The Railway with a Gap - AKA Beeching was Right!

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Welcome to this weeks video which sees us ask the question as to why there is a significant gap between Watlingting and Wallingford on the old railway maps. Perhaps if this had of joined we might still see a railway there today?
Credit: Pictures: Credit in film
Music: Artlist.io and Epidemicsound.com

[@countottovanshanoo822]

The railways main earner was always from freight - many branch lines only ever had a passenger service at all due to Parliament making it more or less compulsory to get their Act through. Lorries started taking traffic away from rail after WWI and post WW2 the motor car took off. The government response; they would not allow BR (50s, 60s) to negotiate freight rates, so hauliers just had to ring up, get a quote from BR and undercut it; and Beeching, which made wagon load rail freight as well as passenger traffic almost impossible for those not near what as left of the network. As ever in the UK, no one ever asked "How much do we need to spend to make it work" (e.g. automatic half barrier crossings, MAS signalling etc which would cut labour costs hugely), it's always "Cut, cut cut" which never works. Cutting the small little used roots off a tree since they don't do as much as the big roots is a very good way of killing the tree.

[@nagoranerides3150]

Beeching's greatest trick for getting the result he wanted was doing the traffic survey on just two days out of season. At a stroke he "proved" that every almost seaside town in Britain could live without the train line which brought their life's blood of tourists in every summer. North Devon and Cornwall have never really recovered and, ironically, neither have their roads. Although, GB got off lightly compared to Northern Ireland where on top of massive cuts to the network rail freight was actually banned. Only Hitler did more damage to the UK's infrastructure than Beeching and his master Marples.

[@countottovanshanoo822]

@@nagoranerides3150 Beeching was told what result to come up with before he started. Nothing to do with the transport minister having strong conections to road haulage of course. Standard procedure for UK government enquiries.

[@RunawayTrain2502]

@@nagoranerides3150 To this day there's people in Northern Ireland that say that the whole western part of the NI network (excluding the place that shal not be named) was gotten rid of just to disadvantage the majority Catholic population in that area of NI.

[@nagoranerides3150]

@@RunawayTrain2502 Perhaps. Having lived here most of my life I can tell you that it's been a pain in the arse for everyone.

[@_Madfly]

@@RunawayTrain2502 Could be true. The Westlink dual-carriageway in Belfast was built the way it was to make it harder to travel between the city centre and the west of the city.

[@johnlockhart5889]

I think Beeching gets something of a bad rap - Ernest Marples as transport minister was the real villain of the piece - he owned a big road construction company. Marples got what he wanted and Beeching took the blame.

[@Bob-us9di]

... or alternatively Beeching was the willing idiot who did his masters bidding and took the cash - and did so enthusiastically.

[@jackprier7727]

I love seeing the guts of Britain, the ins n outs of the background of how the Industrial Revolution was evolved in such a local and in-depth way, so thanks-

[@Mgameing123]

3:58 I didn't know you could open a station in the future and close it in the past.

[@SteamCrane]

Dr. Who did it.

[@johnbee7729]

Yes, Watlington Station is where the laws of space, time and physics diverge.

[@leplessis8179]

For the uninitiated, Beeching never cut anything: all he did was to report to Ernest Sharples, the then Transport Minister, on which railway lines were losing money. Sharples could have done the job himself (if he had had any ability) but used the Beeching Report to cover his own inadequacy. Funny that, a politician blaming someone ese for his own ignorance - nothing much changes, does it?

[@DavidNewmanDr]

Surely Ernest Marples? Or was he later?

[@12crepello]

It's Marples!!😅 You're thinking of Coronation Street!! 😅

[@hughhardy3357]

Yes let's remember Dr Beeching didn't close any lines or stations. He did what the Tories in the early 1960 told him to. Make recommendations to make the railways more profitable or at least reduce losses. He included recommendations for block freight trains e.g. freightliner. It was the decisions of both major parties which closed stations & lines. Blame the politicians not Dr Beeching.

[@DavidNewmanDr]

It was only a comment from a viewer, not a lecture!

[@kevinfitzpatrick444]

Had always wondered about that gap between Watlington and Wallingford, assumed it would have originally been planned as a through route so it's nice to hear the story. A day out on the Chinnor line these days isn't complete without a walk up onto the ridge to enjoy the view across Oxfordshire with what at that point almost looks like a model railway below you. Very picturesque.

[@alastairmellor966]

The Earl of Macclefield lived/still lives at Shirburn Castle, which is just the other side of the B4009 close to Watlington station, which probably explains why he stumped up the money for the line.

[@railwaychristina3192]

There was a crossing called Shirburn Crossing.

[@highpath4776]

does sound like the kind of chigley biscuit factory baron with his line toward trumpton

[@brianwillson9567]

The whitewick franchise must be one of the, if not the, best researched and entertaining on you tube. Thank you and well done. I could never complain of too much P, but could I give a little gripe of not enough R in this one?

[@pwhitewick]

She will return next week.

[@althejazzman]

Thumbnail was somewhat misleading!

[@maryhairy1]

I live in Norfolk & I’m always a bit surprised when I come across a disbanded embankment where a line used to run.

[@chapsnaps1]

Brunel wanted the GWR to pass through Abingdon. Prominent landowners hated the proposed railway, and a barely inhabited village - Didcot, was chosen instead. At Steventon (the mid point of the GWR) the stone building where IKB chaired meetings can still be seen. It's now a private house.

[@bigaspidistra]

Didcot gave an easy connection to an east-west turnpike, which today is Broadway through the modern town. The village of Dudcote, the preferred local name of the time was further away. So it started as a park and ride ...

[@richieixtar5849]

You two make my Sunday. Even when there's only one of you. Very Interesting as always. :)

[@janecapon2337]

I really felt I was walking along beside you as you showed us the railway remains. Many thanks for this entertaining sojourn of discovery.

[@stepheneyles2198]

Don't tell us you're actually Rebecca in disguise! 😛

[@velocityadventures949]

Love seeing old stations . Your channel is the best on KZbin. Very informative and nice to see before and after photos

[@Sim0nTrains]

Another nice Every Disused Station. Still need to travel on both of those Heritage Lines as well.

[@robinhayhurst5943]

I can't be the only one that likes the video before even seeing it. You know it's guaranteed to be good!

[@philiptownsend4026]

You are not I'm sure. I often click just a few seconds in to make sure I don't forget. I have a practice that if I watch to the end of any video I upclick it as the makers deserve my small credit.

[@bobsrailrelics]

Those halts are so basic. I find small stations like these fascinating. You are so right about joined up thinking, so many lines built without any thought to if they could actually work. Thanks for this one.

[@darylcheshire1618]

in Australia it’s often just the name board although I suspect earlier buildings were demolished.

[@JamesonEst1780]

I recognised that bridge and path immediately at the beginning of the video, from one of my runs. The bridge passes under the Wallingford branch line. The church you were walking towards across the field at the beginning of the video is St Mary’s, at Cholsey. Buried in the graveyard there is Agatha Christie and her husband.

[@BadGaming101]

sore point locally the in Hayfield branch line was destroyed in error closing the hayfield station and removing the line and bridges and crossings . This was a massive error the station to close was Hadfield Glossop station not the Hayfield branch line as it was busy at weekends and bank holidays due to massive amounts of hikers heading towards kinder scout and beyond . the line was gone when the error was noticed its now a walk way . also they extended the line during construction of kinder reservoir it too sadly faded into history .

[@x91w]

My partner only enjoys these if R makes an appearance. I enjoy the content whatever and admire you visiting these often forgotten places.

[@edwinwhitaker5679]

Actually Bledlow's second part of its name is Ridge not Bridge. I knew the area well due to cycling for about 25 years.

[@jonp3526]

Went for a ride on the C&PRR a couple of years ago when they had a visiting GWR Prairie. It became clear that the footplate crew were enjoying the experience, as were the passengers. Found them all very friendly and have been meaning to return. (BTW Paul, if your more local it seems to be pronounced "Chinner" though spelt Chinnor. Friend of mine is a local so unless he isn't as local as he claims...)

[@neilbucknell9564]

And on the subject of pronunciation - the locals pronounce Cholsey as "Cholsee" (with a long "o" - definitely not "Choulsley"!).

[@ewan_GTO]

Yes, it’s definitely pronounced “Chinner”

[@ChappersTravels]

i work on the Chinnor and princes risborough railway in spare time and been at that junction many times

[@stephendavies6949]

Great to see your talents once again focus on the railways. I like all your output, but really love the railway stuff.

[@chriswebb141]

Lovely story , well explored . Great channel.

[@richardwareing8298]

Fascinating vid,excellent work,the map really helped thanks.

[@KarlVaughan]

Ah, my neck of the woods. I'm sure you'll be back again at some point because the Aylesbury area suffered badly from railway cuts. They weren't all due to Beeching either.

[@philiptownsend4026]

This must have been especially interesting for you Sir. I've never in my life been to that area and unlikely ever to do so but nevertheless found it interesting to see another patch in the quilt of southern England.

[@HoxieDan5369]

Thank you for getting out in the weather. Enjoyed the information.

[@John900C]

"A lack of joined up thinking". What a classic! Love your channel. Braving brambles and sheep so we don't have to.

[@davie941]

hello again Paul and Rebecca , very interesting video again , i really enjoyed this one , really well done and thank you guys 😊

[@markthompson3577]

a branch line I've never heard of ....until now ....excellent info .....can't wait for to come next Sunday ......thanks paul ...happy easter .....🙂👍👍

[@shirleylynch7529]

Loved the sheep talking. Quite amusing. What an interesting video. Well researched Paul as always. Thank you for sharing and taking us with you.

[@johnclarke2997]

Nice video Paul. Yes very sad, but true, many branch lines had already failed before nationalisation in 1948 and Mr Beeching. The railway companies were already running down and closing stations and even started to close various lines in the 1920s and 1930s. Lack of passengers and freight meant the line was to go and I suspect some lines never paid for themselves after the construction. On Wikipedia there is page devoted to closure of railway stations ("list of closed railway stations in Britain") and by selecting the dates of closure, it shows the private railway companies had already started to close stations at a ever increasing rate and majority of these were on branch lines.

[@andrewlong6438]

Good points. Also the grouping and later nationalisation simply showed up how much duplication there was especially in the industrial areas. The railway organisations took the opportunity to prune these duplicate lines and stations especially where they were getting competition from buses and lorries.

[@martinmarsola6477]

Thank you for the walking tour today. The weather was not cooperative, but instructive just the same. Appreciate the tour Paul. Hello to Rebecca, please. See you on the next. Cheers Paul! 😊

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Unfortunately it was the land owners in some places that forced the railways to put stations a distance from the villages they served. In other cases the geography was the problem (ie village on a hillside and the railway in the valley below).

[@darylcheshire1618]

Yes like the Healesville line in Victoria, it did not run a direct route due to the influence of the wealthy landowners.

[@anthonymcdonnell6615]

that did stop beeching closing stations in the middle of towns, my home town of widnes lost Widnes Central and tanhouse lane both stations where in the middle of town and they kept Farnworth/ widnes open which is well away from town in the outskirts

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@anthonymcdonnell6615 you also lost Widnes South around the same time on the second attempt. Location was not always that important, revenue always was.

[@NeilCWCampbell]

Bang the feudal system

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@NeilCWCampbell it had nothing to do with the feudal system. That's was abolished in England by the Tenures Abolition Act of 1660.

[@Bob-us9di]

Having lived in this area and knowing it well - including the transport problems - I'd say this: 1/ This is now very much London commuter territory.2/ There have been proposals to create a park and ride at Aston Rowant, which should help relieve the M40 3/ There have been proposals to properly reopen the line from Cholsey to Wallingford using light rail trams and to extend into Wallingford itself - and linked to a park and ride on the Wallingford by-pass. Any movement on that is sabotaged by the heritage railway society which operates on the odd and occasional weekend. 4/ There are plenty of similar lines across the country that could be reopened that would reduce road traffic and air pollution (Wallingford, for example, regularly exceeds legal limits of air pollution due to traffic congestion in a town never designed for cars and lorries) 5/ The money required is low - especially compared with the white elephant and wasted billions of HS2. 6/ The problems you outline of initial railway development were marked by a total failure to plan logically - and the current malaise of public transport (and resultant road congestion and air pollution) is again a result of lack of integrated transport planning in government and the failure to bring local communities into a process of regeneration.

[@loekybaltes]

Nice video Love seeing old stations wish you ole the best baltex peter from Thailand

[@pt9101]

And excellent quality and informative video as always.

[@pwhitewick]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@railwaychristina3192]

Hi Paul and Rebecca good to see you again.

[@ChrisWhiteAroundTheGround]

Goodness knows how much research goes into making these videos. Great stuff, really interesting.

[@davidbassett4577]

Great video Graham & Rebecca Was in Chinnor today .. but not by train .. was on a bus .. part of the Amersham & District Motorbus Society’s High Wycombe Classic Bus Running Day .. Route 332 running from Wycombe through West Wycombe up to Bledlow Ridge & down to Chinnor ..recreating the 1980’s incarnation of this route using a Dennis Dart.. could hear the whistle of the steam locomotive on the heritage line to Risborough!

[@tominnis8353]

A good starting point to look into this more. Thank you.

[@TheEulerID]

One of the big problems with connecting Watlington to Wallingford is that there's something called the river Thames in the way, and building a bridge across that would have been a significant item of expense. In truth, there was never really the likely to be traffic on that line to justify its constructio. Watlington has a population of only about 2,700, but in 1870 it was less than 2,000. Whilst Chinnor now has a population of just short of about 7,200, most of that is relatively recent. At the time the line was built it was about 1,200. There were a lot of such lines built in the UK in the 19th century. nb. one slightly surprising survivor in that area is the single track line from Princes Risborough to Aylesbury. There are no significant sized settlements on that route, yet it remains, despite the fact that Aylesbury has a station on the line down through Amersham to Marylebone. It does have an hourly shuttle train, and a couple of peak hour trains to London via Princes Risborough, but it's not obvious why it survived. Princess Risborough itself, was quite the junction for a small town with the mainline from Marylebone to Birmingham via Banbury, the line to Oxford via Thame, the line to Aylesbury and that line to Watlington.

[@michaelmiller641]

The prices risborough to Aylesbury line was closed, and then more recently reopened

[@TheEulerID]

@@michaelmiller641 What's you definition of recently? My parents moved to near Aylesbury almost 30 years ago, and the line has been open for the entire time since then. I can find absolutely zero evidence that the line has been closed other than for short term engineering works. What has re-opened is the line from the main Aylesbury centre to a new station on the outskirts of the town called Aylesbury Parkway on the old Central Mainline Router to Quainton and beyond. However, even that never fully closed as it carried trains with wasted for landfill.

[@michaelmiller641]

@@TheEulerID I stand corrected!

[@TheEulerID]

@@michaelmiller641 I suspect it was the re-opened extension to what is now Aylesbury Vale Parkway that you were thinking of. That services some new, and very large housing developments about 3 miles from the centre of the town, and opened in 2008.

[@michaelmiller641]

@@TheEulerID yes! Maybe that's what I was thinking of! I must check my facts before I go online!

[@richardchadwick4028]

Cheers I'm a Cholsey resident, so I know the background, but you pretty much nailed it...

[@manmeetsinghmahajan6183]

Amazing work.

[@timofthomas]

Grumpy or not this was informative and enjoyable - thanks Paul :) I do see some parallels between the branch lines of this era and the low cost airlines of today - you know, the ones that say they go to Paris and other cities but actually they land at some little known airfield hours away that cost a fortune to get to the city from - is it any wonder that so many of them are suffering the aviation version of the same financial woes?

[@mikeainsworth4504]

Well that has bought back some memories. I did my CSE History project on the Great Central mainline including the branch lines out of Princess Risborough (back in 1980/81). A fascinating history; prior to HS1 the mainline was the last to be built in England. Despite Buckinghamshire be located on the direct route from London it was avoided by, what has become the West Coast mainline, because the Duke of Buckingham refused permission for the railway to cross his land. And now the HS2 line will run straight through the county.

[@johncloar1692]

Thanks Paul for the video.

[@DarranS]

Despite living just up the road in Chalgrove for 10 years and running and cycling around many of the locations Paul stopped at, I knew nothing of this fascinating story. Thanks as always for the informative entertainment. Now off to see if you have a video in the London Underground line all the way up to Brill.

[@rileyuktv6426]

OMG - you’re near to where I live on the Phoenix Trail Line, Thame❤

[@rachelcarre9468]

Thank you Paul. Fantastic as it’s my part of the world. There was a rail served oil terminal in the area but it closed around the 1990s. Not sure if it was on the Thame line or the Watlington one. I think there’s a date typo on the Watlington info?

[@doublevisio]

So glad you do this, otherwise I would have to go and look for myself and it looks a bit too wet and cold for that.

[@chrismoule7242]

12:08 - Chief Inspecting Officer of the Railway Inspectorate between 1885 and 1889 & thus responsible for accident reports - mentioned in Rolt's book "Red for Danger" if I remember correctly.

[@davidcann4329]

Another interesting walk along and near to the former Watlington Branch. Just to let you know that you missed the Lewknor Bridge Halt site, not far from the M40, although practically nothing remains these days as it was obliterated by road improvements. I only know this as I went on a school geography field trip to the area in the early 1980s and it was shown on a map we were given. Opened in 1906 by the GWR and closed in 1957.

[@johnwinters4201]

Until very recently there was a gap in the houses on Station Road, Wallingford immediately opposite the site of the erstwhile Wallingford Station. It had been left to allow for the line to continue. Only within the last 20 years or so has the gap been filled in with a house. (And if you actually did the walk from where you were by Cholsey station up to Wallingford then you will have passed through Cholsey Churchyard, where Agatha Christie is buried.)

[@gaugeonesteam]

great stuff as always - I heard this music for disused stations. I thought was very good. "Assaf Ayalon - Lullaby"

[@Jimyjames73]

Thank you 'Grumpy - Blame it on the weather' Paul 😉 That was interesting as ever 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

Nice one. It's a lovely area to walk around, even if that section of The Ridgeway is probably the dullest of the entire trail! I had no idea that those two branch lines could/should have been connected.

[@JimChampion]

We are about to walk that section of the Ridgeway (Chinnor to Watlington). Hopefully less muddy than when Paul did it. Rode on the Chinnor railway a couple of days ago to Princes R and walked back.

[@barrythedieselelectricstea5217]

excellent video 👍some stations are to far from the village take for example in Kent appledore on the marsh line between Ashford International and hastings and pluckley between Ashford International and tonbridge pluckley is about 1.25 miles from the village

[@johncunnane1582]

thanks Paul, another very interesting video.

[@paulinehedges5088]

Wow that was a lot of stations in one video! What a shame all those hopes and plans cane to nothing. Thank you as always and hop😊e Rebecca was home in the warm and dry!

[@hattyburrow716]

Here in Upton, near cholsey with our disused station, now a house, some wag named the road that leads to it Beeching Close.

[@shero113]

This lack of connectivity is illustrated by Hemel Hempstead. The 'Nicky' Line from Harpenden stops adjacent to the LNWR line. It would have been perfect, allowing travellers to switch onto the Nicky Line to travel to Redbourn and Harpenden, and thence St. Albans. A great money-spinner. Even though a junction was built it wasn't used, due to company conflict. Partially as a result of this the Nicky Line is now a footpath, a hospital car park, and a shopping area, and Redbourn has no railway.

[@denisjones7836]

Have you ever considered visiting The McClean Way? It is between Walsall and Brownhills, there are some station remains visible. Thank you for your posts.

[@robertwedd1111]

Another great video - thank you 👍

[@paulcopson7562]

I have been trying to trace part of the great central way from the town of lutterworth to wigston and whetstone and I think I have found an intact viaduct that is still used as a passage for farming and the line runs parallel to the m1

[@martinbarker2316]

I know why Watlington wasn't much used. Time travel! according to your graphic it opened in 1972, but closed in 1957!! (3:56)

[@everestyeti]

Another great film, very interesting. 👍🤗

[@blackcathiking7831]

If you want a bizarre and interesting railway story, have a look at Dolphinton, a relatively small village, that had two stations, each belonging to a different railway company (Caledonian and North British....I think); one either side of the main through road. They were even connected for a while, but never had a through service. Enjoyed the video (as always)

[@robinwatling6538]

thoroughly enjoyed that,great name for a town!

[@robchisholm72]

Great video of the 'forgotten' branch line which I know of thanks to the Chinnor heritage line and the cement works before then. I believe that following the Great War and the onset of the internal combustion engine, the writing was on the wall for many branch lines that where already in trouble. I didn't realise that this branch line had a 3 mile break in it, I assumed that development and time had simply wiped that part of the line from history. Btw, great to see the pair of you on South Today recently, keep up the great work.

[@stevehendon4076]

One of my Dad's cousins worked at the cement works; not long after he retired he died of lung disease. I had my 22nd. birthday at the Lions (Bledlow) 😊

[@horsenuts1831]

2:44 LOL, I literally grew up there on the site of the old station sidings in Wallingford. It remained as a yard right into the early 1970s before being built on in the middle of that decade. I vaguely remember some of the remnants of the old station before it was pushed back to where the old maltings was (the current site). It's nice to see where I used to bomb around on my bicycle. Back in the early 1970s the line hadn't been fully closed between Wallingford and Cholsey, but it didn't stop my parents taking us for a walk along the (virtually unused) track.

[@johnmightymole2284]

Good work

[@darrenraymond5334]

nice work i have cycled the old line to thame station ,shame it closed,

[@garysanders8090]

at 03:56 Watlington station appears to have opened 15 years after it closed? I have visited this area on the thames. very nice area indeed.

[@davidberlanny3308]

A very interesting story and a great walk, thanks very much. Hope you got Hedleys permission to film the Ridgeway 😆😆 Good luck from Spain!!

[@AlexanderWright1]

Lovely to see history from a local (to me) line.

[@johntyjp]

In early Broadgauge days this was the main line to Oxford through Wycombe via Risborough and Thame with another branch to Aylesbury. So it might ve been more important originally to connect eventually at Risborough ?!

[@roderickmain9697]

Quainton Road station (Metroplitan Line heritage centre these days) is a mile from Quainton. You could walk to the station...or one could takes ones carriage. Its just in the middle of nowhere with nothing to recommend it for any purpose. There would also appear to have been a 4 platform junction in the borders where the only way to the station would have been by train. The only way to get to it today is by hiking across countryside. Here in Dolpinton (pop 122) we had two stations. The lines almost joined up but if you had a ticket from Edinburgh to Carstairs, you would have had to get out of one train, walk across the road to get another to continue. Joined up thinking - no. Company rivalry -yes. Neither line was really profitable and it took until the amalgamation of companies in the early 20s before there was a physical connection and through trains became possible. But it was all closed way before Beeching.

[@IndigoJo]

The reason Quainton Road station was built a distance from Quainton is because it was a long-distance line that was built as a link between the East Midlands and London (a rival to the line out of St Pancras). That often happened, they'd build the station as close as they could get it but they couldn't alter the line for the sake of Quainton or any other small village. Sometimes a new town or village would grow up around the station, sometimes not.

[@Mortimer50145]

I wonder which station is furthest from the town/village that it was built to serve and whose name it bears. Dent station is about 4 miles from the village. Gatehouse of Fleet in Ayrshire was 6 miles. (I realise that Gloucester Road and Liverpool Street stations in London are nowhere near Gloucester and Liverpool!)

[@paulmayhook8755]

@@Mortimer50145 Rannoch Station - which is at the other end of Loch Rannoch from Kinloch Rannoch , about 20 miles away

[@nathanbowers6364]

The Oxford to Fairford line was similar; If the line had extended on to Cirencester Watermoor there would've been a line to Cheltenham. It could also've extended across towards Inglesham to meet the Highworth branch and had link to the main mine at Swindon, and accessed Cheltenham through Kemble.

[@TheEulerID]

There is the possibility of part of that line being reconstructed. There is a lot of new housing and commercial development in Witney and Eynsham. It's a relatively short distance to the junction on the Cotswold line near Yarnton. There aren't any major obstacles, although and Witney station would have to be on the outskirts. It's also possible to see it being extended along the original line to Brize Norton where it could serve Carterton too, another place with a lot of housing development. Witney, Carterton and Eynsham are all planned to have significant developments over the coming decades. However, I doubt it would ever extend to the other towns it once severed to the west.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍

[@bringingverneyjunctionback9642]

Thanks Paul 😀

[@stephen0sborne]

Thank you Paul. Yet another excellent VLOG. Providing public transport for the benefit of users rather than investors' pockets - wasn't this what British Railways was supposed to do? You're justified in being a little grumpy about such things.

[@12crepello]

You missed an extra tick there maybe as you didn't include Wallingford Road which was the original junction station for the Wallingford Branch before Cholsey station opened later. The station building still exists.

[@robinoconnor1203]

You visited Chinnor. In the mid 1990s Rugby Cement were a customer of the company I then worked for. The works was still producing cement, I believe all the rails were still being used. I use to visited them regularly. I seem to remember there was a restored Signal box within the site. Something tells me the site reception office was an old railway building!

[@MrGreatplum]

Interesting video Paul, despite the weather! There were a lot of speculative that could never have remained open, such as this one and this closed pre-Beeching as a number of these did (the bluebell is another example or the railways to midhurst). About half of what Beeching subsequently closed was a no brainer - some of the lines that were shut (stenying line, the GCR main line etc) probably should have remained open - but that’s a much bigger argument!

[@highpath4776]

The bluebell was a semi-useful avoiding line in the crowded lines of the south, Midhurst/Petworth area a pain to get to by bus so I think they would have been useful to retain something

[@bobbell4461]

I have crossed this line several times in Kingston Lane on the way to and from Kingston Blount point to point races. the track runs parallel to the racecourse's back straight.

[@Scet8]

Please visit barnstaple and it's lost branch lines, like the one from barnstaple to ilfracombe or barnstaple to torrington.

[@jgodfrey546]

Rode the heritage ry from Princes Riseborough to Chinor last year. The jct & halts are plainly visible from 1 of their services.....

[@shayne109]

check your txt box at 3:49 as it states.. Watlington date open 15/08/1972 date closed 01/06/1957 fairly sure that opening date should be 1872 paul..

[@malcolmrichardson3881]

I had no idea there were so mny small halts on this line, or that the original intention was a through route between Princes Risborough and Cholsey. Sparsely populated along most ot the route, so it was never going to carry much passenger traffic - although it would have been very scenic and presumably involve a Thames crossing at some point. Thank you for an interesting video. .

[@steveperry6624]

Well done Paul, you seem to have stumbled again on the somewhat dubious nature of the way in which railways stretched across - I say - parts of Britain. How they were constructed at the expense, investment, of private individuals; often of the peerage of the time. I have much to add to this, as there is much more out there to be uncovered yet. But at the least you've inspired me.

[@garypmcgovern2321]

Beeching’s cuts were a little severe in many cases and with hindsight was a little short sighted (hindsight and short sighted in the same sentence 😮) Now many areas are trying to reopen these old lines at a great cost. All in all still a very interesting subject matter.

[@andrewlong6438]

The railway you were tracking was closed to passengers in 1957 so closure predated Beeching by about 6 years. So you can’t call it a Beeching closure though many mistakenly do so because they think it was him who prompted the mass closure process in the 1960s. Many of these later independent branch lines were loss making from the start and did deals with larger railway companies. Some stations had really poor services and were located miles from the nearest village. Ok in the days before buses and cars came along but they were going to struggle once they did.

[@jamespdab]

My Hood. Great walking . have walked that part of the ridgeway many times

[@ktipuss]

The name Colonel Rich (mentioned at 12:10) rang a bell, and I recalled him being the investigator of several railway accidents, including Abergele (1868), and the first Norton Fitzwarren accident of 1890. That latter one was notable for involving a double headed standard gauge goods train piloted by a broad gauge engine. You wouldn't have thought this possible, but it's mentioned in Colonel Rich's report without comment, so it must have occurred fairly often.

[@pwhitewick]

Well thats just brilliant. Thanks for sharing. There should be an entire video devoted to the Board of Trade.

[@boriss.861]

Paul of course Beeching signed off the Document. Pulling the strings to some extent was William McAlpine who had bought the War Departments now surplice lorries and needed stuff to do with them.

[@thelastpilot4582]

Have you done the Hertford to Bedford line via wheathampstead station yet?

[@joshuabates2661]

Always amazes me how many communities were completely cut off right up until this very day. Now we’re all being told to use public transport? Until there is a network like there used to be with reliable and regular services that is never going to happen.

[@martindeane9631]

Just noticed the concrete sleepers in the old photo of Kingston Crossing Halt

[@freebeerfordworkers]

I had a friend who lived in Wallingford and had to commute to London. I think he had to go down to Didcot to get a train perhaps if they'd joined the line to Cholsey and Wallingford they could have picked up commuter traffic? Either way it kept the prices of property in Wallingford below what you would expect.