Oxford to Cambridge

[caliwag]

Interesting article in the Daily Mail of all newspapers...never struck me as a pro-rail paper...

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2012/10/british-rail-lives-on-.html

British Rail Lives On

Time to expand on my column point that British Rail still exists. How do I know? Because the Transport Department tells me so. My discovery came because of my preoccupation (rude people would call it an obsession) with the all-but-abandoned railway line between Oxford and Cambridge.

I am fascinated by this line . It is an amazingly useful strategic piece of track. It is (or it was) the only significant East-West railway link in Southern England, a double-track line linking (or easily able to link) all the main lines out of London (the Great Western Paddington line at Oxford, the Great Central Marylebone line at Bicester or Verney, the Euston London Midland line at Bletchley, the St Pancras Midland line at Bedford, the King’s Cross Line at Sandy , and the Liverpool Street line at Cambridge. It even links ( and in this case still does ) with the Bicester Military railway, a fascinating appendix of our railway system on which I have never travelled.

Properly strengthened and maintained it would have been, and would be a hugely useful part of any sensible goods and passenger network, allowing people and freight to avoid London on long cross country journeys. It was also rather picturesque. I still remember the platform at Marsh Gibbon and Poundon, which seemed to have sunk into the Otmoor swamps (readers of C.S.Lewis’s Narnia stories might have half-expected to find that the station master was a Marsh Wiggle, related to Puddleglum), and which was still lit by gas. It rambled through some of the most English parts of England, not spectacular, just quietly handsome. It was hallowed by the fact that C.S.Lewis had used it to travel between his Oxford home and his Cambridge academic duties. And in any case, what could be more sensible than a direct link between these two lovely, serene places, which meant that you had no need of a car to travel from one to the other?

Dr Richard Beeching, the murderer of much of Britain’s railways system did not actually recommend that the Oxford-Cambridge line should be closed...(read more)

 

[Bill EWS]

It is indeed a surprise to find such a report not only in the Daily Mail but from an otherwise right winger such as Peter Hitchins, therefore it is against the 'political' grain thatto find myself agree with him on this issue.

I loved the Oxford-Cambridge route, albeit I never got over the Beford-Sandy sen to Cambridge but we worked numerous types of trian over the Oxford-Bletchley & Bedford section to places such as Calvert, Swanbourne sidings, Bletchley, Wolverton, Blisworth and Nothampton, including the section to Bedford St. Johns and onto the Midland for Leagrave and luton, returning via Acton.

The branch was in good condition and as Peter has described, was an interesting line with numerous small places in between with Verney Junction a nice center point. Even in it's rundown state it kept it's importance as a mainline junction appearance. I remember it while it still had all it's buildings, overbridge, loco engine water tank and flower beds on the platform.

As well as the obvious mainline connections Verney had linked onto Banbury via Buckingham and further back, to London Baker Street via Quainton Road on the Metropolitan branch. Likewise it linked to Worcester via the triangle junction at Banbury Road, therefore was a massive cross country route connector and it was sad watching the line being reduced and cut back.

When I first worked over the line it still had it's passenger service and most of the freight was still steam worked but gradually it became fully dieselised, yet at the same time it was being pruned at every turn. Prior to this the line was well upkept and the ride was mostly smooth and speeds reasonable on average. The heavy gradient southwards from Swanbourne sidings was always a bit of a challenge, even with the new diesels.

I still have images of late turns, sitting in a loop with a parcel train waiting for the passenger unit to pass and it lighting up the otherwise dark countryside, seeing the passengers inside and the tail light go off into the darkness. It had it's own character.

The parcel trains to Blisworth more than likely had a Western hydraulic at the head, though you would see the ocassional 800 and Hymak hydraulics, Class 37's and 47's. The 800's were later banned because their deadroom was too close to the overhead wire at Bletchley.

When the Banbury branch was open for freight only you would see a class 24 or 25 type 2 diesel electric on the Bletchley-Aylesbury parcel train or empty DMU coming and going too & from Bletchley shed for or after servicing.

When we first worked the Cardiff-Calvert brick trains the GCR was still intact at Calvert but only went as far as Helmdon as the tracklifting continued towards Calvert. It was sad to see the old mainline being completely cut off at this point. The only lifting train I saw shunting around the curve from onto the GCR track from laydon LNER Jctn. towards Calvert then reverse back up onto the GCR was with a Class 37 worked by Bletchley crew.

The brick trains were usally worked by a Western Hydraulic. From this time onwards the Oxford-Bletchley section became more and more rundown and rationalised to a point where the maximum speed was no more than 30 mph and mostly single tracked. It had become little more than a long siding. Only the Bletchley-Bedford section escaped that fate.

It's unbelievable that such a line could have been reduced so badly when it has so much potential. Anything that avoids missing London just has to be a winner, especially for freight.

Hopefully the line will once again join Oxford and Cambridge but no matter how fast/good the service is the places and character of the line as it was will never return. You can't replace the buildings, unique local stations and of course, the people and characters of that tiime. But it would be nice to see the line up and working once again.

 

[wintonian]

The coalition have made a big thing about investing in infrastructure projects in order to help get the economy back on track and the railway seem to be at the centre of this investment (or at least the press releases and announcements).

Add this to the fact that the torys are having their annual smoked salmon and champaign, FTSE 100 leaders 'were all in it together' sheriff of Nottingham themed annual get together and may may have an idea why such thing can get published in such publications.

 

[jimm]

For your information, Mr Hitchens lives in Oxford and is a regular passenger on FGW services to and from Paddington, so knows quite a lot about the state of the railways.

As for the implication that the Tories/the right are anti-rail, many of the 1960s closures were signed off by the Wilson Labour government which was elected in autumn 1964 and much of the rolling stock we ride around in at present was ordered by BR under the Thatcher government, which also approved East Coast and Norwich electrification and the Channel Tunnel.

And before you ask, I have never voted Tory in my life but am open-minded enough to give credit where it is due. I also find the huffing and puffing about rail franchising in recent weeks from Labour MPs a bit much when their party did nothing at all to tackle its supposed failings during 13 years in office.

 

[Metrailway]

Mr Hitchens takes an interest in the railways and is pro re-nationalisation.

 

[D365]

We have already had similar threads about East-West Railways, but that's an interesting article.

 

[wintonian]

For your information, Mr Hitchens lives in Oxford and is a regular passenger on FGW services to and from Paddington, so knows quite a lot about the state of the railways.

As for the implication that the Tories/the right are anti-rail, many of the 1960s closures were signed off by the Wilson Labour government which was elected in autumn 1964 and much of the rolling stock we ride around in at present was ordered by BR under the Thatcher government, which also approved East Coast and Norwich electrification and the Channel Tunnel.

And before you ask, I have never voted Tory in my life but am open-minded enough to give credit where it is due. I also find the huffing and puffing about rail franchising in recent weeks from Labour MPs a bit much when their party did nothing at all to tackle its supposed failings during 13 years in office.

You forgot to mention that one of the key election pledges of John Smith at the 1992 election was to renationalise the railway, then Mr Blair came along committing to renationalising the franchises but not railtrack, and there still bleeting on about it now after not having enough time while in government to do it I suppose.