Winchcombe railway station
Encyclopedia
Winchcombe railway station serves Winchcombe
in Gloucestershire
, England
, although it is actually located in the village of Greet. It is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked and and which was opened by the Great Western Railway
in 1906. The station closed to passengers in 1960, although the line itself remained open for freight and diversionary use until 1976, when a freight train derailed near Winchcombe and damaged the track. By the late 1970s, the line had been dismantled. The stretch between and , including Winchcombe, has since been reconstructed and reopened by the heritage
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
. A new station has been erected at Winchcombe, on the site of the original building, the building being the former station at . Nearby is the 693 yd (633.7 m) Greet Tunnel, the second longest on any preserved line in Britain.
on 9 July 1859. The Great Western Railway
acquired the OW&W in 1883 with a view to combining it with the Birmingham to Stratford Line
to create a high-speed route from the Midlands
to the South West
.
Winchcombe was opened on 1 February 1905. It is situated close to the small village of Greet but ¾-mile to the north of Winchcombe
. Two 400 ft (121.9 m) facing platforms were provided; the original station building built of red brick on a plinth of blue brick was situated on the Down platform. A verandah canopy, similar to that at , extended from the front of the building to a covered footbridge linking the two platforms. On the Up platform was a passenger waiting shelter and gentleman's lavatory. The goods yard lay on the south-eastern side of the station and comprised cattle pens, a goods shed
, weighbridge and 6-ton crane
. A brick-built 31-lever signal box
controlled access to the yard, while a 50-wagon Up refuge siding
led to the rear of the Up platform. As with , the station was lit by acetylene lamp
s with the gas hut situated behind the weighhouse.
From February 1905 to June 1906, Winchcombe was the southern terminus of the line and buses to Cheltenham were provided pending the extension south. From June 1906, eight local services each way ran between Honeybourne and . The completion of the North Warwickshire Line in July 1908 saw the first through services from to . By 1938, nine Down and ten Up services ran daily, with three on Sundays. Traffic receipts for 1913 showed that 21,824 passengers had been carried, representing £1,436 in fares collected (or £ as of ), whilst 11,828 tons of goods traffic had been handled (mainly coal/coke and livestock), giving a total income of £5,837 (or £ as of ). By 1933, both of these figures had fallen: receipts to £4,436 (or £ as of ) and goods tonnage to 8,320. The Second World War however saw tonnage peak at 17,045, with the bulk of it consisting in agricultural machinery, fertilisers and foodstuffs.
Winchcombe closed to passenger traffic on 7 March 1960, the distance between the town and its station contributing to its demise. The goods yard remained open for a further four years until 2 November 1964. By March 1965, the station site had been levelled, leaving only the weighhouse, goods shed and residential accommodation. The signal box remained in operation until 24 February 1965, shortly after which it was demolished. The line remained open to goods and diversionary traffic until 25 August 1976 when the 06.35 Toton to derailed at a point east of the bridge carrying the B4632 road linking Winchcombe and Toddington over the line. The incident prompted British Rail
to announce the line's closure.
reopened the line between Toddington and Winchcombe on 2 August 1987. A signal box was obtained from and rebuilt on the foundations of the original structure, with the 37-lever frame
coming from Honeybourne West Loop Box. The former Great Western Railway station building at was dismantled stone-by-stone and re-erected at Winchcombe in 1986. The platform slabs came from and Cheltenham St James. Bidirectional signalling has been installed as has a passing loop
through the station, which has been operational since 12 July 1997.
Winchcombe
Winchcombe is a Cotswold town in the local authority district of Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, England. Its population according to the 2001 census was 4,379.-Early history:...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, although it is actually located in the village of Greet. It is located on the Honeybourne Line which linked and and which was opened by the Great Western Railway
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...
in 1906. The station closed to passengers in 1960, although the line itself remained open for freight and diversionary use until 1976, when a freight train derailed near Winchcombe and damaged the track. By the late 1970s, the line had been dismantled. The stretch between and , including Winchcombe, has since been reconstructed and reopened by the heritage
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
. A new station has been erected at Winchcombe, on the site of the original building, the building being the former station at . Nearby is the 693 yd (633.7 m) Greet Tunnel, the second longest on any preserved line in Britain.
History
The Honeybourne Line from to Cheltenham via was opened by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton RailwayOxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway was a company authorised on 4 August 1845 to construct a railway line from the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Wolvercot Junction to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley, and Wolverhampton, with a branch to the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury...
on 9 July 1859. The Great Western Railway
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...
acquired the OW&W in 1883 with a view to combining it with the Birmingham to Stratford Line
Birmingham to Stratford Line
The Birmingham to Stratford Line, also known as the North Warwickshire Line is a commuter railway line predominantly in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom...
to create a high-speed route from the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
to the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
.
Winchcombe was opened on 1 February 1905. It is situated close to the small village of Greet but ¾-mile to the north of Winchcombe
Winchcombe
Winchcombe is a Cotswold town in the local authority district of Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire, England. Its population according to the 2001 census was 4,379.-Early history:...
. Two 400 ft (121.9 m) facing platforms were provided; the original station building built of red brick on a plinth of blue brick was situated on the Down platform. A verandah canopy, similar to that at , extended from the front of the building to a covered footbridge linking the two platforms. On the Up platform was a passenger waiting shelter and gentleman's lavatory. The goods yard lay on the south-eastern side of the station and comprised cattle pens, a goods shed
Goods shed
A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...
, weighbridge and 6-ton crane
Crane (railroad)
A railroad crane, is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary uses: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way maintenance, and accident recovery work...
. A brick-built 31-lever signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
controlled access to the yard, while a 50-wagon Up refuge siding
Rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
led to the rear of the Up platform. As with , the station was lit by acetylene lamp
Acetylene Lamp
For the lighting device, see Acetylene lamp, also known as Drake, is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka who recurrently appears in his works, usually in a villainous role.-Description:...
s with the gas hut situated behind the weighhouse.
From February 1905 to June 1906, Winchcombe was the southern terminus of the line and buses to Cheltenham were provided pending the extension south. From June 1906, eight local services each way ran between Honeybourne and . The completion of the North Warwickshire Line in July 1908 saw the first through services from to . By 1938, nine Down and ten Up services ran daily, with three on Sundays. Traffic receipts for 1913 showed that 21,824 passengers had been carried, representing £1,436 in fares collected (or £ as of ), whilst 11,828 tons of goods traffic had been handled (mainly coal/coke and livestock), giving a total income of £5,837 (or £ as of ). By 1933, both of these figures had fallen: receipts to £4,436 (or £ as of ) and goods tonnage to 8,320. The Second World War however saw tonnage peak at 17,045, with the bulk of it consisting in agricultural machinery, fertilisers and foodstuffs.
Winchcombe closed to passenger traffic on 7 March 1960, the distance between the town and its station contributing to its demise. The goods yard remained open for a further four years until 2 November 1964. By March 1965, the station site had been levelled, leaving only the weighhouse, goods shed and residential accommodation. The signal box remained in operation until 24 February 1965, shortly after which it was demolished. The line remained open to goods and diversionary traffic until 25 August 1976 when the 06.35 Toton to derailed at a point east of the bridge carrying the B4632 road linking Winchcombe and Toddington over the line. The incident prompted British Rail
Western Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...
to announce the line's closure.
Present day
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire RailwayGloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway on the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire/Warwickshire Borders that has reopened the closed railway line between Laverton Halt and Cheltenham Racecourse railway stations in Gloucestershire/Worcestershire., it currently...
reopened the line between Toddington and Winchcombe on 2 August 1987. A signal box was obtained from and rebuilt on the foundations of the original structure, with the 37-lever frame
Lever frame
Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control...
coming from Honeybourne West Loop Box. The former Great Western Railway station building at was dismantled stone-by-stone and re-erected at Winchcombe in 1986. The platform slabs came from and Cheltenham St James. Bidirectional signalling has been installed as has a passing loop
Passing loop
A passing loop is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at a station, where trains or trams in opposing directions can pass each other. Trains/trams in the same direction can also overtake, providing that the signalling arrangement allows it...
through the station, which has been operational since 12 July 1997.