Brackley Central lives again!

vic-rijrode · 14 Aug 2019

I'm not sure if this is the right thread, but after a campaign to save the building, Brackley Central (Top Station) has been saved and renovated into a Cafe after decades used as a tyre centre.

Here is the Tripadvisor entry for it.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...l_Cafe-Brackley_Northamptonshire_England.html

RailUK Forums

Mark J · 14 Aug 2019

Brackley - a town of some 13k people (as of 2011 census) and still without a rail station.

The nearest being King's Sutton.

CarltonA · 15 Aug 2019

Mark J said:
Brackley - a town of some 13k people (as of 2011 census) and still without a rail station.

The nearest being King's Sutton.

I don't see Brackley getting back on the network anytime soon having lost two stations on different lines and a whopping great viaduct that bit the dust in the seventies. King's Sutton clings on however in spite of a population of 2112 (2011 census). Hardly a substantial station though and it must have one of the smallest car parks going. I would think Brackley residents would be more likely to travel to Banbury for trains.

BanburyBlue · 15 Aug 2019

CarltonA said:
I don't see Brackley getting back on the network anytime soon having lost two stations on different lines and a whopping great viaduct that bit the dust in the seventies. King's Sutton clings on however in spite of a population of 2112 (2011 census). Hardly a substantial station though and it must have one of the smallest car parks going. I would think Brackley residents would be more likely to travel to Banbury for trains.

Is King's Sutton 'clinging on'? It's a local station with direct trains to and from Marylebone, as well as the local service between Banbury and Oxford.

Agree though, that for Brackley, you are more likely to go to Banbury, Northampton, or even Milton Keynes.

CarltonA · 15 Aug 2019

Maybe I should have said "has clung on" to it's station. With other small stations in the area having closed, KS got to survive. The village is quite nice with a couple of pubs and an interesting church with a tall steeple.

Railwaysceptic · 15 Aug 2019

CarltonA said:
Maybe I should have said "has clung on" to it's station. With other small stations in the area having closed, KS got to survive. The village is quite nice with a couple of pubs and an interesting church with a tall steeple.

It's a lovely village and that steeple is superb, widely regarded as one of the best in the country.

A0wen · 15 Aug 2019

BanburyBlue said:
Is King's Sutton 'clinging on'? It's a local station with direct trains to and from Marylebone, as well as the local service between Banbury and Oxford.

Agree though, that for Brackley, you are more likely to go to Banbury, Northampton, or even Milton Keynes.

MK more likely than Northampton - it's closer, quicker and has better rail services.

That said the other place for Brackley is Bicester which has a decent London service.

DarloRich · 15 Aug 2019

Mark J said:
Brackley - a town of some 13k people (as of 2011 census) and still without a rail station.

The nearest being King's Sutton.

BanburyBlue said:
Is King's Sutton 'clinging on'? It's a local station with direct trains to and from Marylebone, as well as the local service between Banbury and Oxford.

Agree though, that for Brackley, you are more likely to go to Banbury, Northampton, or even Milton Keynes.

A0wen said:
MK more likely than Northampton - it's closer, quicker and has better rail services.

That said the other place for Brackley is Bicester which has a decent London service.

MK or Bicester is a better bet. Most I know from Brackley use MK. Also Brackley isnt going to get a station anytime soon.

adamedwards · 15 Aug 2019

Surely the simple solution a renaming to Kings Sutton for Brackley Parkway? (!)

BanburyBlue · 15 Aug 2019

adamedwards said:
Surely the simple solution a renaming to Kings Sutton for Brackley Parkway? (!)

Like it

Railwaysceptic · 15 Aug 2019

adamedwards said:
Surely the simple solution a renaming to Kings Sutton for Brackley Parkway? (!)

Have you seen the car park at Kings Sutton Station?

Right Away · 16 Aug 2019

adamedwards said:
Surely the simple solution a renaming to Kings Sutton for Brackley Parkway? (!)

Railwaysceptic said:
Have you seen the car park at Kings Sutton Station?

Agreed about the car park. As a former GWR station, how about their convention of naming a station situated a considerable distance away with the suffix 'Road'. Brackley Road anyone?!

CarltonA · 16 Aug 2019

The station serves King's Sutton and not much else. The car park is miniscule and reached by a narrow lane after driving through village streets. As mentioned by others, Brackley is better served by other stations.

DarloRich · 16 Aug 2019

adamedwards said:
Surely the simple solution a renaming to Kings Sutton for Brackley Parkway? (!)

or you could just drive to Milton Keynes like most people do.............................

martinr1 · 16 Aug 2019

Here is a look at Brackley Central and viaduct when still open - between 1.35 and 2.00 on the video:-

Oxfordblues · 16 Aug 2019

Brackley will be skirted by HS2. Perhaps one day there might be a station, possibly named "Buckingham Parkway"?

swt_passenger · 16 Aug 2019

Oxfordblues said:
Brackley will be skirted by HS2. Perhaps one day there might be a station, possibly named "Buckingham Parkway"?

Getting from “tyre place in long closed station building becomes cafe” to “additional HS2 stations in Buckinghamshire” in 16 posts might be due some sort of thread drift award...

Mikey C · 16 Aug 2019

Oxfordblues said:
Brackley will be skirted by HS2. Perhaps one day there might be a station, possibly named "Buckingham Parkway"?

Silverstone Parkway

Mogz · 16 Aug 2019

Mornington Crescent!

Mogz · 16 Aug 2019

I think King’s Sutton survives (survived) because it’s in the village that it serves. Other small stations along the line (eg Aynho for Deddington) were miles away from the place they purported to serve.

King’s Sutton is served by GWR stopping trains between Banbury and Oxford/Didcot as well as semi-fast Chiltern Railways services between Marylebone and Birmingham/Stratford-upon-Avon.

Back to the original point- I discovered only last week that Brackley Central has not been razed to the ground and can highly recommend the cafe. Plenty of pictures of how it used to appear, the odd book here and there, child friendly bit and the homemade cakes are fantastic.

www.brackleycentral.co.uk is their website.

I do wonder whether HS2 would have had more support if it had followed the route of the GCML as far as Rugby before branching off to Birmingham and given some of the places along the route their stations back...

swt_passenger · 16 Aug 2019

Mogz said:
I do wonder whether HS2 would have had more support if it had followed the route of the GCML as far as Rugby before branching off to Birmingham and given some of the places along the route their stations back...

This suggestion gets shot down - usually with explanations why - about once a month over in the HS2 threads.

Brackley Central lives again!

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