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WITNEY PASSENGER |
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All evidence of Witney's passenger station has long since disappeared, the station building being one of the first on the line to be demolished, in January 1969. The site (SP356089) remained derelict for well over a decade before the present industrial development covered the site. Memories of happier times are evoked by Paul Strong's picture (below) of 0-6-0PTs 7404 & 7412 double-heading the 14:25 Fairford to Oxford service on 11 June 1962 - during the last week of passenger services. |
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Witney station eclipsed all other stations on the line in terms of passenger numbers. For example, in 1923 the station accounted for 40% of ticket sales on the line, and nearly 50% in terms of revenue. Admittedly this was before Cassington Halt and Carterton station had been opened, but even so this shows how important the station was. The town of Witney was by far the largest settlement on the route, and the facilities provided reflected this. The standard East Gloucestershire Railway station building was considerably enlarged in the 1920s by the addition of completely new section on the road side. This was skillfully done, and matched the original EGR building in terms of materials and style almost exactly. Witney was also the only station on the line to have the luxury of a platform canopy. |
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An interesting view of 57xx
0-6-0PT 9653 approaching Witney on 18 April 1961 with the 12:18
Oxford to Fairford train. In the background another pannier tank can
be seen heading a freight train from Witney Goods Station towards
Witney Junction. |
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This fine view, taken in July 1956, shows Witney
station looking neat and tidy in its final form, and before the dilapidation
that set in towards the end. On the left the water column stands in
front of the down platform waiting shelter, with its ornate lamp. On
the up platform, the station building and canopy can be clearly
seen, along with the signal box, and "pagoda" corrugated
iron shed. |
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74xx 0-6-0PT 7445 takes
water at Witney on 15 April 1962 with the 12:44 Oxford to
Fairford train, unbelievably the first down train of the day! As
can be seen in this and the previous picture, the water column
was latterly situated midway along the down platform, enabling
locomotives to take water prior to getting the right of way to
Bampton. Previously the water column had been situated past the
down starter signal, requiring locomotives to wait until an up
train had entered the station before being able to pull forward
to take water. |
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The East Gloucestershire Railway stations differed noticeably from those of the Witney Railway Company. Whereas the latter's station buildings were constructed cheaply of wood, the EGR chose a far more substantial stone structure as their standard design (although Alvescot was inexplicably the same design executed in brick). Witney station building underwent considerable changes during its life, with extensions nearly doubling the size of the original building. |
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An excellent Edwardian
view of Witney station, showing the station in its original
form. Note the original short canopy, covering only the
central part of the frontage, over the main doors. This view
clearly shows passengers waiting to board one of the
excursions that were popular at the beginning of the twentieth
century. An up train is about to leave, but presumably the
nine coach formation in the down platform is the excursion,
waiting to gain access to the up platform. The date could
possibly be 1908, in which case this is either a trip to
Plymouth or White City. |
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Witney station viewed from
the road bridge in the early 1960s. The amount of parcels traffic
handled can be gauged from the fact that virtually all the area
under the canopy is occupied with at least four full barrow loads.
The posters on the end of the building are extolling the delights
of Littlehampton and Norfolk. This view makes an interesting comparison
with the Edwardian view above. In addition to the lengthened canopy, note the addition of a skylight in the roof,
needed to increase lighting in the building after the construction
of the rear extension. |
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Crowds gather on the down platform on the
last day of passenger services, 16 June 1962. If only the line
had been this well patronised normally things might have been
very different, then again possibly not given the political
climate of the day. When looking at this and the similar view
above, it becomes obvious that while the station was only a
short walk from the town centre, it was still largely surrounded
by fields. |
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Witney station as seen from
the approach road in the early 1960s. This view clearly shows the
40 ft wide extension built in the 1920s to increase parcels accommodation
(it was certainly needed judging by the amount of parcels carried
even in the 1960s). As well
as the usual timetables and posters advertising cheap fares to
Oxford, the poster on the extreme left is advertising Sidmouth,
possibly for those planning a trip to the world famous folk
festival, then in its formative years. |
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The signalman walks back to
the box with the Brize Norton & Bampton to Witney token on 10
March 1956. This view from the 12:35 Fairford to Oxford train
shows a clear reflection of the signal box and pagoda hut in the
coach windows. The platform seat has just been repainted. Note the
paint pot near the nameboard, and the remains of a wooden packing
case with attached "wet paint" notice used to prevent
anybody inadvertently sitting on it. |
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From a similar viewpoint to
the above picture, we now see Witney Station shortly after
closure. The weeds have already started to gain a foothold, and
the windows of the pagoda hut have been boarded up. The severe
pruning the tree behind the hut received in the 1950s obviously
didn't affect it too much! |
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Witney station in the mid
1960s (probably 1963 or 1964) after the cessation of passenger services. The rails are
rusty, and vegetation has already started to swamp the down
platform. One of the nameboards has already been
"liberated", and some planks have fallen off the down
platform shelter. Otherwise, all the infrastructure is intact. Even
the signal box windows have so far escaped the attentions of the
vandals. There are signs of life however, as just visible in the
background, behind the group of photographers wandering along the
platform, a pannier tank can be seen working a freight train along
the goods branch. |
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By the summer of 1965 the signal box had lost its
roof and the weeds had grown higher, otherwise Witney station
remained in limbo. At this time of course, this was a common sight
replicated throughout the country, although in marked contrast to
today's railway scene, then it was often freight that lingered on
after the passenger service was withdrawn, as in the case of Witney.
In fact, the local area abounded in lines that continued either
partially or wholly as freight lines. The short Abingdon and
Wallingford branches remained opened over their whole length for
freight, the former lasting until 1984. A section of the Oxford to
Princes Risborough line is still in use as far as Morris Cowley, and
further south, the Lambourn Valley line remained open to Welford
Park until 1973 for USAF armaments traffic. |
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57xx class 0-6-0PT 9773 stands in the up platform at Witney whilst working a demolition train
in the mid 1960s. The low winter sun picks out details on the wagons standing
in the down platform, the shadows of the platform fencing also showing
clearly. The East Gloucestershire Railway was lifted during 1964/5 by
Thomas Ward & Co. Ltd, scrap dealers from Sheffield. The track was
lifted from the Fairford end of the line, with Lechlade becoming a
marshalling centre for trains of scrap. When Lechlade was dismantled,
the next station was used, eventually all the track being removed by
rail. |
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The train pictured above pulls out
of the up platform with its brake van. This picture is taken at
the eastern end of the loop, and shows another common feature of the
branch which can still be seen in numerous places today - a gate allowing
access to fields on either side of the line. |
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This early 1970s view shows Witney
station after the demolition of the buildings but before
Station Lane had been realigned. Note the undisturbed bushes
visible through the bridge, on what would shortly become the
new road. Over the next decade the remains of the station
gradually got less, with the removal of the down platform
and all the up platform edging happening shortly after this
picture was taken. The gentleman standing on the platform
with newspaper and umbrella clearly enjoys a joke! |
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Two views of the Witney
station site after demolition. On 9 February 1983, the classic
view from the bridge (above) shows that although industrial
buildings have already started to encroach, the actual site of
the trackbed is still undeveloped. In the distance the site of
Witney Junction and the A40 Witney by-pass can be seen. On 5
April 2006 (left), a large mail order company occupies one of the
modern units that stand on the former station site. |
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