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  8. "Appendix B - GRIP1 Cost estimate" (PDF). Oxfordshire County Council. SLC Rail. Retrieved 4 June 2019.

Coordinates: 51°37′11″N1°24′31″W / 51.6197°N 1.4085°W / 51.6197; -1.4085