Claydon railway station

Claydon was opened by the Buckinghamshire Railway on 1 May 1850[1][2] as part of its line from Banbury to Bletchley.[3][4] The line was worked from the outset by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) which absorbed the Buckinghamshire Railway in 1879.[4][3][5][6] The line was subsequently extended westwards to Islip, to a temporary station at Banbury Road and then to Oxford, opening throughout on 20 May 1851.[4][7][5][8][6] Claydon station was situated at the 11 milepost on the eastern side of a level crossing where the road from Steeple Claydon to Middle Claydon crosses the line.[9][10] The station's name came from the fact that the location is surrounded by places with "Claydon" in their name, such as Botolph Claydon and East Claydon, as well as Claydon House which was the residence of Sir Harry Verney, one of the founders of the Buckinghamshire Railway.[9][11] The nearest village was Steeple Claydon whose inhabitants also had the choice of Padbury railway station on the Banbury to Verney Junction Branch Line which was about 2 miles (3.2 km) away.[12]

A 1911 Railway Clearing House map of railways in the vicinity of Claydon. The chord to Calvert was added after this map was drawn.[13]

The cost of the station was £1,000 in respect of building work plus £200 for machinery.[14] Two platforms were provided with the station buildings on the "Up" side and a timber platform and waiting shelter on the "Down" side.[15][16] The stone "Up" platform was very low and also very narrow.[15][17] The architecture was a rural combination of brick and timber with some restrained ornamentation.[15][18] The station house which adjoined the platform buildings was in a similar style to structures on the Bletchley to Bedford section of the line, being built of brick and half timber rendered with cement and decorative barge boarding around the gables.[19] A small goods yard was served by two sidings and comprised a loading dock, weighbridge, brick hut, ground frame and loading gauge.[15] The level crossing gate and sidings were controlled by Annett's key; when the siding was in use it could only be released by a key which was kept in a gable wing of the station building.[15] During London, Midland and Scottish Railway days, the station, which was in a relatively rural location, was served by six services in either direction on weekdays, plus an extra service on Saturdays and three services on Sundays.[20] When the stationmaster at Claydon was abolished, two porter signalmen ran the station on alternate shifts.[21]

Station remains in 2009.

In the wake of the abandonment of a plan to develop the Varsity Line as a freight link from the East Coast ports to South Wales, including a marshalling yard near Swanbourne, Claydon station was listed for closure in the Beeching report[22] which called for the closure of all minor stations on the line.[23] It closed to goods traffic on 6 January 1964[24] and to passengers on 1 January 1968.[1][2]

Claydon LNE Junction
Great Central Main Line to Rugby and Nottingham Oxford–Bicester line Claydon LNE Junction Calvert Waste Facility │ Station Great Central Main Line to Marylebone

The exterior of the LNE signal box in c. 1984

An east-to-south chord between the Great Central Main Line and the Oxford to Bletchley line and was opened on 7 July 1940.[25][26][27][28][29][9][12] Situated about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Claydon station and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of Calvert railway station at grid reference SP684255, it was initially double-track but later singled in 1985.[27][30] The chord was intended to give added flexibility if bombing disrupted services elsewhere and allowed through working between Bletchley and Aylesbury without the need to reverse at Verney Junction.[30][25] In the event, the spur never supported a regular passenger service but became a useful route for freight and parcels workings, especially services to Calvert brickworks and trains on diversion such as nighttime sleepers which were sent to Marylebone during the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, as well as shoppers' specials from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes and movements of empty DMU stock between the Chiltern Main Line and Bletchley maintenance depot.[30][25] On 2 May 1964, the Midland Pullman worked a 1964 FA Cup Final special via the spur and, for a time, fish trains were reversed down the Great Central here and routed via Bicester London Road and Oxford.[25]

The chord was controlled by an LNWR signal box named "Claydon LNE Junction" on the Oxford to Bletchley line and there was an 18-lever Great Central box named "Calvert North Junction" on the Great Central Main Line.[25][31] The Great Central box closed on 9 September 1956 and the LNWR box followed on 10 December 1967.[25][31] The spur was mothballed in May 1993 but was brought back into use not long afterwards to allow Bristol "Binliner" trains to access the clay pits at the former brickworks which are now used as landfill sites.[30][25][31][32][33] When the track was singled in 1985, a loop was provided at Claydon to allow trains to work between Aylesbury and Oxford without having to run round at Bletchley.[30] The track here is the furthest point north from Marylebone at which Great Central tracks remain in place,[25] services to the north of Calvert having been withdrawn on 5 September 1966 and the track lifted soon afterwards.[29]