Cheddington to Aylesbury Line
Encyclopedia
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The Cheddington to Aylesbury Line, sometimes referred as the Aylesbury Railway was a railway line between the village of Cheddington
Cheddington
Cheddington is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. The parish has an area of . The village is about 5 miles north-east of Aylesbury and three miles north of Tring in Hertfordshire...
and the major town of Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. The line had one intermediate station at Marston Gate and 4 level crossings. The line formed a junction
Junction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
with the LNWR mainline at Cheddington. The Aylesbury Railway was independent, but was operated by the LNWR. A few years later it was absorbed fully into the LNWR. and the line is regarded as the world's first branch railway line. The terminus at Aylesbury was in the High Street and made no connection to the other railways in Aylesbury. The line was completed in 1839 and closed to passengers in 1953. It fully closed in 1964. The main reason for the closure of the line was mainly due to competition from the other 3 railway companies (LNER
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
, GWR
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, MR
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
) operating from Aylesbury Town
Aylesbury railway station
Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England and is a major stop on the London to Aylesbury Line from Marylebone station via Amersham. It is 37.75 miles from Aylesbury Station to Marylebone Station...
station. These three train companies all operated trains to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
while the LNWR could not as the line went north towards Cheddington instead of south towards London.
Until the late 19th century, the line was heavily used for the transportation of the famous Aylesbury duck
Aylesbury duck
The Aylesbury duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance. It is a large duck with pure white plumage, a pink bill, orange legs and feet, an unusually large keel, and a horizontal stance with its body parallel to the ground...
from Aylesbury to London markets.