Chipping Norton railway station

Chipping Norton
June 1962
Location
Place	Chipping Norton
Area	West Oxfordshire
Grid reference	SP307270
Operations
Original company	Chipping Norton Railway
Pre-grouping	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway Western Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
10 August 1855	Original station opened
6 April 1887	Station resited
3 December 1962	Station closed
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Chipping Norton railway station served the town of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England. The station had two platforms and a signal box.

The station was opened in 1855 as the terminus of the Chipping Norton Railway, which linked the town to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway by a junction at Kingham. The line was promoted by William Bliss and its traffic included freight to and from his tweed mill at Chipping Norton.

Goods trains started running to the station in June 1855 and the official opening to passengers took place on 10 August 1855. Initially there were three trains each way, but by January 1856 this had increased to six each way, the first and last of which continued along the main line to Shipton.

The station comprised a single platform and two-storey building. No photographs exist, but Bliss Tweed publicity material includes drawings of the station. A single-road engine shed, water tank and goods shed were also provided. Following complaints by passengers of the exposed state of the station a wooden overall roof was added. In 1872 a siding was added to serve the gasworks adjacent to the tweed mill.

In 1860 the OW&WR amalgamated with two other railway companies to form the West Midland Railway. In 1863 the WMR amalgamated with the GWR and Chipping Norton became part of the Great Western system.

In 1875 work began at Chipping Norton on the building of the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway between Chipping Norton and Kings Sutton. A bridge was built to take the new line under the Worcester Road, although it would be twelve years before the first train passed under it. Work also started on the Chipping Norton Tunnel. However, the B&CDR experienced financial difficulties and the building work ceased in 1877 with the tunnel uncompleted. Construction resumed six years later in 1883 with the line to Banbury finally opening on 6 April 1887. The GWR operated the services over the new line. In 1897 the B&CDR was purchased by the GWR.

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