Witney railway station (goods)

Last updated

Witney (Goods)
Location Witney, West Oxfordshire
England
Coordinates 51°46′38″N1°28′50″W / 51.77722°N 1.48056°W / 51.77722; -1.48056 Coordinates: 51°46′38″N1°28′50″W / 51.77722°N 1.48056°W / 51.77722; -1.48056
Grid reference SP357090
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Witney Railway
Pre-grouping Great Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
14 November 1861Station opens
15 January 1873Station closes to passengers
2 November 1970Station closes to goods

Witney goods station served the Oxfordshire town of Witney on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway. It consisted of seven sidings, a goods shed, a wooden parcel office and a cattle dock. It also had an engine shed, which was demolished early in the twentieth century. Following the opening of the East Gloucestershire Railway in 1873, the station became a goods depot, with passengers using the second station situated to the south. The original station remained open to goods traffic until 1970.

Contents

History

The station was opened by the Witney Railway on 4 November 1861 as the western terminus of its line from Yarnton. [1] [2] A single platform was provided in addition to a run-around loop and a carriage siding. [3] A large stone goods shed was served by two sidings, one of which was accessed by a short spur from a wagon turntable. [3] The station building was a small weather-boarded structure with a hipped roof and a platform canopy. [3] At the end of the line stood a single-road engine shed and water tank. [4] [5] [6] [7] The shed, which lost its locomotive allocation when the new Witney station opened, was demolished during November 1905 after having been used for storage purposes. [8] [6]

When the East Gloucestershire Railway opened an extension of the line in 1873, [9] a new passenger station was constructed on a different site to the south, [10] opening on 15 January 1873. [1] [2] [11] [12] [13] [14] This left the old station on a spur line, and it became the town's goods depot on the same date. [1] [2] [15] The directors of the Witney Railway had first been opposed to the downgrading of their station but the Great Western Railway, which was to work the new line, [16] insisted that agreement would need to be reached between the East Gloucestershire and the Witney as to a new station which would be operated on a joint basis. [17] [12] Following its conversion to a goods depot, the station's basic layout remained essentially intact, so much so that it continued to resemble the old passenger station. [8] The Great Western made several later additions including extensions to the goods shed, a stable block to accommodate the shunting and dray horses, a wood store, a corrugated iron warehouse and a stationmaster's house. [8] [18] The house is said to be the last to have been constructed by the Great Western before the Second World War. [8] [19] The station canopy was boarded in to increase the storage space for parcels. [7]

The station remained busy right up until the later years of the line. [20] In 1957, over 44,000 tons of goods were handled as well as 66,000 parcels. [20] 99,000 bales of blankets were dispatched by rail every year, [20] the main source of traffic. [14] After the withdrawal of services on the East Gloucestershire Railway, British Railways began deliberately running down the Witney Railway to ensure its closure; it offered the Witney Blanket Company a cheaper rate if it agreed to transfer its goods to road. [21] [22] Staff at the station was reduced to a single person as the service was cut back to a coal train on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and subsequently only Tuesdays and Fridays. [21] The sidings in the goods yard were lifted in Winter 1968, leaving the large goods shed and siding to fall derelict. [21] The remaining traffic was dealt with behind the station building or in the coal sidings. [21]

Witney goods station was closed along with the Witney Railway on 2 November 1970. [1] [2] [23] The last train to traverse the line was the "Witney Wanderer" on 31 October, but this did not actually enter the Witney terminus. [24] [22]

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Terminus  Great Western Railway
Witney Railway
  South Leigh
Line and station closed

Present day

The station building survived into the 1980s engulfed by an industrial estate constructed on the site of the former goods depot. [25] It was accidentally damaged in 1980 when a chimney stack was brought down after a tractor-mounted loading shovel became caught up in an electric cable attached to the chimney. [26] The station building was subsequently moved to Wallingford on the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. [27] [28] The goods yard, weighbridge and parcel shed continued to be used by Marriott's coal merchants until May 1995 when they were demolished and subsequently replaced by a Sainsbury's supermarket. [29] [30] [23]

The former goods shed was converted into a club known as "Sidings" which used a 1955 British Railways Mark 1 coach as its entrance. [31] Both the goods shed and the stationmaster's house remain. [23]

Related Research Articles

Winchcombe railway station

Winchcombe railway station serves Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, England, although it is actually located in the village of Greet. It is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon and which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906. The station closed to passengers in 1960, although the line itself remained open for freight and diversionary use until 1976, when a freight train derailed near Winchcombe and damaged the track.

Toddington railway station

Toddington railway station serves the village of Toddington in Gloucestershire, England. Since 1984 it has been the main base of operations for the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

Claydon railway station Disused railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

Claydon railway station is a former railway station on the 'Varsity Line', that served the village of Steeple Claydon in Buckinghamshire.

Swanbourne railway station Former railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

Swanbourne was a railway station that served the villages of Swanbourne, Little Horwood and Mursley in north Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the mothballed Bicester to Bletchley line, roughly at the centre of a triangle drawn between the three villages.

Alvescot railway station

Alvescot railway station was a railway station between the Oxfordshire villages of Alvescot and Black Bourton, in England. It was Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford.

The Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway was a single track railway branch line, 22 miles (35 km) long, in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. It was opened in succession by two companies, the first in 1861 to connect the important woollen town of Witney to the main line network, and the second in 1873 as the rump of an ambitious scheme to connect to Cheltenham, but which ran only between Witney and Fairford. The junction with the main line was at Yarnton, north of Oxford.

Olney was a railway station on the former Bedford to Northampton Line and Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway which served the town of Olney in Buckinghamshire, England. It was situated on a busy section of line between Towcester and Ravenstone Wood junction which saw heavy use by freight services running between Wales and north-east England. The station closed for passengers in 1962 and completely in 1964, the various connecting routes to the line having closed one by one from the 1950s onwards.

Cassington Halt railway station Former railway station in Oxfordshire, England

Cassington Halt was a single platform halt opened by the Great Western Railway on 9 March 1936 on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway to serve the village of Cassington, Oxfordshire, just south of the A40.

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.

South Leigh railway station Former railway station in Oxfordshire, England

South Leigh railway station was a single-platform station that served the Oxfordshire village of South Leigh on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Witney. The Witney Railway opened the station in 1861. British Railways closed the station to passengers in 1962 and to goods in 1965.

Witney railway station Former railway station in Oxfordshire, England

Witney railway station served the Oxfordshire town of Witney on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway line. It consisted of two stone-built platforms, a station building, a signal box, and a shed in the form of a pagoda.

Eynsham railway station Former railway station in Oxfordshire, England

Eynsham railway station served the Oxfordshire village of Eynsham and the Eynsham Sugar Beet Factory on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Witney.

Brize Norton and Bampton railway station Former railway station in Oxfordshire, England

Brize Norton and Bampton railway station was a railway station 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the village of Brize Norton on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford. The station had two stone-built platforms, a station building and a goods shed.

Carterton railway station (England)

Carterton railway station was a railway station just north of the village of Black Bourton on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford. The station had two stone-built platforms, a passing loop, and a concrete station building.

Kelmscott and Langford railway station

Kelmscott and Langford railway station was a railway station south of the village of Langford on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway, between Oxford and Fairford.

Lechlade railway station

Lechlade railway station served the small town of Lechlade in Gloucestershire, England. The station was on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway, between Oxford and Fairford, it was built where the line crossed the road to Burford, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of Lechlade.

Fairford railway station

Fairford railway station served the town of Fairford in Gloucestershire. It was the western terminus of the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford. It had one platform, and a stone-built station building.

Wappenham was a railway station on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) which served the Northamptonshire village of Wappenham between 1872 and 1951. Serving a relatively rural area, the station saw considerable goods traffic generated by local farming communities, but passenger traffic was low which ultimately led to its closure. The station marked the beginning of the years of decline of the line.

Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station

Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station was a station in the town of Cheltenham.

Willersey Halt railway station

Willersey Halt railway station served the village of Willersey, Gloucestershire, England between 1904 and 1960.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Butt (1995), p. 253.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Quick (2009), p. 416.
  3. 1 2 3 Jenkins (1985), p. 17.
  4. Jenkins (1985), pp. 91-92.
  5. Simpson (1997), p. 175.
  6. 1 2 Waters (1986), p. 25.
  7. 1 2 Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 48.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Jenkins (1985), p. 92.
  9. "Witney Junction". The Fairford Branch Line. Martin Loader. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  10. Simpson (1997), p. 177.
  11. Simpson (1997), p. 172.
  12. 1 2 Clark (1976), p. 176.
  13. Clinker (1988), p. 177, note 3795.
  14. 1 2 Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 44.
  15. Jenkins (1985), p. 32.
  16. Awdry (1990), p. 25.
  17. Jenkins (1985), p. 34.
  18. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), figs. 50-51.
  19. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 52.
  20. 1 2 3 Jenkins (1985), p. 109.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Jenkins (1985), p. 115.
  22. 1 2 Waters (1986), p. 28.
  23. 1 2 3 "Closure". The Witney & East Gloucestershire Railway. David M Howse. 11 February 2007. para. 2. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  24. Jenkins (1985), p. 119.
  25. Jenkins (1985), p. 147.
  26. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 54.
  27. Simpson (1997), p. 176.
  28. Stretton (2006), p. 86.
  29. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 49.
  30. Waters & Doyle (1992), p. 97.
  31. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 53.

Sources