Welcome to my Fairford Branch Line website. I hope this site will bring back memories for anyone that knew the line in its heyday and give a flavour of what it was like for those too young to remember it. Although I have included a brief history, more details can be found in the books listed in the selected bibliography. To give an indication of how traffic patterns changed over time I have also included passenger timetables from 1861, 1899, 1908, 1937, 1950 & 1960 (in Adobe Acrobat format). The site is laid out to assist anyone who wants to investigate the course of the line today. Although most of the buildings have gone, numerous bridges survive and the actual trackbed is mostly still intact. I have combined historic pictures with a series of photos I took in 1979/80 when I walked the entire length of the line and much of interest still remained. Ordnance Survey map references are given, along with details of public access. Also included are selected present day pictures. In addition, I have included a selection of tickets & ephemera, final railtours, track & gradient plans and pictures of a Fairford station model.  If you have any comments please E-Mail me, it would be very interesting to hear from people who have recollections of the line. Although it may seem strange that a website about a long closed branch line would ever need updating, I am sure new material and information will continue to come to light from various sources. Please click here for a list of updates. To visit other related websites, please visit the Links page.

What remains today? Recent years have seen the removal of most of the buildings associated with the line, however of the eighteen road overbridges, twelve survive, which is surprising considering the poor build quality of the EGR examples. There were only two occupation underbridges on the line, both of which survive (although in-filled). Most of the bridges over rivers and streams still survive, including the impressive River Evenlode bridge. Despite the best efforts of local farmers at assimilating the line into their fields, the majority of the trackbed survives and certain sections are now public rights of way. Please note that description of various features does not indicate a public right of access, however all vantage points and footpath crossings are mentioned. 

GWR 0-6-0PT No.9653 was one of the line's regular locomotives in the last years, and indeed worked the last trains. It is pictured here at Witney with the 13:50 Fairford to Oxford working on 17 April 1959. 
Martin Loader Collection