A day on the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway (Part 2) Winchcombe to Cheltenham (16th Aug 23)

A Day on the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Heritage Railway (Part 2) Running Time 25 minutes & 38 seconds.
My journey along the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Heritage Railway continues as I visit the stations at Winchcombe, Gotherington, and the end of the line at Cheltenham Racecourse Station. The original Winchcombe Station building was demolished by British Railways soon after the line was closed in 1976. Volunteers replaced it in 1987 with the one from Monmouth Troy Station which was dismantled and reinstated at Winchcombe Station brick by brick. The attention to detail with the recreation of these stations, their fixtures and fittings, the buildings, the infrastructure, the rolling stock, and most important of all, the army of volunteers who have collectively rebuilt and operated the railway from scratch, is a joy to behold. The tiny station at Gotherington is set in the middle of the Cotswolds. The main station house is a private residence these days. The station opened in 1906 and was one of the first to close on the line in 1955, some 5 years prior to the withdrawal of passenger services. Services recommenced in 1997 and were extended to Cheltenham Racecourse Station which is the southern terminus of the line in 2003. Arriving into the station you can only imagine what it must have been like with trains carrying thousands of racegoers to events such as the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival. Today, the railway operate both steam and heritage diesel trains over the 14 miles between Broadway and Cheltenham Race Course through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Cotswolds. A visit to this railway is thoroughly recommended.