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Banbury–Verney Junction branch line
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Banbury–Verney Junction branch line
The Banbury to Verney Junction branch line was a railway branch line constructed by the Buckinghamshire Railway which connected the Oxfordshire market town of Banbury with the former Oxford/Cambridge Varsity line and the former Metropolitan Railway at Verney Junction, a distance of 21 miles 39 chains (21.49 mi; 34.58 km). Onward routes from there ran to the West Coast Main Line at Bletchley via Brackley and Buckingham and thence to Cambridge, or to Aylesbury for London.
The line was promoted by the Buckinghamshire Railway which was formed in 1847 to construct two routes: one from Bletchley to Oxford, later known as the Varsity Line, and another to Banbury. The line to Banbury was opened in May 1850 and the Oxford section followed in October of the same year. The line was worked by the London and North Western Railway, which absorbed the Buckinghamshire Railway in 1879. In 1923, the London and North Western became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at the Grouping. The line became part of British Railways upon nationalisation on 1 January 1948. Increasing competition from motor transport and dwindling receipts after the Second World War led to the line being chosen in 1956 for an experiment with British Rail Derby Lightweight diesel multiple units in an attempt to stem the losses. Although the units were well-patronised, the deficit was not reduced sufficiently to justify keeping the line open. The section between Banbury and Buckingham closed on 2 January 1961, with the section Buckingham-Verney Junction abandoned on 5 December 1966. None of the station buildings have survived, although some sections of the line are now public footpaths.
The Buckinghamshire Railway was formed in 1847 to construct a line from Bletchley to Oxford, with a branch to Banbury from Bletchley. The scheme was designed to foil the Great Western Railway's (GWR) attempts to reach Birmingham. The Buckinghamshire Railway was backed by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) which provided £450,000 (equivalent to £51.9 million in 2023) towards costs. Construction began in July 1847, but financial difficulties meant that the single-track line from Bletchley to Banbury was only completed three years later on 30 March 1850; it opened to passengers on 1 May that year. Goods and coal traffic was accepted from 15 May 1850. The line to Oxford did not open throughout until 20 May 1851 and was later known as the Varsity Line.
The line's northern terminus at Merton Street in Banbury was a modest structure to the east of the GWR's own station. Originally intended as a temporary building, the station's timber construction gave the arriving passenger the feeling of arriving at a frontier and would not have been out of place on the Union Pacific Railroad. Intermediate stations were provided at Farthinghoe, Brackley and Buckingham. Services ran straight through to Bletchley until 1868 when Verney Junction was opened to create an interchange with the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway.
The original service provided four up and down trains, all worked by the LNWR, which had leased the line for 999 years from 1 July 1851, finally absorbing it in 1879. Most services from Bletchley to Oxford carried coaches for Banbury, although in some years the service terminated at Brackley. One or two services generally ran on Sundays, but these were not usually part of an Oxford service. From 1905, four services were running from Bletchley to Banbury, with one additional train terminating at Brackley. By 1920, an additional Brackley service had been laid on. Between 1901 and 1916 a through service from Euston operated, which slipped a coach at Bletchley in the down direction. This practice was restored after the 1923 grouping, though initially the coach slipped only ran as far as Buckingham.
Farthinghoe became a junction station on 1 June 1872 with the opening of the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway, which joined the branch at Cockley Brake and allowed connections to Towcester, Blisworth and Stratford. The 5.5 mi (8.9 km) section from Banbury to Cockley Brake was to become the busiest part of the line. New stations opened at Padbury in March 1878 and Fulwell & Westbury in August 1879.
Passenger traffic was relatively light and peaked just before the First World War, although the LNWR tried to develop with specials and excursion trains. In 1889, a special service ran to Quainton Road from Buckingham upon the death of the third Duke of Buckingham for mourners to attend the funeral at Wotton. Another was operated in 1894 upon the death of the Comte de Paris who had rented Stowe House. Stowe House was later to bring new traffic to the line when it became Stowe School in 1923 and special trains brought the boys to and from the school. In the same year, the LNWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway upon the railway grouping.
Freight consisted mainly of agricultural produce, milk and cattle for Banbury where there was a market next to Merton Street station. Ironstone was also carried from Wroxton via the Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway and the GWR's Banbury station; coal and building materials were also transported.
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Banbury–Verney Junction branch line
The Banbury to Verney Junction branch line was a railway branch line constructed by the Buckinghamshire Railway which connected the Oxfordshire market town of Banbury with the former Oxford/Cambridge Varsity line and the former Metropolitan Railway at Verney Junction, a distance of 21 miles 39 chains (21.49 mi; 34.58 km). Onward routes from there ran to the West Coast Main Line at Bletchley via Brackley and Buckingham and thence to Cambridge, or to Aylesbury for London.
The line was promoted by the Buckinghamshire Railway which was formed in 1847 to construct two routes: one from Bletchley to Oxford, later known as the Varsity Line, and another to Banbury. The line to Banbury was opened in May 1850 and the Oxford section followed in October of the same year. The line was worked by the London and North Western Railway, which absorbed the Buckinghamshire Railway in 1879. In 1923, the London and North Western became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at the Grouping. The line became part of British Railways upon nationalisation on 1 January 1948. Increasing competition from motor transport and dwindling receipts after the Second World War led to the line being chosen in 1956 for an experiment with British Rail Derby Lightweight diesel multiple units in an attempt to stem the losses. Although the units were well-patronised, the deficit was not reduced sufficiently to justify keeping the line open. The section between Banbury and Buckingham closed on 2 January 1961, with the section Buckingham-Verney Junction abandoned on 5 December 1966. None of the station buildings have survived, although some sections of the line are now public footpaths.
The Buckinghamshire Railway was formed in 1847 to construct a line from Bletchley to Oxford, with a branch to Banbury from Bletchley. The scheme was designed to foil the Great Western Railway's (GWR) attempts to reach Birmingham. The Buckinghamshire Railway was backed by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) which provided £450,000 (equivalent to £51.9 million in 2023) towards costs. Construction began in July 1847, but financial difficulties meant that the single-track line from Bletchley to Banbury was only completed three years later on 30 March 1850; it opened to passengers on 1 May that year. Goods and coal traffic was accepted from 15 May 1850. The line to Oxford did not open throughout until 20 May 1851 and was later known as the Varsity Line.
The line's northern terminus at Merton Street in Banbury was a modest structure to the east of the GWR's own station. Originally intended as a temporary building, the station's timber construction gave the arriving passenger the feeling of arriving at a frontier and would not have been out of place on the Union Pacific Railroad. Intermediate stations were provided at Farthinghoe, Brackley and Buckingham. Services ran straight through to Bletchley until 1868 when Verney Junction was opened to create an interchange with the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway.
The original service provided four up and down trains, all worked by the LNWR, which had leased the line for 999 years from 1 July 1851, finally absorbing it in 1879. Most services from Bletchley to Oxford carried coaches for Banbury, although in some years the service terminated at Brackley. One or two services generally ran on Sundays, but these were not usually part of an Oxford service. From 1905, four services were running from Bletchley to Banbury, with one additional train terminating at Brackley. By 1920, an additional Brackley service had been laid on. Between 1901 and 1916 a through service from Euston operated, which slipped a coach at Bletchley in the down direction. This practice was restored after the 1923 grouping, though initially the coach slipped only ran as far as Buckingham.
Farthinghoe became a junction station on 1 June 1872 with the opening of the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway, which joined the branch at Cockley Brake and allowed connections to Towcester, Blisworth and Stratford. The 5.5 mi (8.9 km) section from Banbury to Cockley Brake was to become the busiest part of the line. New stations opened at Padbury in March 1878 and Fulwell & Westbury in August 1879.
Passenger traffic was relatively light and peaked just before the First World War, although the LNWR tried to develop with specials and excursion trains. In 1889, a special service ran to Quainton Road from Buckingham upon the death of the third Duke of Buckingham for mourners to attend the funeral at Wotton. Another was operated in 1894 upon the death of the Comte de Paris who had rented Stowe House. Stowe House was later to bring new traffic to the line when it became Stowe School in 1923 and special trains brought the boys to and from the school. In the same year, the LNWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway upon the railway grouping.
Freight consisted mainly of agricultural produce, milk and cattle for Banbury where there was a market next to Merton Street station. Ironstone was also carried from Wroxton via the Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway and the GWR's Banbury station; coal and building materials were also transported.