Winslow railway station

Platforms1HistoryOriginal companyBuckinghamshire RailwayPre-groupingLondon and North Western RailwayPost-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
London Midland Region of British RailwaysKey dates1 May 1850Opened22 May 1967Closed to goods traffic1 January 1968Closed to regular passengersMay 1993closed completelyLocation

Winslow railway station refers to either one of two railway stations which historically served or is planned to serve, the town of Winslow in north Buckinghamshire, England. The original station (1850–1968) was on the former Varsity Line between Cambridge and Oxford. As of August 2023^[update], construction of a new station nears completion and is scheduled to be served by East West Rail, as part of the plan to reinstate the Oxford–Cambridge service.^[1]

First station

v t e Varsity Line
Legend
Cherwell Valley line to Didcot Oxford Rewley Road Oxford Sheepwash Channel Port Meadow Halt Cotswold line to Hereford Oxford Canal Cherwell Valley line to Banbury Wolvercote Halt Wolvercote tunnel Bucks Jn Rly Oxford Road Halt Oxford Parkway Islip Oddington Halt Charlton Halt Wendlebury Halt Bicester Military Rly Bicester London Road Bicester chord GWR to High Wycombe GWR Bicester cut-off to Banbury Launton Marsh Gibbon and Poundon GCML to Aylesbury GCML to Rugby Central Claydon curve Freight traffic reversing siding Claydon Banbury–Verney Jn line to Banbury Verney Junction Metropolitan Rly to Aylesbury Winslow Swanbourne WCML to Euston Swanbourne Siding Bletchley Flyover Bletchley WCML to Milton Keynes C. Bletchley TMD Fenny Stratford Grand Union Canal Bow Brickhill Woburn Sands Aspley Guise Husborne Crawley Marston Vale line Ridgmont Lidlington Millbrook Stewartby Wootton Broadmead Kempston Hardwick Midland Main Line to St Pancras Kempston & Elstow Bedford–Hitchin line to Hitchin Bedford St Johns Bedford St Johns (former) Bedford Willington Midland Main Line to Leicester Blunham River Ivel Girtford Halt ECML to Peterborough Sandy curve Sandy ECML to Hitchin Potton Gamlingay Old North Road Lord's Bridge Mullard Observatory Cambridge line to Hitchin WAML to London Cambridge Ipswich–Ely line to Ipswich GER to Mildenhall GER to St Ives Fen line to King's Lynn

Early days

Winslow was opened by the Buckinghamshire Railway on 1 May 1850^[2][3] as part of its line from Banbury to Bletchley.^[4][5][6] The line was worked from the outset by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) which absorbed the Buckinghamshire Railway in 1879.^[5][4][7][8] The line was subsequently extended westwards to Islip, to a temporary station at Banbury Road and then to Oxford, opening throughout on 20 May 1851.^{[5][9][7][10][8]} Winslow station was centrally situated at the end of Station Road which branches off from the High Street,^[11] serving Winslow, which comprised 1,805 inhabitants at the time.^[12][11] The coming of the railway had a significant impact on the village, resulting in its northward extension and the opening of a "Railway Inn".^[13]

Winslow was regarded as an important station on the line, for it was the place where westbound trains for the Banbury Merton Street branch line or for Oxford were joined and divided in the early years, even after the opening of Verney Junction (where the lines actually divided).^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]} Passenger facilities were provided on each platform which were more generous than those found elsewhere on the line.^[18] Architecturally, the brick station resembled the stone structure provided at Bicester Town, particularly its twin symmetrical gables covered by ridge tiles and its portico.^[20][21] A stationhouse was also provided for the stationmaster and this was situated just beyond the main station building and arranged around a circular driveway at the centre of which was a large horse chestnut tree.^[20][22] A coal yard lay to the east of the station, while a goods yard was provided to the west.^[23] Winslow Gasworks opened in 1880 on a site immediately to the south of the coal yard; it received up to 1000 tons of coal annually via the yard, although it was not rail-connected.^[23][11] The station was lit by gas until the trains cease to call.^[24]

A typical LNWR goods shed was constructed in the goods yard and contained a crane with a 5-ton capacity.^[25] Like Bicester, Winslow had its own signal box with 34 levers which controlled the section between Verney Junction and Bletchley No. 1 box.^[11][26] Two water columns - the only ones between Bletchley and Oxford - supplied water to locomotives, these tanks taking their supply from a large 70,000 imperial gallons (320,000 litres) iron water tower which pumped water from a nearby brook.^[11][24][6] The columns, which had been manufactured by Edward Bury, may have pre-dated the station itself.^[18] Beneath the water tower was a brick engine house and boiler room which also served as accommodation for an LNWR engine driver.^[11][13] Until 1907 there was a long refuge siding trailing off the Up main line behind the Up platform which allowed freight trains stopping to take water to allow a following passenger train to pass.^[24][23][18] A second siding from the Up main line further to the west led to a turntable; this had been removed by 1925.^[23] Three further sidings trailed from the Down line; two for coal and one serving a separate side end loading dock for horses.^[18] A final siding served a milk dock at the rear of the Up platform.^[18]

Closure

In the wake of the abandonment of a plan to develop the Varsity Line as a freight link from the East Coast ports to South Wales, including a marshalling yard near Swanbourne, Winslow station was listed for closure in the Beeching report^[27] which called for the closure of all minor stations on the line.^[28] This followed the introduction of diesel trains in an attempt to reduce operating costs after a failed proposal to close the line, which had been put forward in 1959 but successfully resisted by local authorities.^[28][29] With the line's expenses amounting to £199,700 against a revenue of £102,200 in 1964,^[28] Winslow duly closed to goods traffic on 22 May 1967^[30] and to passengers on 1 January 1968;^[2][3] the signal box followed one month later.^[26] The delay in closure was the result of replacement bus services not being able to handle the projected extra traffic.^[28][29] The line between Oxford and Bletchley was closed to passengers and local goods services,^[28][31] and later singled in 1985.^[32]

Winslow station continued to be used during the 1980s for "Chiltern Shopper" specials and British Rail handbills survive which show that services called at the station during November and December between 1984 and 1986.^[3] The station building, which was by then in a very derelict state, survived long enough to see the first visit of a Class 43 on 13 February 1993, but was demolished very shortly afterwards.^[33][34] The line between Claydon and Bletchley through Winslow was closed and mothballed in May 1993 following the closure of the ARC stone terminal at Wolverton which had provided the line's last source of traffic.^[35] The last train over the section was a Class 56 railtour called "The Mothball" which ran on 29 May 1993 from Waterloo to Bletchley via Winslow.^[35] Winslow station site was later developed for housing,^[36] (Comerford Way and McLernon Way).

New station

A new station is being built for Winslow as part of the East West Rail project which is to re-establish the route between Oxford and Cambridge; the station is "scheduled for completion of testing and commissioning in 2024".^[1]

The new station is located at the western outskirts of the town, at the junction of Buckingham Road (A413) with Horwood Road (B4033) at grid reference SP766283.^[37] Groundworks began on the site in Summer 2021, with drainage improvements and reshaping of the cutting.^[38]

When the line opens, Winslow will have direct trains to Oxford, Milton Keynes Central and Bedford.^[39] The journey time from Winslow to Oxford is estimated at 27 minutes.^[39]

Aylesbury connection

In March 2021, the East West Rail Company announced that its opening plans for East West Rail have changed, notably deferring indefinitely a connection to Aylesbury.^[40]

Services

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Verney Junction Line and station closed		British Rail Varsity Line		Swanbourne Line and station closed
	Future services
Bicester Village towards Oxford		East West Rail Oxford-Milton Keynes Central/Bedford		Bletchley towards Bedford or Milton Keynes Central

v t e East West Rail
Legend
Cherwell Valley line to Didcot & Reading Oxford Cherwell Valley line to Banbury Oxford Parkway Islip Bicester Military Rly Bicester Village Western Section Phase 1 Phase 2 Chiltern Mainline HS2 to Euston HS2 to Birmingham Interchange London–Aylesbury line to Marylebone Aylesbury Aylesbury Vale Parkway Winslow West Coast Main Line to Euston Bletchley Flyover Bletchley Fenny Stratford Milton Keynes Central Bow Brickhill West Coast Main Line to Glasgow Central Woburn Sands Aspley Guise Ridgmont Not all stations between Bletchley and Bedford are expected to be served by East West Rail services[41] Lidlington Millbrook Stewartby Kempston Hardwick Midland Main Line to St Pancras Bedford St Johns Bedford Western Section Central Section Midland Main Line to Sheffield East Coast Main Line to Sandy & King's Cross Tempsford or St Neots South [nb 1] East Coast Main Line to St Neots & Edinburgh Cambourne Cambridge line to Hitchin West Anglia Main Line to Liverpool Street Cambridge South[nb 2] Cambridge Central Section Eastern Section Dullingham Cambridge North Newmarket Waterbeach Ipswich–Ely line (not to be used by EWR) Kennett Ely Bury St Edmunds Ely–Peterborough line Fen Line to King's Lynn Thurston Shippea Hill Lakenheath Elmswell Brandon Thetford Not all stations between Cambridge and Great Yarmouth are expected to be served by East West Rail services[41] Harling Road Eccles Road Attleborough Spooner Row Wymondham Great Eastern Main Line (not to be used by EWR) Stowmarket Needham Market Norwich East Suffolk line to Felixstowe branch line Bittern Line Ipswich Brundall Gardens Mayflower line to Harwich Town Brundall Manningtree Great Eastern Main Line Lingwood Acle Great Yarmouth
^ New station with location and final name to be decided ^ New station not directly linked to EWR scheme

References

Bibliography

External links

• Disused Stations: Winslow
• Ordnance Survey (1952). "Buckinghamshire XIX.SW (includes: Addington; Granborough; Swanbourne; Winslow" (Map). OS Six-inch England and Wales, 1842-1952. 1:10,560. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
• "Artist's impression of new station". East West Rail Alliance (copyright).

51°56′58″N 0°52′48″W / 51.9495°N 0.88°W / 51.9495; -0.88