The Uxbridge Branch Line was a railway line between West Drayton

West Drayton

West Drayton is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the far west of London, England. Formerly part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District of Middlesex, the district became part of Greater London in 1965....

 and Uxbridge

Uxbridge

Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...

. The line branched from the Great Western Main Line

Great Western Main Line

The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...

 at West Drayton

West Drayton railway station

West Drayton railway station is a railway station serving West Drayton, a western suburb of London, England. The station is served by local services operated by First Great Western from to stations.-History:...

 and ran two miles north to Uxbridge Vine Street

Uxbridge Vine Street railway station

Uxbridge Vine Street station opened on 8 September 1856 as Uxbridge Station and was the earliest of three railway stations in Uxbridge. It was the northern terminus of the Great Western Railway Uxbridge branch from the main line at...

.

History

Construction of the single track

Single track (rail)

A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....

 broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

 line began in 1854, and it opened to passengers in 1856. The track was relaid as standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

 in 1871 and doubled in 1880. The one intermediate station at Cowley

Cowley railway station

Cowley Railway Station was a station on the Uxbridge branch of the Great Western Railway in Cowley, London. It is now no longer open.The station was opened to serve the small settlement of Cowley. It opened in 1904, nearly fifty years after the rest of the line from West Drayton had been constructed...

 opened in 1904. The line was closed to passengers in 1962 and to freight in 1964, and the track was lifted except for a short stretch to the Middlesex Oil Works, which stayed open until 1979, and the section for freight access to the truncated Staines & West Drayton Railway

The stretch of land alongside Brunel University

Brunel University

Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....

where the track ran was sold by the local council upon the line's closure to the college as it was at the time, for £65,000.

Otherwise a short piece of track at Cowley is one of the few remaining traces of the railway .