East Gloucestershire Railway
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The Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway was a single track railway branch line, 22 miles (35 km) long, in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. It was opened in succession by two companies, the first in 1861 to connect the important woollen town of Witney to the main line network, and the second in 1873 as the rump of an ambitious scheme to connect to Cheltenham, but which ran only between Witney and Fairford. The junction with the main line was at Yarnton, north of Oxford.
The Great Western Railway worked the two companies' lines were worked as a single branch line from 1873, and later absorbed them. British Railways withdrew passenger services in 1962; a residual goods service to Witney remained until 1970.
Witney had been an important town with a significant woollen industry, but found itself at a competitive disadvantage as northern manufacturing towns gained railway connections. A number of schemes were put forward, including a possible branch from the London and Birmingham Railway at Tring.
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) opened on 4 June 1853 from Wolvercot Junction, on the Great Western Railway (GWR) a little north of Oxford to Evesham, and Witney had at least a nearby station at Handborough.
Nonetheless a railway to Witney itself was desirable, and after some false starts a public meeting was held on 23 December 1858 to propose a branch line from the OW&WR at Yarnton, where there was to be a new junction station. Sir Charles Fox was appointed Engineer and in the 1859 session a Bill was presented to Parliament to authorise the railway. Despite GWR opposition, the Witney Railway was authorised by Act of 1 August 1859. Capital was to be £50,000 in shares and £16,000 in borrowings.
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