Buckinghamshire Railway

Buckinghamshire Railway

Company type	Private company
Industry	Railway transport
Founded	22 July 1847
Founder	London and North Western Railway (LNWR) (implied)
Defunct	21 July 1879
Fate	Leased and later absorbed by the London and North Western Railway
Headquarters	England, United Kingdom
Area served	Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, England
Key people	Second Duke of Buckingham (first chairman), Sir Harry Verney (chairman), Marquess of Chandos (board member), Robert Stephenson (construction overseer), Thomas Brassey (civil engineering contractor), Richard Moon (LNWR chairman on board from 1878)
Products	Railway services; construction of routes linking Bletchley, Banbury, and Oxford
Parent	London and North Western Railway (from 1879)

The Buckinghamshire Railway was a railway enterprise operating within Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England, responsible for constructing routes linking Bletchley, Banbury, and Oxford. A segment of its original track is still in use today as part of the Oxford to Bicester Line.

Origins

The inception of the Buckinghamshire Railway can be traced back to the gauge disputes and territorial rivalries that took place in Buckinghamshire during the 1840s. The London and Birmingham Railway (L&B) inaugurated a standard gauge route stretching from to in October 1837, which was extended to reach Birmingham by September 1838. In contrast, the Great Western Railway (GWR) opened its broad gauge line from to Bristol in June 1838, complemented by a branch line running from to by June 1844. GWR sought to push beyond Oxford through legislative efforts supporting the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the Oxford and Rugby Railway, aiming to penetrate the Midlands region.

To prevent GWR's incursion into Buckinghamshire, the L&B, with backing from the Midland Railway, proposed the London, Worcester and South Staffordshire Railway, intended to run from Tring to Wolverhampton via Aylesbury, including loop lines connecting Bicester to Oxford and Banbury to Rugby. Concurrently, Mark Huish's Grand Junction Railway, allied with GWR, advanced plans for the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway to link with the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Fenny Compton.

GWR’s proposals received parliamentary sanction, leading to L&B withdrawing its competing scheme. The Grand Junction Railway’s plan was also approved, securing GWR’s access route to Birmingham. In 1846, the Grand Junction merged with L&B, creating the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The incomplete loop lines subsequently developed into the Buckingham and Brackley Junction Railway and the Oxford and Bletchley Junction Railway.

Authorisation

Between 1846 and 1847, three parliamentary bills were introduced to establish railway companies tasked with constructing lines reflecting the previously blocked ambitions of L&B and LNWR within Buckinghamshire. The first two bills authorized the formation of the Buckingham and Brackley Junction Railway and the Oxford and Bletchley Junction Railway, responsible for building routes from Bletchley to Oxford via Winslow and Bicester, as well as from near Claydon House to both Brackley and Buckingham. The third bill proposed merging these entities into a single company named the Buckinghamshire Railway while also permitting an extension from Buckingham to Banbury. These legislative acts were passed as the Buckinghamshire Railway (Buckingham and Brackley Junction) Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. ccxxxiii), the Oxford and Bletchley Junction Railway Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. lxxxii), and under LNWR oversight, the Buckinghamshire Railway was officially established by the Buckinghamshire Railway Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. ccxxxvi) on 22 July 1847. Initially chaired by the second Duke of Buckingham, leadership later passed to Sir Harry Verney following financial setbacks; meanwhile, Buckingham’s son, the Marquess of Chandos, became a board member.

Subsequent developments

The construction of the railway was overseen by Robert Stephenson, with Thomas Brassey serving as the civil engineering contractor. The section connecting Bletchley and Banbury (via Verney Junction) commenced operations on 30 March 1850, followed by the segment from Verney Junction to Oxford opening on 20 May 1851. Initially leased and later fully incorporated by the LNWR on 21 July 1879, the Buckinghamshire Railway was managed by the LNWR throughout this period.

While the Buckinghamshire Railway initially generated moderate profits, its financial performance declined after significant freight traffic was rerouted through Oxford and Didcot, resulting in ongoing deficits. Following the appointment of LNWR chairman Richard Moon to the company's board in February 1878, the Buckinghamshire Railway's shares were merged with those of LNWR by July of the same year.

In addition, in 1879 LNWR absorbed the Bedford Railway, which had constructed a line between Bletchley and , having previously taken over the Bedford and Sandy Railway in 1865, linking Bedford to .

Current situation

The route between Oxford and Cambridge became known as the Varsity Line, whereas the Banbury–Bletchley segment operated independently under the name Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line. This branch was completely closed by late 1966, while the Bedford–Cambridge section ceased operations in early 1968. The portion from Bedford to Bletchley remains in use today as the Marston Vale Line, and following a period of closure, passenger services resumed on the Oxford–Bicester stretch in 1986.

Plans for reopening

The section has undergone significant upgrades and is currently functional. As of August 2024, extensive re-engineering has been completed on the route from Bicester through Bletchley, with reopening planned for 2025; this includes the addition of a new station at .

External links

• Photographs of the railway line