Witney railway station

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Coordinates: 51°46′38″N 1°29′07″W / 51.77725°N 1.48540°W / 51.77725; -1.48540
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Witney
East Gloucestershire Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
15 January 1873 (1873-01-15)Opened
18 June 1962Closed to passengers
c. 1965Closed to goods

Witney railway station served the Oxfordshire town of Witney on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway line.[1] It consisted of two stone-built platforms, a station building, a signal box, and a shed in the form of a pagoda.

History

The

East Gloucestershire Railway opened a 14-mile-10-chain (22.7 km) extension of the line to Fairford on 14 January 1873,[4] a new station was opened to the south of the first station.[5][2][3] This was situated 200 yards (180 m) to the east of Witney Goods Junction where the new line branched away from the Witney Railway just before the former terminus.[6][7] Left on a short spur line, the old terminus was closed to passenger traffic,[2][3] but remained in use as a goods station.[8][9][10]

Station looking eastwards in June 1962.

The new station was a

King George VI arrived at the station on the Royal Train to inspect troops stationed in the Witney area.[19]

In 1957, it handled 44,000 tons of goods and 66,000 parcels which helped maintain the line in operation during the years prior to its closure.[20] However, only 7,000 passengers were booked during the same period.[21] In the early 1960s, with the gradual transfer of traffic to road and the decline of key industries which had used the railway, the line was unable to justify its existence on the basis of passenger receipts alone.[22] On 18 June 1962, the East Gloucestershire Railway was closed throughout and Witney station closed to passengers.[2][3][23] The track on the former East Gloucestershire line was lifted to a point to the east of the Emma's Dyke bridge, which provided an adequate headshunt for the nearby loading dock.[24]

Full closure of the station followed in c. 1965 together with the redundancy of 13 railway workers.[25] The track through the station was lifted in Winter 1968[25] and the station building was demolished in January 1969.[26] The first Witney station closed to goods on 2 November 1970,[27] the same day on which the line was closed throughout.[28][29]


Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Brize Norton and Bampton
Line and station closed 		 
East Gloucestershire Railway
   South Leigh
Line and station closed

Present day and future

After remaining derelict for over a decade, the site was redeveloped as an industrial estate.[30][31]

The station has been proposed for reopening, mainly on a site to the south of the town with a potential park and ride scheme, as part of a wider project to restore the railway to Carterton via Witney and Eynsham.[32][33]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Conolly (1976), p. 10, section E5.
  2. ^ a b c d Butt (1995), p. 253.
  3. ^ a b c d Quick (2009), p. 416.
  4. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 33.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), map opposite fig. 43.
  6. ^ Simpson (1997), p. 172.
  7. ^ "Witney Junction". The Fairford Branch Line. Martin Loader. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  8. ^ Simpson (1997), p. 175.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 44.
  10. ^ a b Waters (1986), p. 25.
  11. ^ Clark (1976), Witney.
  12. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 34.
  13. ^ Awdry (1990), pp. 25, 52.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 58.
  15. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), figs. 63-65.
  16. ^ a b c Jenkins (1985), p. 91.
  17. ^ Stretton (2006), p. 87.
  18. ^ Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), p. 61.
  19. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 69.
  20. ^ Waters (1986), p. 27.
  21. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 109.
  22. ^ Waters (1986), pp. 27–28.
  23. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 112.
  24. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 114.
  25. ^ a b Jenkins (1985), p. 115.
  26. ^ Jenkins (1985), pp. 120, 147.
  27. ^ Clinker (1988), p. 151.
  28. ^ Jenkins (1985), p. 120.
  29. ^ Ffrench, Andrew (13 February 2023). "Passenger trains came to a halt in Witney". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  30. ^ "Witney (Passenger)". The Fairford Branch Line. Martin Loader. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  31. ^ Waters & Doyle (1992), p. 98.
  32. ^ Miranda Norris (2 February 2022). "Campaigners welcome fresh hope for Oxford to Witney railway". Witney Gazette. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  33. ^ "About Witney Oxford Transport Group". Witney Oxford Transport Group. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

Sources

External links

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