Yarnton railway station
Encyclopedia
Yarnton Junction was a three platform station serving the village of Yarnton
, Oxfordshire. It was built in 1861 at the junction of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
and Witney Railway north of Oxford
.
British Rail
ways closed the station to passengers in 1962. It was demolished circa 1965.
(colloquially known as the Yarnton Loop) was opened creating a junction at Yarnton (then called Buckingham Junction), but no station was provided. The BJR enabled trains from the OW&WR to run onto the London and North Western Railway
's line to Bletchley and from there to London Euston
. Handborough Station
was the interchange for the new line. The OW&WR planned a “grand new interchange station” at Yarnton but it was never built.
On 13 November 1861 The Witney Railway Company opened a branch line from Yarnton to Witney
. The East Gloucestershire Railway extended this line to Fairford
in 1873. As part of the new line a junction station was provided at Yarnton, but not opened until the summer of 1863. The station had no road access although pedestrians could reach it by a footpath from Yarnton village. A house was provided for the railwayman in charge of the station. It was unusual in that it was built right next to the main line tracks. The house was demolished around 1935. The station also possessed a waiting shelter with unusually ornate ironwork.
During the Second World War
exchange sidings, a turntable and shunters accommodation were built, coming into use on 5 May 1941 to handle wartime traffic.
On 18 June 1962 British Rail
ways withdrew passenger services from the Fairford branch and closed Yarnton Junction. BR closed the loop line on 8 November 1965.
es were in use by the 1880s, these were “Yarnton, Oxford Road Junction” and “Yarnton, Witney Junction”. These were replaced on 13 June 1909 by a single box. This was a power signalling box which did not rely on the signalman's muscle power to operate points and signals. 120V motors were used with signals being held in the “off” position by electromagnets. 50 miniature levers were provided in the box to operate the points and signals. The frame was constructed by McKenzie and Holland at a cost of £2,800. This was the second power signalling installation on the GWR and lasted for twenty years until replaced by a conventional mechanical signalling system on 30 July 1929. The signal box finally closed on 28 March 1971.
Yarnton
Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford and southeast of Woodstock.-Archaeology:Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the parish...
, Oxfordshire. It was built in 1861 at the junction of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
Oxford, 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...
and Witney Railway north of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways closed the station to passengers in 1962. It was demolished circa 1965.
History
When the Oxford Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway was opened in 1853 there was no station at Yarnton. On 1 April 1854 the Buckinghamshire Junction RailwayBuckinghamshire Junction Railway
The Buckinghamshire Junction Railway was a standard gauge railway between Buckingham Junction on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and Oxford Road Junction on the Buckinghamshire Railway...
(colloquially known as the Yarnton Loop) was opened creating a junction at Yarnton (then called Buckingham Junction), but no station was provided. The BJR enabled trains from the OW&WR to run onto the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
's line to Bletchley and from there to London Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
. Handborough Station
Hanborough railway station
Hanborough railway station is a railway station serving the village of Long Hanborough in Oxfordshire, England. As a result of the Cotswold Line being singled the former up platform is the only one now in use for both up and down trains...
was the interchange for the new line. The OW&WR planned a “grand new interchange station” at Yarnton but it was never built.
On 13 November 1861 The Witney Railway Company opened a branch line from Yarnton to Witney
Witney railway station
Witney railway station served the Oxfordshire town of Witney on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway line. It consisted of two stone-built platforms, a station building, a signal box, and a shed in the form of a pagoda.-History:...
. The East Gloucestershire Railway extended this line to Fairford
Fairford railway station
Fairford railway station served the town of Fairford in Gloucestershire. It was the western terminus of the East Gloucestershire Railway line from . It had one platform, and a stone-built station building.-Background:...
in 1873. As part of the new line a junction station was provided at Yarnton, but not opened until the summer of 1863. The station had no road access although pedestrians could reach it by a footpath from Yarnton village. A house was provided for the railwayman in charge of the station. It was unusual in that it was built right next to the main line tracks. The house was demolished around 1935. The station also possessed a waiting shelter with unusually ornate ironwork.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
exchange sidings, a turntable and shunters accommodation were built, coming into use on 5 May 1941 to handle wartime traffic.
On 18 June 1962 British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways withdrew passenger services from the Fairford branch and closed Yarnton Junction. BR closed the loop line on 8 November 1965.
Signalling
Two signal boxSignal 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...
es were in use by the 1880s, these were “Yarnton, Oxford Road Junction” and “Yarnton, Witney Junction”. These were replaced on 13 June 1909 by a single box. This was a power signalling box which did not rely on the signalman's muscle power to operate points and signals. 120V motors were used with signals being held in the “off” position by electromagnets. 50 miniature levers were provided in the box to operate the points and signals. The frame was constructed by McKenzie and Holland at a cost of £2,800. This was the second power signalling installation on the GWR and lasted for twenty years until replaced by a conventional mechanical signalling system on 30 July 1929. The signal box finally closed on 28 March 1971.
Routes