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Cholsey and Wallingford Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cholsey and Wallingford Railway is a 2.5 mile (4 km) long standard gauge heritage railway in the English county of Oxfordshire. It operates along most of the length of the former Wallingford branch of the Great Western Railway (GWR), from Cholsey station, 12 miles north of Reading on the Great Western Main Line, to a station on the outskirts of the nearby town of Wallingford.[1]
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The first plans for the Cholsey to Wallingford line date from 1861, and envisaged a independently owned route from Moulsford to Princes Risborough via Wallingford, Benson, Watlington and Chinnor. This line would have been a through route, with junctions with the Great Western Railway at both Moulsford and Princes Risborough. By 1863 the plans had been amended to run from a junction nearer Cholsey than Moulsford, and to run only as far as Watlington.[2]
The Wallingford and Watlington Railway opened as far as Wallingford in 1866, but poor traffic receipts meant that the planned extension to Watlington was given up in 1868 and the line never reached further than Wallingford. The railway was sold to the GWR in 1872 and, for reasons now forgotten, the line became popularly known as the Wallingford Bunk. The line closed to passengers in 1959, and the last goods traffic into the old Wallingford Station ran in 1965.[2]
However most of the line was retained to serve a maltings adjacent to the railway on the outskirts of Wallingford. Rail service to this plant ceased in 1981, at which point the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway Preservation Society was formed to revive the line for tourist services. It first ran train rides for the public in 1985, with regular advertised services over the full available length of the line beginning in 1997. Steam traction has also been reintroduced.[2]
Most services on the line are currently hauled by diesel locomotives, and run on occasional weekends and bank holidays. The railway's web site has details on operating days.
The original branch platform at Cholsey station is still available to the preserved railway, and trains connect here with First Great Western stopping services on the Great Western Main Line between Reading and Didcot stations.
However the original Wallingford railway station and the last segment of the line have long been built on, and the line now terminates at a makeshift station at the lines headquarters adjacent to the site of the maltings that kept the line alive into the preservation era. The maltings have recently been demolished and replaced by housing, releasing some extra land to the railway. There are plans to build a replica GWR style station on this land.[3]
The line is the home to several diesel locomotives, including three of British Rail's ubiquitous Class 08 shunters, which are used on most trains. Whilst the line does not currently posess any steam locomotives, it is occasionally operated by visiting steam locomotives. The line has a varied collection of passenger carriages and freight wagons.[4]
Wallingford Station is also the temporary home of the Bagnall fireless steam locomotive, formerly No1 of Huntley & Palmer's works railway in Reading. It is hoped that this locomotive will be returned to its home town and put on public display during 2007.
- ^ Along The Line. Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
- ^ a b c History. Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
- ^ Projects. Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
- ^ Stock List. Cholsey and Wallingford Railway. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
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