Carterton railway station (England)

Carterton railway station was a railway station just north of the village of Black Bourton on the Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway between Oxford and Fairford.[1] The station had two stone-built platforms, a passing loop, and a concrete station building.

For the station in New Zealand, see Carterton railway station.

Carterton
January 1962
General information
LocationCarterton, West Oxfordshire
England
Coordinates51.74104°N 1.58766°W / 51.74104; -1.58766
Grid referenceSP286048
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
2 October 1944Opened
18 June 1962Closed

History
Station site in 1990

Built next to the Carterton to Black Bourton road less than two miles from Brize Norton and Bampton railway station, the station was opened on 2 October 1944,[2][3] to serve RAF Brize Norton which had opened in August 1937.[4][5][6] It had initially been considered to name the station "Black Bourton".[7]

Construction of the station had begun in May 1944 when a siding was laid on the Down side which, three months later, was adapted as a passing loop opened on 10 August, 18 chains (360 m) in length and fully signalled for passenger services.[8][9] The station had platforms on the Up and Down lines; an austere War Department-type structure resembling an RAF hut, stood on the Up side.[10] The front of the building was sheltered by a makeshift asbestos canopy and a traditional timber signal box stood just beyond the end of the Up platform.[11] A very basic corrugated iron shelter was provided on the Down platform.[12] No goods facilities were provided as Brize Norton and Bampton station lay within close proximity 1 mile 32 chains (2.3 km) to the east,[10][13] although agricultural produce from smallholdings in Carterton were often dispatched by passenger train.[14][15]

The position of the line in relation to the airfield meant that when its facilities were extended southwards, two essential taxiways crossed the railway line necessitating wide level crossing gates to span the entire width.[16] After the war, the airfields continued to generate significant traffic until the early 1950s when Brize Norton became a USAF base and traffic suddenly fell away.[17] By June 1958 there was only one daily freight service on the line: a morning working from Carterton to Oxford.[18]

The station closed along with the East Gloucestershire Railway from Witney to Fairford on 18 June 1962.[2][3][19][20]

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Alvescot
Line and station closed		   Great Western Railway
East Gloucestershire Railway		   Brize Norton and Bampton
Line and station closed

Present day

The line between Carterton and Brize Norton and Bampton has been severed as a result of the southward expansion of RAF Brize Norton.[21] The station building has survived, the only one to do so on the East Gloucestershire Railway, and was used for some time as a pig farm, then storage of farm machinery.[21][22] It was reclad in timber in 1980 and is now used as stabling.[22]

The station site may be identified by reference to the roadbridge which carries the Black Bourton road over the disused railway.[23] The trackbed towards Fairford has become a rural track used by the local farmer.[24]

Future

The station has been proposed for reopening on a site more centrally located to the north of the town, although a number of other options have also been suggested. This is part of a wider project to restore the railway to Carterton via Witney and Eynsham.[25][26]

References

Notes
  1. Conolly (1976), p. 10, section E5.
  2. Butt (1995), p. 55.
  3. Quick (2009), p. 116.
  4. Jenkins (1985), pp. 68, 97.
  5. Simpson (1997), p. 180.
  6. Waters (1986), p. 27.
  7. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 75.
  8. Jenkins (1985), pp. 68–69.
  9. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 73.
  10. Jenkins (1985), pp. 69, 97.
  11. Jenkins (1985), pp. 96–97.
  12. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 76.
  13. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 77.
  14. Jenkins (1985), p. 97.
  15. Mitchell, Smith & Lingard (1988), fig. 74.
  16. Jenkins (1985), p. 68.
  17. Jenkins (1985), p. 70.
  18. Simpson (1997), p. 187.
  19. Jenkins (1985), p. 112.
  20. Clinker (1988), p. 26.
  21. Jenkins (1985), p. 147.
  22. "Carterton". The Fairford Branch Line. Martin Loader. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  23. Waters & Doyle (1992), p. 100.
  24. Stretton (2006), p. 90.
  25. Miranda Norris (2 February 2022). "Campaigners welcome fresh hope for Oxford to Witney railway". Witney Gazette. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  26. "About Witney Oxford Transport Group". Witney Oxford Transport Group. Retrieved 9 February 2022.

Sources
  • Conolly, W. Philip (January 1976). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3. EX/0176.
  • Jenkins, Stanley C. (1985) [1975]. The Fairford Branch. Headington: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-853613-16-8. LP86.
  • Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith; Lingard, Richard (April 1988). Branch Line to Fairford. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 0-906520-52-5.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
  • Simpson, Bill (1997). A History of the Railways of Oxfordshire; Part 1: The North. Witney: Lamplight Publications. ISBN 978-1-89924-602-1.
  • Stretton, John (2006). British Railways Past and Present: Oxfordshire; A Second Selection. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85895-203-1. No. 55.
  • Waters, Laurence; Doyle, Tony (1992). British Railways Past and Present: Oxfordshire. Wadenhoe: Silver Link Publishing. ISBN 978-0-94797-187-8. No. 15.
  • Waters, Laurence (1986). Rail Centres: Oxford. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-1590-6.
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