Oxford and Rugby Railway
| Oxford and Rugby Railway | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Rural |
| System | Great Western Railway |
| Status | Historical |
| Locale | South East England West Midlands |
| Termini | Oxford Rugby |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 2 September 1850 (Oxford to Banbury) 1 October 1852 (to Fenny Compton) |
| Owner | Great Western Railway |
| Operator(s) | Great Western Railway |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 50.5 miles (81.3 km)[citation needed] |
| No. of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | Broad gauge and Mixed gauge |
The Oxford and Rugby Railway was a railway between Oxford and Fenny Compton that was projected to reach Rugby but failed to do so.
Authorisation
On 4 August 1845[1] Parliament passed an Act for the Great Western Railway to build the Oxford and Rugby Railway from Oxford via Banbury, Fenny Compton, and Southam to Rugby.[2][3] The proposed route was to be roughly parallel with the Oxford Canal and 50 miles (80 km) long. At Rugby it was intended to link with the Midland Counties Railway.[4]
Opening
However, by 1849 GWR considered that gauge interchange issues at Rugby would create problems.[citation needed] On 2 September 1850 the 24 miles (39 km) single track broad gauge section opened from Oxford to Banbury.[5] This section was improved to be a double track mixed-gauge track on 1 October 1852. Due to the gauge problems, the section between the junction with the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway at Fenny Compton (opened on 1 October 1852) and Rugby was abandoned and never completed.
Closure
British Railways closed Fenny Compton station on 2 November 1964 in the Beeching cuts. Today the Cherwell Valley Line runs between Didcot Parkway and Banbury via Oxford.
References
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External links
- Articles with unsourced statements from June 2013
- Banbury
- Early British railway companies
- Great Western Railway constituents
- History of Oxford
- History of Oxfordshire
- History of Warwickshire
- Railway companies established in 1845
- Rail transport in Oxfordshire
- Rail transport in Warwickshire
- Railway lines opened in 1850
- Rugby, Warwickshire
- Transport in Oxford
