The Witney & Fairford Branch Through Time

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Witney & Fairford Branch has changed and developed over the last century.

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The Witney Railway was opened from Yarnton Junction to Witney in 1861. The railway was single track throughout, with intermediate stations at Eynsham and South Leigh. In 1873, the East Gloucestershire Railway opened an extension from Witney to Fairford, and the two railways formed a single branch line, with trains running from Oxford to Fairford. The line was closed to passengers in 1962, but the original Witney Railway survived as a goods-only route until 1970. The Witney & East Gloucestershire Railway was a classic rural branch line, which followed the tranquil upper Thames Valley for much of its length and served attractive Cotswold towns and villages such as Eynsham, Witney and Lechlade. This fascinating collection of photographs tells the story of the Witney line on a station-by-station basis, starting amid the bustle and activity of Oxford, and ending in a field near the historic town of Fairford.