I don't know what to say. Beautifully researched, beautifully filmed, beautifully edited and your use of the English language is exemplary and there is something of the great sir John Betjeman about your delivery which is a wonderful tribute. You have real talent. Please carry on making more of these videos
A poignant, beautiful and sad documentary about the demise of one of the many, many lovely rural branch railways of Britain. Oh my goodness, what have we lost and have we gained anything? Thank you so very much for this excellent production with perfect commentary that strikes the right tone.
I’m a local to Witney and this a fascinating view of a branch line that would be of huge benefit in these modern times. Witney, Brize Norton and Carterton have expanded well beyond the villages and small towns depicted so well in this video. Extending to Cheltenham would have really put this branch line in a good position to be saved in my mind. Keep up the amazing work, these videos are an accessible historical treasure to a time gone by and hopefully a guide to help others in the future make better long-term decisions.
The line runs past the bottom of my garden in Lechlade. The amazing thing is how much of the original infrastructure especially all the bridges still survive. Yes the Witney bit has been built over but this could be circumnavigated. I objected to the planning permission for the housing development over Lechlade station on the basis that the line could re-open one day. There has been talk of opening a cycle track over the route.
Rails may never return, but a cycle path would be delightful - but perhaps better still, just the natural corridors and footpaths that have emerged and allow wildlife to thrive. Many thanks for your comment.
A loving memory of a long lost country line. I grew up during the last days of such lines, in my case Stamford - Essendine, Stamford - Wansford and Stamford - Seaton. All long gone to leave the countryside as it was once before railways but with real regret at what some of us still miss even though many years have elapsed since the final trains ran. Thanks for the wonderful film.
What a beautifully made film! Having commuted for over a year by bus from Witney into Oxford about 10 years ago, I'm aware of the huge volume of commuter traffic on the A40, and absolutely a new rail service is needed! Especially so as I've heard that there has since been a huge housing estate under construction near Eynsham.
Brilliant production! The use of drones now enhances such films no end and compliment the scenes from ground level. Deserved to be closed?? In many cases, post-Beeching, was the real question of whether or not they should have ever been built in the first place! A major problem with various branch lines from that time results from the fact that Britain led the world in fixed rail transport, but as most were entrepreneurial developments rather than being Government led or driven, then many of the routes were subject to compromises resulting from objections by some of the landed gentry hence Stations being located well away from towns they named after (Camelford in Cornwall an excellent example); or the need to keep capital cost to a minimum; or that the original business objectives being somewhat changed by the time construction (over several years) was completed. IMHO the main weakness with Beeching and BR was that they hatched a plan to select and close existing railway lines etc, but were completely silent in respect of how to effect closure i.e. (as in France) there should have been at least a ten-year period of mothballing to ensure that such a publicly owned asset could be disposed. It was quite clear with the S&D, for example, that there was an apparent and almighty hurry in 1967/8 to put it beyond economic restoration!!
Fascinating thoughts which show that the opening/closure of railways are so closely bound to political and economic constraints. Really glad you enjoyed the film!
Wonderful film, but, as always, so sad. I was 9 when passenger traffic ceased - had we lived in this area, I could well have known and loved this line. And probably been deeply puzzled as to why it had been cosed (or possibly, as a typical 9-year old, been too tied up in other interests to even notice?). When goods traffic finally ceased, I would have been approximately the age my youngest daughter is now (second marriage, if anyone is doing the maths!). I have lived long enough that my daughter's present is my 50 year-ago past. I wonder what she will look back upon and possibly miss in 60 year's time? Probably her maudling old dad wittering on about how things were 50 years ago! Thank you for making this film and for all your other videos. In answer to your questions - no railway ever deserves to be closed. Railways aren't a 'thing' that can be accounted for in passenger numbers and costs and profits (although I doubt if it ever made any), they are entities with a life and soul of their own, they should never be allowed to die. Should this line be reopened? Almost certainly no, I can see no reason or justification for the vast expence involved. But, had it not been closed, what then? Would we now be grateful that it was still there - could we use it now to provide faster, and vastly more enviromentally beneficial, journeys from town to town? Already we are beginning to see how many lines should have been kept open, or at lerast their rights of way maintained. But in the years to come, I think it will start to seem like short-sighted madness that lines like this were got rid of.
I live on a surviving fragment of what was once one of the busiest lines in the country, built nearly 180 years ago, linking two major cities, being electrified in the '50s and carrying massive amounts of freight. Closed 40 years ago, now it's just a track, flooded in places and with key structures made impassible, it's gone for good. This was no rural branch.
Minor comment - at about 6 minutes you mention the 'Ballaso' bridge. I spent a most agreeable childhood within easy cycling distance, and the Ballasole Bridge was a local waypoint. The name derived from the pit dug to provide ballast for the bridge abutments, which filled with water and remained a place of swampy mystery until filled in by, I imagine, a farmer. The name derived from 'Ballast Hole' - the spoken word emphasised the second syllable - ballas-hole. A minor historical note. I watched the video with a mixture of emotions - family summer holidays began with a train trip to Oxford; the end was not really appreciated until the route of the 'Witney Scort' or the 'Fairford Flyer' was truly no more. Keep up the good work! Ben
Lack of passengers and freight traffic can only result in one thing. Closure. Although we may mourn the loss of countless branch lines, the costs have to be covered by the users and not by everyone else. I loved your video and especially the way, that the use of a drone shows, so clearly, the route the railway took. Thank you.
Yeah paid for by users , good one, can I use the queens private areoplanes, er, can I use the queens charter yacht! Can I use any govt. Transport when needed....no and no , oh but I help pay for it .......
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I certainly did. I lve just south of Worcester and there is a disappearing line (with evidence) from Ashchurch to Great Malvern crossing the beautiful Severn Valley. If it's not been done already. Keep up the good work.
@@RichardASK what about a collective effort on a public paid system, (tax) to serve all the people ,especially in every last mile . Pay tax to get public infrastructure to the people that pay tax..is this not the reason ,tax was created/thought of ...after all the people do pay tax ...
A beautifully shot and very informative film. I have lived in Carterton for 6 years and had no idea that there was ever a station here! My father-in-law lived on his father's poultry farm (and still lives in a bungalow on the site of the farm) which lay alongside the track just before Eynsham station on the Oxford side. During the months leading up to Christmas when turkeys were being fattened, it was his job to enter the turkey pen whenever a train blew it's whistle on approaching the station. This was to rescue turkeys trapped in the corner of the pen after they had panicked at the sound of the whistle and stampeded into the corner.
Thank you Rediscovering Lost Railways for your latest video. I can only imagine the work that must go into filming, collecting archive material, editing etc. I cannot help but feel rather sad at the line's demise, but at the same time I greatly appreciate the efforts you have taken to bring this branch back to life.
Fantastic professional production as always really like how you included archive footage. Personally speaking, sir your efforts vastly underrated national television please take note of this channel.
Having recently moved from a village near your recent March to Wisbech Line video down to Fairford - I’m delighted your history of closed railways has followed me! Thankyou for these amazing stories!
So pleased you've found my channel and are enjoying its content. What luck to have followed you about! This is one of my favourite branch lines. I hope you get the chance to explore some of it, especially the delightful Kelmscott and Langford!
Thanks for this as someone born and lived in the Witney area a large part of my life I very vaguely recall seeing small patches of the Witney platform prior to the area’s redevelopment. This was a fascinating watch and while I can understand why it may have been closed back then i think in hindsight it was a bad move given the amount of growth in the area since.
Incredible video with excellent details, footage and photos. It's easy to be wistful now, but it's a story of so much of the network but the fascination remains. You can imagine how the 60s were, the baby boomers reaching their teenage years, people driving around in cars, eschewing the "formal" fashions of previous decades and listening to modern music. Surely to these people the notion of a coal fired steam engine plodding along from out-of-the-way station to station must have seem terribly antiquated, yet these places reveal some really ingenious engineering, beautifully functional buildings and structures. For me anyway, that is the fascination, especially when these places end up forgotten and the generations that remember them are all but gone.
Really so pleased that you enjoyed the film! And I think your assessment is very balanced, when so many are quick to just get hot headed about Dr Beeching etc. Many thanks for your remarks.
Amazing that when so much of greater solidity has gone, the rather rickety-looking Carterton station building survives apparently fully intact, complete with awning. Great work, as always!
Another gem of a video, Always amazing to see what remains in the landscape but so sad that all that work has been cast aside. Open as many lines again as possible to get pollution down and give people travel choices. Thank you for your efforts as always. Looking forward to the next!
Found this very interesting thank you. My grandfather was the last station master at Witney who continued to live in the station masters house after the railways closure.
I loved this line, despite never having travelled on it, it closed when I was only 9 years old, I have several books on the line, and did a lot of research including visiting Fairford in the 1970's when the station building was still there, and I built a model railway layout based on the premise that the line was extended to Cirencester, my station was Poulton & Ampney, a mirror of Fairford and Lechlade which would have been halfway between Fairford & Cirencester and as in the branch tradition, nowhere close to either village, alas I was forced to dismantle it a few years ago as I no longer had the space for it. Thank you for compiling this wonderful tribute to a line which now would have been a brilliant heritage railway had it survived Mr Beeching
Great video again! Your use of the 1960s videos was a great addition; I'm glad Mr. Stoneham had the foresight to film the line. I'm sure there would be a difficult case to reopen the line, since it serves very small villages, but it would make a lovely ride through the countryside.
Thank so much Craig - I saw some photos of yours on FB the other day, pictures of Bedford St John's and thought 'I must have a proper rummage round there at some point'. Really grateful for your kind words about my film 🙂
Your narration is excellent, it is very fitting for the railway era you are covering. I was only a small child in the early sixties, but my love of trains, station's and railways across our green pleasant land is still very much a part of me. I feel sadness, as the steam era is unlikely to ever return. However your videos capture some of that lost magic. Thank you.
Really appreciate your remarks about my film and its narration - I remember being very awkward about narrating at first, but I wouldn't turn back now. As for the return of the steam era - at least we have many fine heritage railways here in the UK 🙂
I was stationed at Brize Norton in1954 to1957, I remember Witney and that area well. I would take the bus to Oxford and then the train to London. Another gem of a vlog.
Really interesting. Late 70’s lived at Eynsham and spent plenty of time as a youngster walking the abandoned railway line from the old station and beyond….. was a super productive area for hunting native lizards and snakes back in the day. The old station back then was inhabited by a somewhat bohemian theatre prop building company if memory is correct…. Nice one!
Another brilliant film. I visited Witney earlier in the year and researched this railway. You've done an excellent job of collating it all together. Great work. Some beautiful high quality archive photographs.
I think I've now watched all of your videos. The quality of video, audio and commentary are superb, not to mention lovely music you use. This is really one of my favourite of all RUclips channels and I look forward all your future videos.
wow man i used to live in Lechlade on Thames and i loved that old railway and i used to go and see the old station before new houses were built on it when i was 7 and 8 before i moved to france in 2011 thanks for doing this man you really relived my oldest memories :-) keep up your amazing work and hope to see your newest soon
¡Hola buenas tardes! As ever, a truly professionally produced video, showing the sad demise of a wonderful bygone age. Thanks indeed to the thoughtfulness of Mr. Stoneham who has captured some amazing scenes and, I’m sure for many, wonderful memories of the line. Your narration is perfect and gives a very clear and, concise, history of the route. Thanks again for your tireless work. Stay safe and well. Un saludo. Gary
Once upon a time rural England was accessible to all British citizens and tourist visitors alike. Nowadays one would need to own a their own private helicopter, unfortunately!!!! Great presentation as always and very informative!!!!
What a compelling intro to an excellent documentary of the fated Witney line, with some fascinating archive footage. A really professional video programme, with thoughtful narrative, which made really interesting viewing. There are occasional flurries of enthusiasm about re-establishing a rail link to Witney, in view of its development and the chronic and severe congestion on the A40, but these always seem to prove ephemeral. The latest attempt, earlier this year, saw a local campaign group submitting a bid to the Government's Restoring Your Railway Fund for a feasibility study to re-establish a line from Yarnton to Carterton. While local MPs are positive, the county council's lacklustre response is consistent with its proposed £102 million investment in improvements to the A40. It looks as though nature will continue to take its course on the old line!
Thank you for your kind words about my film and your thoughts. I've seen many articles about re-establishing a line along this corridor but, as you suggest, there seems to be little will among those in charge to permit it. Such a shame, since the roads into Oxford are so congested. However, I'll keep my fingers crossed that a railway may one day prevail!
A brilliantly put together film but also a very sad one. No it shouldn't have been closed. Been to Whitney many times but never knew it even existed. When I go again I will try to find some of the locations you found and reflex back to those wonderful days that are sadly long gone. Thank you so much for this wonderful channel. Best one on YT.
Thank you for another fascinating video. It's incredible that some people had the foresight to photograph and film these branch lines in their heyday so that we can look back and get a taste of what has gone before. I particularly like the photo fading from then to now. As so much of the old route has been developed, it would be a mammoth task to restore the line creating diversions around the developments.
Yes, I think reopening is just so unlikely it is the stuff of fantasy. I agree with you - so glad others filmed these routes and that lost way of life. Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Yes it would be a problem to reinstate but since the line closed the population of Witney has grown from 1600 to 27,000. Traffic on the A40 has increased. Re-opening the line could reduce road congestion leading into Oxford
When this line was muted the intention was to extend it through to Cirencester, then Kemble, and on to connect with the lines that ran North South to Bristol. Wartime business at Fairford, and at Brize Norton, but apart from that - it was just a rural byway with very little traffic, either freight or passenger. Harold Gasson, when he was still alive, used to tell me tales of being a relief signalman on the line, and of how quiet it was - yet another of the many branch lines implemented in haste but without the correct assessments being done - by 'investors' looking for a quick return on their money. It would have made far more financial sense to keep the 'Gold Coast' open - but then, I lived in Compton, so used this line often!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I plead the following: at one time my next door neighbour was the shed foreman at Didcot (81E), so guess who got to ride on whichever footplate he fancied that day? - without fear of a sanction for the driver? Visits to signal boxes were also allowed, courtesy of Harold Gasson and his mates - why, some days there would be more people in the box then there were supposedly working on the line (especially if it were raining). 'City of Truro' was a regular on the Newbury branch, and I've had the double pleasure of footplate rides - many, on the earlier steam train, and then years later, one on the 47xxx of that name when it appeared into Worcester one day. gauge
Did this railway deserve to be closed? In strictly financial terms the answer is yes, and that goes for most of the branch lines because of the reasons you highlighted, use of cars and buses and the stations being sometimes miles from the nearest village/town. However thinking with heart rather than the mind of course they should not have been closed, like others this was a tragedy. Thanks for yet another brilliant, well researched and presented video, they are really professionally made. Please don't keep us waiting too long for the next one!
Thank you so much for your kind words about my film, together with your thoughtful remarks and assessment with which I agree. Next film at the start of December!
Great film. I grew up in Witney from 58 to 91 and my parents lived there until they passed on just a few years ago. I remember many of the sites and stations. In Eynsham, the bridge that carried the road over the railway survived way into the 70s and latterly carried a piece of grafitti in large letters proclaiming "Rail. The future way" before it was demolished. Witney station was close to the playground and public playing fields south of the church, affording the potential passenger a rather delightful stroll (if somewhat lengthy by todays standards) from town centre to station. As a teenager, myself and friends would occasionally cycle to Brize Norton's derelict station and signal box which provided us an interesting view of the airfield to go plane spotting - like Concorde and occassional B52s. Should it have been closed? With its unfulfilled potential of getting to Cirencester and Gloucester, it was never going to succeed. While getting stock to market might have been a rural ambition, as a passenger route there were never the numbers. Its demise was inevitable. In 62, Witney's population was somewhere in the region of 5 to 8000 and Carterton probably 2 or 3 thousand. Today, Witney's population is getting close to 30,000 and Carterton 15,000+ and road traffic from these two towns into Oxford and beyond regularly clogs up the A40. A rail service (or maybe a tram) from Carterton through Witney to Oxford would probably make money.
Really glad you enjoyed the film - do share it far and wide if you can. It was really interesting to read your memories and thoughts concerning this line. I'm an outsider from Cambridgeshire, so getting an insiders view is always welcome. Much appreciated.
Loved this it brought back so many memories. I used to live in Cassington and remember my dad taking me to see the last goods train using the line. On a side note most of the local children learnt to swim in Evenlode in the shadow of the bridge shown in your film.
Thank you for an informative and well presented film. I am familiar with the A40 west of Oxford and judging by the traffic queues approaching and leaving the City during rush hours restoration of the line as far as Witney may well be beneficial.
What can I say, yet another excellent well written and professional video. Mainstream TV companies could learn a thing or too from your style of presentation. Looking forward to the next episode. Thank you so much for the time and effort you spend on these mini documentaries.
You're very kind indeed - the joy of not having to make stuff for TV is that I don't have to compromise and make those dreaded human interest angles, or else popping off to a local craft centre to sample the jams or have a go at playing an instrument or the like 😅 Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Your videos are getting better and better, television beckons! I always look forward to your videos. I would have loved to travel on all those lost railways but the Callander to Oban line through Glen Ogle would be my first choice. Keep up the good work!
hiya dear friend , we enjoyed every single second of that . loved the avro york , my late dad flew home in a york from raf fayid when his time was up in the canal zone , this film has been a beautiful end to a busy yet great weekend , time with my beautiful wife , my compassionate daughter and the purchase of the flamecut cab side of 08 591. i have never met you and you mean a great deal to us , all our best wishes from nick and tracy in wigan , still in ancashire , a puzzle of lost railways too
Thank you for this video. Very nice presenting and the cine film from 1962 is an excellent addition. A pleasure to watch. Well, there were these pointers: The rise of the private car. Competing bus services. The stations being some way from the places that they served. Could it have been mothballed? Probably yes.
I'm in the habit of watching these video's with Google Earth alongside. Most of the old railway lines are recognisable as field boundaries or cycle paths and roads, replacing the old railway. But even through fields, the lines are still visible as, what the archaeologists call, crop marks or stains in the soil. For example in this case some fields between Eynsham and South Leigh. I'm Dutch, but also an Anglophile and a bit of a train and history anorak, so I really enjoy this channel very much.
There is now a bridleway from Kelmscott and Langford station towards Alvescott as far a Calcroft Bridge. When I was there earlier this year the bridleway was temporarily closed while a bridge over a stream was under repair, although I understood from some dog walkers that it was sill possible to get through by walking along the stream for a short wat to an alternative crossing point. I grew up near there and even travelled to Oxford with my parents, but as I was no more than about 4 years old my memories are dim.
Many thanks indeed - I've been lucky enough to have been granted permission to use such footage on a couple of films and it really enhances the finished product I feel!
Thank you so much for this piece, so interesting and evocative. These productions of yours are getting better and better, they stir up so many memories for me. Thank you also for the choice of music.
So sad 😭....thanks anyway. All these lines closed in the same period, which deprived you of the chance to ride them one last time.....perhaps for the first and last time. Beautiful England in quieter times now being ripped apart. I honestly believe that most lines that closed in the Beeching Era could.....if only they had been left 'in situ' ...be a valuable part of a better transport system today. All the lines that have been reopened have been a success story.
Well done, very interesting. Particularly valuable were the stills and film clips of the 60s and before, allowing the comparison with the present. Your search for items still visible trackside also adds to the overall picture. Did this railway deserve to be closed? The discussion amonsgt those more informed than I will continue, abut this line, and many others. But the value of your work documenting what was and what is left remains invaluable.
Beautifully presented piece Sir. As someone who was born in Kidlington in 1947 I can remember the station there and after we moved to Yarnton I can also recall that station as we used both for train services to Oxford. The coincidence goes full circle when some 30 years later when living and working in Swindon I used to take the kids for picnics to watch Concorde coming in and out of RAF Fairford. While of course you had to show Beeching and one of his two reports which removed actual services we must cast blame on the politicians for what you witnessed. They demolished stations and lifted tracks allegedly to save money when the actual removal costs were far more than limited maintenance would have cost. So one is left asking why? By this criminal act they thus destroyed any chance of re-instatement and use again. In particular we must blame one Barbara castle who destroyed so many lines and lost railway rights forever. Like the Varsity line from Oxford to Cambridge on which I worked for a number of years as project Manager with the East West Rail Consortium to reinstate the line lifted by Castle. It was just tragic to see the damage she caused and therefore the costs we incurred.
Many thanks for your memories of this line and for your kind words about my film. You may be interested to know that I am revisiting the Cambridge To Oxford line in the Spring, to update the progress that had been made with East West Rail and to offer viewers a balanced presentation of the effect this route will have on residents etc. I hope you will approve!
In 1968 I was posted to RAF FAIRFORD having worked at Rotherham Masbro from 65 to 68 I used to poke around the old station buildings at Fairford but I never saw any pictures until your video. S D WILDRIDGE EX RAF.
Thank you for this video - I've only just come across it. I am from Fairford and watched this section with particular interest. I understand that some of the station buildings still exist - the industrial unit was built around and over the top of them and they are in use as offices. However, it has been a considerable period of time that the firm that owns the site has permitted any enthusiasts to view and photograph them. In addition, if you continue from this site just a 100 metres or so towards Fairford the Station Masters cottage stands on the left, now a private residence.
I'm sorry I'm missed the station master's house, how vexing! I'd love to see the station remnants within the factory. How strange they're still present!
Beautiful images and video, fantastic editing and outstanding narration. I suspect a case could be made for some of these lines to reopen as light railways but it would depend on traffic predictions. Of course by opening a rapid transit line it would encourage building of evermore houses and destroy the countryside... Umm, Leave it as memory I'd say!
Thank you so much for your kind words about my film. And I agree with your assessment - these green fields would soon become housing estates if the railway was to return!
You don’t need a railway as an excuse to build housing. Here in Berkshire we have many villages where fields are now being built upon and these areas never had a railway line. Bus services are being introduced in some cases but in the majority of cases, people in these new housing estates are simply getting about by using cars with an inevitable impact on pollution and congestion levels.
I have never been to the northern hemisphere, but I found this to be a most interesting and enjoyable video. Thank you for all the work that you put into making it.
Another good one! I made one of my college projects about this line and I can categorically say you did a far better job than me, no thanks to the weather on my filming day. There is one thing you missed at Kelmscott and Langford, and that is the sleepers from the goods siding can still be found about a meter from the lamppost.
So glad you enjoyed the film - I know what you mean about filming and poor conditions, though I was blessed with good weather on this day. Curses that I missed those sleepers - I wonder if they were hidden beneath the nettles? I think Kelmscott & Langford is now one of my favourite disused stations!
This is a first class production both in terms of editing, commentary and music, but also the amount of research that you must have done and the effort taken to shoot so accurately in the modern day views. I am truly impressed. This is better than some of the shoddy product that passes for documentary on TV on some of the obscure digital channels.
As always, a very impressive and enjoyable documentary. The old cine film embellishments and narrative really make this into quality RUclips. Thank you!
It's the truth I really love watching do big thankyou. I'd love you to do the Bridport line and even the line to Lyme Regis. Unless u have and I not seen it lol
@@RediscoveringLostRailways what I like about disused railways is how once it was busy industrial railways and how beautiful nature takes them back, of once was. Love the little clues. But hate when it's replaced with modern concrete ugly buildings..
Hi , What a wonderful railway should be reinstated, The things we have lost over the years, I live in Seaton Devon and miss A long missed branch line ????(have a look) All the Best Brian 🤗
A beautiful and well made documentary on a bi gone age. It is regrettable that the short sightedness of the government aided and abetted by Dr Beeching denied a better transport infrastructure that we so need today. I've always felt that Ernest Marples put his own interests before those of the nation. Marples Ridgeway was a road construction company ( built the M4 flyover into London) along with Marples the removal and transport company. Then the changes in the Transport Act gave the advantage to Lorry size and speed thereby disadvantaging the railways. With green issues dominating the headlines maybe it's time to "build back better a revitalised rail infrastructure. But I wouldn't count on it!!!!
What a wonderful film. So much better quality than what you get on TV these days. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it, do subscribe if you've not already done so and enjoy my other films in the series 😀
I don't know what to say. Beautifully researched, beautifully filmed, beautifully edited and your use of the English language is exemplary and there is something of the great sir John Betjeman about your delivery which is a wonderful tribute. You have real talent. Please carry on making more of these videos
I will continue of course, motivated by your very kind remarks which mean a lot 🙏🙂
I forgot to mention that your choice of music is also perfect. English pastoral compositions are perfect for this kind of film.
A poignant, beautiful and sad documentary about the demise of one of the many, many lovely rural branch railways of Britain. Oh my goodness, what have we lost and have we gained anything? Thank you so very much for this excellent production with perfect commentary that strikes the right tone.
Many thanks indeed! Do consider subscribing if you've not already done so and enjoy my other films in the series!
I’m a local to Witney and this a fascinating view of a branch line that would be of huge benefit in these modern times. Witney, Brize Norton and Carterton have expanded well beyond the villages and small towns depicted so well in this video. Extending to Cheltenham would have really put this branch line in a good position to be saved in my mind. Keep up the amazing work, these videos are an accessible historical treasure to a time gone by and hopefully a guide to help others in the future make better long-term decisions.
Thank you so much for your thoughts, comments and remarks about the line and this channel - really appreciated!
The line runs past the bottom of my garden in Lechlade. The amazing thing is how much of the original infrastructure especially all the bridges still survive. Yes the Witney bit has been built over but this could be circumnavigated. I objected to the planning permission for the housing development over Lechlade station on the basis that the line could re-open one day. There has been talk of opening a cycle track over the route.
Rails may never return, but a cycle path would be delightful - but perhaps better still, just the natural corridors and footpaths that have emerged and allow wildlife to thrive. Many thanks for your comment.
A loving memory of a long lost country line. I grew up during the last days of such lines, in my case Stamford - Essendine, Stamford - Wansford and Stamford - Seaton. All long gone to leave the countryside as it was once before railways but with real regret at what some of us still miss even though many years have elapsed since the final trains ran.
Thanks for the wonderful film.
My pleasure - and thank you for sharing your evocative memories!
What a beautifully made film! Having commuted for over a year by bus from Witney into Oxford about 10 years ago, I'm aware of the huge volume of commuter traffic on the A40, and absolutely a new rail service is needed! Especially so as I've heard that there has since been a huge housing estate under construction near Eynsham.
Thank you for your kind words about my film. I don't envy that commute given what I hear about the traffic!
Brilliant production! The use of drones now enhances such films no end and compliment the scenes from ground level. Deserved to be closed?? In many cases, post-Beeching, was the real question of whether or not they should have ever been built in the first place! A major problem with various branch lines from that time results from the fact that Britain led the world in fixed rail transport, but as most were entrepreneurial developments rather than being Government led or driven, then many of the routes were subject to compromises resulting from objections by some of the landed gentry hence Stations being located well away from towns they named after (Camelford in Cornwall an excellent example); or the need to keep capital cost to a minimum; or that the original business objectives being somewhat changed by the time construction (over several years) was completed. IMHO the main weakness with Beeching and BR was that they hatched a plan to select and close existing railway lines etc, but were completely silent in respect of how to effect closure i.e. (as in France) there should have been at least a ten-year period of mothballing to ensure that such a publicly owned asset could be disposed. It was quite clear with the S&D, for example, that there was an apparent and almighty hurry in 1967/8 to put it beyond economic restoration!!
Fascinating thoughts which show that the opening/closure of railways are so closely bound to political and economic constraints. Really glad you enjoyed the film!
A beautifully poetic tribute to a classic GWR branchline, now long lost. Wonderful stuff, thank you.
Very kind of you to say so, thank you!
Wonderful film, but, as always, so sad. I was 9 when passenger traffic ceased - had we lived in this area, I could well have known and loved this line. And probably been deeply puzzled as to why it had been cosed (or possibly, as a typical 9-year old, been too tied up in other interests to even notice?). When goods traffic finally ceased, I would have been approximately the age my youngest daughter is now (second marriage, if anyone is doing the maths!). I have lived long enough that my daughter's present is my 50 year-ago past. I wonder what she will look back upon and possibly miss in 60 year's time? Probably her maudling old dad wittering on about how things were 50 years ago!
Thank you for making this film and for all your other videos. In answer to your questions - no railway ever deserves to be closed. Railways aren't a 'thing' that can be accounted for in passenger numbers and costs and profits (although I doubt if it ever made any), they are entities with a life and soul of their own, they should never be allowed to die. Should this line be reopened? Almost certainly no, I can see no reason or justification for the vast expence involved. But, had it not been closed, what then? Would we now be grateful that it was still there - could we use it now to provide faster, and vastly more enviromentally beneficial, journeys from town to town? Already we are beginning to see how many lines should have been kept open, or at lerast their rights of way maintained. But in the years to come, I think it will start to seem like short-sighted madness that lines like this were got rid of.
Thank you for your kind words about my film and your thoughtful remarks. Much appreciated 🙂
I live on a surviving fragment of what was once one of the busiest lines in the country, built nearly 180 years ago, linking two major cities, being electrified in the '50s and carrying massive amounts of freight. Closed 40 years ago, now it's just a track, flooded in places and with key structures made impassible, it's gone for good. This was no rural branch.
Minor comment - at about 6 minutes you mention the 'Ballaso' bridge. I spent a most agreeable childhood within easy cycling distance, and the Ballasole Bridge was a local waypoint. The name derived from the pit dug to provide ballast for the bridge abutments, which filled with water and remained a place of swampy mystery until filled in by, I imagine, a farmer. The name derived from 'Ballast Hole' - the spoken word emphasised the second syllable - ballas-hole. A minor historical note.
I watched the video with a mixture of emotions - family summer holidays began with a train trip to Oxford; the end was not really appreciated until the route of the 'Witney Scort' or the 'Fairford Flyer' was truly no more.
Keep up the good work!
Ben
Thank you for the tip - I never fail to mispronounce something in my films! Many thanks for your thoughts and memories!
Lack of passengers and freight traffic can only result in one thing. Closure. Although we may mourn the loss of countless branch lines, the costs have to be covered by the users and not by everyone else. I loved your video and especially the way, that the use of a drone shows, so clearly, the route the railway took. Thank you.
I agree with your assessment - sentiment alone is not viable for keeping these lines open. Really glad you enjoyed the film!
Yeah paid for by users , good one, can I use the queens private areoplanes, er, can I use the queens charter yacht! Can I use any govt. Transport when needed....no and no , oh but I help pay for it .......
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I certainly did. I lve just south of Worcester and there is a disappearing line (with evidence) from Ashchurch to Great Malvern crossing the beautiful Severn Valley. If it's not been done already. Keep up the good work.
@@adrianpeters2413 Indeed you do, as do we all. We all pay a bit for the roads, but it doesn't mean we have to use every last mile!
@@RichardASK what about a collective effort on a public paid system, (tax) to serve all the people ,especially in every last mile . Pay tax to get public infrastructure to the people that pay tax..is this not the reason ,tax was created/thought of ...after all the people do pay tax ...
A beautifully shot and very informative film. I have lived in Carterton for 6 years and had no idea that there was ever a station here!
My father-in-law lived on his father's poultry farm (and still lives in a bungalow on the site of the farm) which lay alongside the track just before Eynsham station on the Oxford side. During the months leading up to Christmas when turkeys were being fattened, it was his job to enter the turkey pen whenever a train blew it's whistle on approaching the station. This was to rescue turkeys trapped in the corner of the pen after they had panicked at the sound of the whistle and stampeded into the corner.
What a fabulous story, thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Rediscovering Lost Railways for your latest video. I can only imagine the work that must go into filming, collecting archive material, editing etc. I cannot help but feel rather sad at the line's demise, but at the same time I greatly appreciate the efforts you have taken to bring this branch back to life.
I hope in some small part my films can act as a preservation of sorts - really glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic professional production as always really like how you included archive footage. Personally speaking, sir your efforts vastly underrated national television please take note of this channel.
Thank you very much! So glad you enjoyed this effort - it was a delight to make!
Having recently moved from a village near your recent March to Wisbech Line video down to Fairford - I’m delighted your history of closed railways has followed me! Thankyou for these amazing stories!
So pleased you've found my channel and are enjoying its content. What luck to have followed you about! This is one of my favourite branch lines. I hope you get the chance to explore some of it, especially the delightful Kelmscott and Langford!
I don't know about this entire world, but Britain's branch lines will always be kept alive in our minds and hearts
They're pretty special, I'd agree! 🙂
That countryside is beautiful! It’s films like this one that make me want to visit the British isles.
My friend, as s native of this country I will exhibit some bias, but for variety and beauty, there are few places to match the British countryside!
Thanks for this as someone born and lived in the Witney area a large part of my life I very vaguely recall seeing small patches of the Witney platform prior to the area’s redevelopment. This was a fascinating watch and while I can understand why it may have been closed back then i think in hindsight it was a bad move given the amount of growth in the area since.
Really glad you enjoyed the film! Do share far and wide if you can!
A delightful railway journey, skillfully recreated and narrated. Thank you.
That's very kind of you to say so, thank you 🙂
Incredible video with excellent details, footage and photos. It's easy to be wistful now, but it's a story of so much of the network but the fascination remains. You can imagine how the 60s were, the baby boomers reaching their teenage years, people driving around in cars, eschewing the "formal" fashions of previous decades and listening to modern music. Surely to these people the notion of a coal fired steam engine plodding along from out-of-the-way station to station must have seem terribly antiquated, yet these places reveal some really ingenious engineering, beautifully functional buildings and structures. For me anyway, that is the fascination, especially when these places end up forgotten and the generations that remember them are all but gone.
Really so pleased that you enjoyed the film! And I think your assessment is very balanced, when so many are quick to just get hot headed about Dr Beeching etc. Many thanks for your remarks.
Amazing that when so much of greater solidity has gone, the rather rickety-looking Carterton station building survives apparently fully intact, complete with awning. Great work, as always!
Strange isn't it! So glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Another gem of a video, Always amazing to see what remains in the landscape but so sad that all that work has been cast aside. Open as many lines again as possible to get pollution down and give people travel choices. Thank you for your efforts as always. Looking forward to the next!
Many thanks indeed for your kind words about my film - do share the film far and wide if you can 🙂
Thank you for another beautiful & nostalgic article. Strange how trees, brambles & nettles grow so well on the site of old railway tracks.
Yes they do - waiting to sting and entangle amateur filmmakers! Thanks so much for your kind words about my film 🙂
Found this very interesting thank you. My grandfather was the last station master at Witney who continued to live in the station masters house after the railways closure.
I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the film, especially as you're family has such a connection with this remarkable line 🙂
I loved this line, despite never having travelled on it, it closed when I was only 9 years old, I have several books on the line, and did a lot of research including visiting Fairford in the 1970's when the station building was still there, and I built a model railway layout based on the premise that the line was extended to Cirencester, my station was Poulton & Ampney, a mirror of Fairford and Lechlade which would have been halfway between Fairford & Cirencester and as in the branch tradition, nowhere close to either village, alas I was forced to dismantle it a few years ago as I no longer had the space for it. Thank you for compiling this wonderful tribute to a line which now would have been a brilliant heritage railway had it survived Mr Beeching
Many thanks indeed 🙏 I never saw this line in action by a long shot, but I love it also and think it would have made for a fine heritage railway 🛤
There has been recently proposals to reopen the line as far as Witney. The A40 is so congested. A light railway or rapid transit would ideal.
In the course of my research I came across such articles - am I right in saying that the aspiration is there but the money is not?
@@RediscoveringLostRailways that’s right but it’s still under discussion.
Great video again! Your use of the 1960s videos was a great addition; I'm glad Mr. Stoneham had the foresight to film the line. I'm sure there would be a difficult case to reopen the line, since it serves very small villages, but it would make a lovely ride through the countryside.
I agree with you on both counts - thank heavens for Mr Stoneham's film!
Another amazing well delivered video. These videos are better than walking Britain's lost railways
Thank so much Craig - I saw some photos of yours on FB the other day, pictures of Bedford St John's and thought 'I must have a proper rummage round there at some point'. Really grateful for your kind words about my film 🙂
Another video of exceptional quality. It's always sad to watch the downfall of a railway line. Many thanks.
Very kind of you to say so, thank you!
Very interesting. I live in Witney and, during lockdown last year, I went round and photographed all the railway remains I could find.
What a wonderful way to have spent lockdown! Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Your narration is excellent, it is very fitting for the railway era you are covering. I was only a small child in the early sixties, but my love of trains, station's and railways across our green pleasant land is still very much a part of me. I feel sadness, as the steam era is unlikely to ever return. However your videos capture some of that lost magic. Thank you.
Really appreciate your remarks about my film and its narration - I remember being very awkward about narrating at first, but I wouldn't turn back now. As for the return of the steam era - at least we have many fine heritage railways here in the UK 🙂
Again a very nice and well documented video if a rural line. The filmimages od the sixties are a great addition. Thanks for sharing. 🚂
Many thanks! Yes, that footage is quite remarkable!
What can I say that has not already been said. A perfect, poetic, pastoral peek into this branch line . Excellent, yet again. Many thanks.
Very kind of you to say so - do share the film far and wide if you can!
I was stationed at Brize Norton in1954 to1957, I remember Witney and that area well. I would take the bus to Oxford and then the train to London. Another gem of a vlog.
Wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing!
Really interesting. Late 70’s lived at Eynsham and spent plenty of time as a youngster walking the abandoned railway line from the old station and beyond….. was a super productive area for hunting native lizards and snakes back in the day. The old station back then was inhabited by a somewhat bohemian theatre prop building company if memory is correct…. Nice one!
What fabulous and evocative memories - the one constant is that closed railways become fine natural habitats!
Once again an articulate view of yesteryear and well presented. Your talent and delivery are exemplary. Thank you.
So nice of you to say so, thank you :)
Another brilliant film.
I visited Witney earlier in the year and researched this railway.
You've done an excellent job of collating it all together.
Great work.
Some beautiful high quality archive photographs.
Glad you enjoyed it and always happy to hear from a fellow investigator of lost railways - especially this one!
I think I've now watched all of your videos. The quality of video, audio and commentary are superb, not to mention lovely music you use. This is really one of my favourite of all RUclips channels and I look forward all your future videos.
I'm so pleased that you enjoyed watching my films. Thank you for your kind words about them. More to come in the months ahead. Thank you kindly 🙂
wow man i used to live in Lechlade on Thames and i loved that old railway and i used to go and see the old station before new houses were built on it when i was 7 and 8 before i moved to france in 2011 thanks for doing this man you really relived my oldest memories :-) keep up your amazing work and hope to see your newest soon
Really glad you enjoyed the film and that it stirred some happy memories for you!
What a lovely video! Such a shame to lose a beautiful line like this. Thanks to you for sharing this with us. More, please!
Thank you - do subscribe if you've not already done so and enjoy my other films in the series 🙂
¡Hola buenas tardes! As ever, a truly professionally produced video, showing the sad demise of a wonderful bygone age. Thanks indeed to the thoughtfulness of Mr. Stoneham who has captured some amazing scenes and, I’m sure for many, wonderful memories of the line. Your narration is perfect and gives a very clear and, concise, history of the route. Thanks again for your tireless work. Stay safe and well. Un saludo. Gary
Yes, three cheers for Mr Stoneham! Truly evocative images thanks to him. So glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Great production and research I lived in Witney for a few years and walked the line to South Leigh a good many times. Many thanks for posting.
Always glad to get the approval of someone with local knowledge - thanks so much for your kind words - and what a great line it is to explore!
As always, a very well-photographed and narrated passing of part of Britain's rail network. Thank you.
Very kind of you to say so, thank you!
Once upon a time rural England was accessible to all British citizens and tourist visitors alike. Nowadays one would need to own a their own private helicopter, unfortunately!!!! Great presentation as always and very informative!!!!
Yes just so! Thank you very much for your kind words about my film 🙂
Probably worth reinstating to Witney, perhaps as a light rail with street running into the middle of Oxford.
Agreed, completely!
What a compelling intro to an excellent documentary of the fated Witney line, with some fascinating archive footage. A really professional video programme, with thoughtful narrative, which made really interesting viewing.
There are occasional flurries of enthusiasm about re-establishing a rail link to Witney, in view of its development and the chronic and severe congestion on the A40, but these always seem to prove ephemeral. The latest attempt, earlier this year, saw a local campaign group submitting a bid to the Government's Restoring Your Railway Fund for a feasibility study to re-establish a line from Yarnton to Carterton. While local MPs are positive, the county council's lacklustre response is consistent with its proposed £102 million investment in improvements to the A40. It looks as though nature will continue to take its course on the old line!
Thank you for your kind words about my film and your thoughts. I've seen many articles about re-establishing a line along this corridor but, as you suggest, there seems to be little will among those in charge to permit it. Such a shame, since the roads into Oxford are so congested. However, I'll keep my fingers crossed that a railway may one day prevail!
A brilliantly put together film but also a very sad one. No it shouldn't have been closed. Been to Whitney many times but never knew it even existed. When I go again I will try to find some of the locations you found and reflex back to those wonderful days that are sadly long gone. Thank you so much for this wonderful channel. Best one on YT.
You're very kind. Do share the film far and wide if you can and spread the word! 🙂
Brilliant and interesting as always
Very kind of you to say so - do share far and wide if you can!
Thank you for another fascinating video. It's incredible that some people had the foresight to photograph and film these branch lines in their heyday so that we can look back and get a taste of what has gone before.
I particularly like the photo fading from then to now.
As so much of the old route has been developed, it would be a mammoth task to restore the line creating diversions around the developments.
Yes, I think reopening is just so unlikely it is the stuff of fantasy. I agree with you - so glad others filmed these routes and that lost way of life. Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Yes it would be a problem to reinstate but since the line closed the population of Witney has grown from 1600 to 27,000. Traffic on the A40 has increased. Re-opening the line could reduce road congestion leading into Oxford
Yes, the Oxford to Witney section would be of great benefit!
Excellent video thanks 😊. The addition of the old home movie clips really were fantastic. A drive down nostalgia avenue
Glad you enjoyed it - thank you - I was so happy to be granted permission to use that footage!
When this line was muted the intention was to extend it through to Cirencester, then Kemble, and on to connect with the lines that ran North South to Bristol.
Wartime business at Fairford, and at Brize Norton, but apart from that - it was just a rural byway with very little traffic, either freight or passenger.
Harold Gasson, when he was still alive, used to tell me tales of being a relief signalman on the line, and of how quiet it was - yet another of the many branch lines implemented in haste but without the correct assessments being done - by 'investors' looking for a quick return on their money.
It would have made far more financial sense to keep the 'Gold Coast' open - but then, I lived in Compton, so used this line often!
Wonderful, thank you for your thoughts and for sharing your knowledge of the line - much appreciated 🙂
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I plead the following: at one time my next door neighbour was the shed foreman at Didcot (81E), so guess who got to ride on whichever footplate he fancied that day? - without fear of a sanction for the driver? Visits to signal boxes were also allowed, courtesy of Harold Gasson and his mates - why, some days there would be more people in the box then there were supposedly working on the line (especially if it were raining).
'City of Truro' was a regular on the Newbury branch, and I've had the double pleasure of footplate rides - many, on the earlier steam train, and then years later, one on the 47xxx of that name when it appeared into Worcester one day.
gauge
Did this railway deserve to be closed? In strictly financial terms the answer is yes, and that goes for most of the branch lines because of the reasons you highlighted, use of cars and buses and the stations being sometimes miles from the nearest village/town. However thinking with heart rather than the mind of course they should not have been closed, like others this was a tragedy. Thanks for yet another brilliant, well researched and presented video, they are really professionally made. Please don't keep us waiting too long for the next one!
Thank you so much for your kind words about my film, together with your thoughtful remarks and assessment with which I agree. Next film at the start of December!
Brings back so many memories as a child in Witney, lost but NEVER forgotten
So glad my film helped to stir some memories of the line!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways Indeed it did, we lived the opposite end of Witney and would ride our bikes to the station to catch the train to Oxford.
This was another amazing video to watch.... If this line was in preservation today... What a sight it would be... Can't wait for the next one
Absolutely - what a great preserved railway it would've been!
Another lovely film. You can never have too many pannier tanks! Thank you.
Many thanks indeed - and agreed!
Very well produced RLR. I like the use of railway sound FX in this video.
Thank you - yes, putting together the sfx is very rewarding!
Great film.
I grew up in Witney from 58 to 91 and my parents lived there until they passed on just a few years ago. I remember many of the sites and stations. In Eynsham, the bridge that carried the road over the railway survived way into the 70s and latterly carried a piece of grafitti in large letters proclaiming "Rail. The future way" before it was demolished. Witney station was close to the playground and public playing fields south of the church, affording the potential passenger a rather delightful stroll (if somewhat lengthy by todays standards) from town centre to station. As a teenager, myself and friends would occasionally cycle to Brize Norton's derelict station and signal box which provided us an interesting view of the airfield to go plane spotting - like Concorde and occassional B52s.
Should it have been closed? With its unfulfilled potential of getting to Cirencester and Gloucester, it was never going to succeed. While getting stock to market might have been a rural ambition, as a passenger route there were never the numbers. Its demise was inevitable. In 62, Witney's population was somewhere in the region of 5 to 8000 and Carterton probably 2 or 3 thousand. Today, Witney's population is getting close to 30,000 and Carterton 15,000+ and road traffic from these two towns into Oxford and beyond regularly clogs up the A40. A rail service (or maybe a tram) from Carterton through Witney to Oxford would probably make money.
Really glad you enjoyed the film - do share it far and wide if you can. It was really interesting to read your memories and thoughts concerning this line. I'm an outsider from Cambridgeshire, so getting an insiders view is always welcome. Much appreciated.
Loved this it brought back so many memories. I used to live in Cassington and remember my dad taking me to see the last goods train using the line. On a side note most of the local children learnt to swim in Evenlode in the shadow of the bridge shown in your film.
Thank-you for sharing your wonderful memories!
Just excellent - I really enjoyed this wander back thru time.
Very kind of you to say so - so pleased you enjoyed it!
Aw thanks once again, awesome skew bridge at 4:23
My pleasure - from what I've read, I believe the bridge is not original, but was recreated in the same style, which is a great touch!
Thank you for an informative and well presented film. I am familiar with the A40 west of Oxford and judging by the traffic queues approaching and leaving the City during rush hours restoration of the line as far as Witney may well be beneficial.
Yes, at the very least to Witney! Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
What can I say, yet another excellent well written and professional video. Mainstream TV companies could learn a thing or too from your style of presentation. Looking forward to the next episode. Thank you so much for the time and effort you spend on these mini documentaries.
You're very kind indeed - the joy of not having to make stuff for TV is that I don't have to compromise and make those dreaded human interest angles, or else popping off to a local craft centre to sample the jams or have a go at playing an instrument or the like 😅 Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Your videos are getting better and better, television beckons!
I always look forward to your videos.
I would have loved to travel on all those lost railways but the Callander to Oban line through Glen Ogle would be my first choice.
Keep up the good work!
Yes, now that would be a wonderful one upon which to travel! Many thanks indeed for your kind words - do share the film far and wide if you can! 🙂
hiya dear friend , we enjoyed every single second of that . loved the avro york , my late dad flew home in a york from raf fayid when his time was up in the canal zone , this film has been a beautiful end to a busy yet great weekend , time with my beautiful wife , my compassionate daughter and the purchase of the flamecut cab side of 08 591. i have never met you and you mean a great deal to us , all our best wishes from nick and tracy in wigan , still in ancashire , a puzzle of lost railways too
Always happy to hear from you, your thoughts and your memories. Really glad you enjoyed the film 🙂
Thank you for this video. Very nice presenting and the cine film from 1962 is an excellent addition. A pleasure to watch.
Well, there were these pointers:
The rise of the private car.
Competing bus services.
The stations being some way from the places that they served.
Could it have been mothballed? Probably yes.
Thanks Andrew - I think the causes of 'death' were not uncommon among railways at the time!
Great story - thank you!
My pleasure, thank you 🙂
I'm in the habit of watching these video's with Google Earth alongside. Most of the old railway lines are recognisable as field boundaries or cycle paths and roads, replacing the old railway. But even through fields, the lines are still visible as, what the archaeologists call, crop marks or stains in the soil.
For example in this case some fields between Eynsham and South Leigh.
I'm Dutch, but also an Anglophile and a bit of a train and history anorak, so I really enjoy this channel very much.
I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the film and the others in the series. You're absolutely right - so much is to be found of you know where to look!
Amazing video. Thank you sharing.
Very kind of you to say so, thank you!
Another gem.
Many thanks indeed! 🙂
Thank you for another very enjoyable video on a lost railway. I look forward to the next one.
Thanks ever so much indeed - do share the film far and wide if you can 🙂
There is now a bridleway from Kelmscott and Langford station towards Alvescott as far a Calcroft Bridge. When I was there earlier this year the bridleway was temporarily closed while a bridge over a stream was under repair, although I understood from some dog walkers that it was sill possible to get through by walking along the stream for a short wat to an alternative crossing point.
I grew up near there and even travelled to Oxford with my parents, but as I was no more than about 4 years old my memories are dim.
Thank you for your thoughts and memories. I would have liked to have made it to Calcroft Bridge! The Kelmscott/Alvescott bridleway is just lovely!
Thank you this was really interesting. You clearly do a lot of research and I like the way you include archive footage.
Many thanks indeed - I've been lucky enough to have been granted permission to use such footage on a couple of films and it really enhances the finished product I feel!
Beautifully shot and interesting video as always. Why on earth would some mean spirited people give it a thumbs down?
Who knows these things! Many thanks indeed for your kind words about my film 🙂
Another superb and fascinating video and beautifully edited. Well done and thank you for posting these.
Thank you so much - do share far and wide if you can! 🙂
Thanks for directing me to this. Fascinating, and well worth a watch. I've sent a link to my Dad who was born and brought up in this area.
So glad you enjoyed it. Making this film was just a delightful experience that I will not forget.
Thank you so much for this piece, so interesting and evocative. These productions of yours are getting better and better, they stir up so many memories for me. Thank you also for the choice of music.
Thank you very much! Such kind words motivate me all the more to do the best I can!
So sad 😭....thanks anyway. All these lines closed in the same period, which deprived you of the chance to ride them one last time.....perhaps for the first and last time. Beautiful England in quieter times now being ripped apart. I honestly believe that most lines that closed in the Beeching Era could.....if only they had been left 'in situ' ...be a valuable part of a better transport system today. All the lines that have been reopened have been a success story.
Really glad you enjoyed the film. Thank you for your thoughts, which I imagine are widely shared on this channel!
Well done, very interesting. Particularly valuable were the stills and film clips of the 60s and before, allowing the comparison with the present. Your search for items still visible trackside also adds to the overall picture.
Did this railway deserve to be closed? The discussion amonsgt those more informed than I will continue, abut this line, and many others. But the value of your work documenting what was and what is left remains invaluable.
That's really very kind of you to say so - thank you
Beautifully presented piece Sir.
As someone who was born in Kidlington in 1947 I can remember the station there and after we moved to Yarnton I can also recall that station as we used both for train services to Oxford. The coincidence goes full circle when some 30 years later when living and working in Swindon I used to take the kids for picnics to watch Concorde coming in and out of RAF Fairford.
While of course you had to show Beeching and one of his two reports which removed actual services we must cast blame on the politicians for what you witnessed. They demolished stations and lifted tracks allegedly to save money when the actual removal costs were far more than limited maintenance would have cost. So one is left asking why? By this criminal act they thus destroyed any chance of re-instatement and use again. In particular we must blame one Barbara castle who destroyed so many lines and lost railway rights forever. Like the Varsity line from Oxford to Cambridge on which I worked for a number of years as project Manager with the East West Rail Consortium to reinstate the line lifted by Castle. It was just tragic to see the damage she caused and therefore the costs we incurred.
Many thanks for your memories of this line and for your kind words about my film. You may be interested to know that I am revisiting the Cambridge To Oxford line in the Spring, to update the progress that had been made with East West Rail and to offer viewers a balanced presentation of the effect this route will have on residents etc. I hope you will approve!
@@RediscoveringLostRailways I very much looking forward to that piece then. And I am sure I will approve.
In 1968 I was posted to RAF FAIRFORD having worked at Rotherham Masbro from 65 to 68 I used to poke around the old station buildings at Fairford but I never saw any pictures until your video.
S D WILDRIDGE EX RAF.
Glad to have been of assistance. Thank you for sharing your memories!
Wonderful video like and subscribed from Czech Republic 🙂👍👍👍
Many thanks for your comment and subscription, much appreciated. Do enjoy my channel 🙂🙂
@@RediscoveringLostRailways you're welcome 🙂
Thank you for this video - I've only just come across it. I am from Fairford and watched this section with particular interest. I understand that some of the station buildings still exist - the industrial unit was built around and over the top of them and they are in use as offices. However, it has been a considerable period of time that the firm that owns the site has permitted any enthusiasts to view and photograph them. In addition, if you continue from this site just a 100 metres or so towards Fairford the Station Masters cottage stands on the left, now a private residence.
I'm sorry I'm missed the station master's house, how vexing! I'd love to see the station remnants within the factory. How strange they're still present!
Brilliant, it must take a lot of hard work to do your films, and I thank you.
It does - but it's always a pleasure. Thank you indeed!
Beautiful images and video, fantastic editing and outstanding narration.
I suspect a case could be made for some of these lines to reopen as light railways but it would depend on traffic predictions. Of course by opening a rapid transit line it would encourage building of evermore houses and destroy the countryside...
Umm, Leave it as memory I'd say!
Thank you so much for your kind words about my film. And I agree with your assessment - these green fields would soon become housing estates if the railway was to return!
You don’t need a railway as an excuse to build housing. Here in Berkshire we have many villages where fields are now being built upon and these areas never had a railway line. Bus services are being introduced in some cases but in the majority of cases, people in these new housing estates are simply getting about by using cars with an inevitable impact on pollution and congestion levels.
@@andrewlong6438 you're right if course - lots of houses and little infrastructure - same round my part of the world
Outstanding. Well researched and presented. Good job!
Many thanks indeed - do share the film far and wide if you can!
I have never been to the northern hemisphere, but I found this to be a most interesting and enjoyable video. Thank you for all the work that you put into making it.
It really is a labour of love. I've never been to the southern hemisphere - I hope I can one day come to explore some lost railways there! 🙂
@@RediscoveringLostRailways Come on down! (and thanks for the reply).
Another good one! I made one of my college projects about this line and I can categorically say you did a far better job than me, no thanks to the weather on my filming day. There is one thing you missed at Kelmscott and Langford, and that is the sleepers from the goods siding can still be found about a meter from the lamppost.
So glad you enjoyed the film - I know what you mean about filming and poor conditions, though I was blessed with good weather on this day. Curses that I missed those sleepers - I wonder if they were hidden beneath the nettles? I think Kelmscott & Langford is now one of my favourite disused stations!
As ever, this is so very nicely done. Chapeau!
Many thanks indeed 🙂
This is a first class production both in terms of editing, commentary and music, but also the amount of research that you must have done and the effort taken to shoot so accurately in the modern day views. I am truly impressed. This is better than some of the shoddy product that passes for documentary on TV on some of the obscure digital channels.
Thank you for your very kind remarks - I greatly enjoyed making this film and it ranks as one of my favourite branch lines!
Excellent video, so much information. Great drone work!! Thanks for taking the time and effort to document these missing branch lines.
Glad you enjoyed it - and I love making these films, so I hope it shows!
Thank you for making this film. Like all your previous videos, it was a joy to watch.
Really glad it didn't disappoint!
hello from lancashire , we have missed you , so happy to hear from you
Likewise - many thanks indeed!
As always, a very impressive and enjoyable documentary. The old cine film embellishments and narrative really make this into quality RUclips. Thank you!
Thanks ever so much for your kind words about my film 🙂
Thank you, once again, for a lovely film.
My pleasure, thank you indeed!
You do the best lost railways on youtube, your beautiful calming voice helps to build the beautiful picture of the past ❤️
Very kind of you to say so, thank you
It's the truth I really love watching do big thankyou. I'd love you to do the Bridport line and even the line to Lyme Regis. Unless u have and I not seen it lol
@christinecrockford1654 thank you! Recommendations always welcome 🙏
@@RediscoveringLostRailways what I like about disused railways is how once it was busy industrial railways and how beautiful nature takes them back, of once was. Love the little clues. But hate when it's replaced with modern concrete ugly buildings..
@@christinecrockford1654 couldn't agree more. I love how it is often hiding in plain sight.
Another very well researched and presented study. Long may they (and you) continue :-)
Very kind of you to say so - yes, many more to follow!
Hi , What a wonderful railway should be reinstated, The things we have lost over the years, I live in Seaton Devon and miss A long missed branch line ????(have a look) All the Best Brian 🤗
Thanks Brian - I'll check it out 🙂
A beautiful and well made documentary on a bi gone age. It is regrettable that the short sightedness of the government aided and abetted by Dr Beeching denied a better transport infrastructure that we so need today. I've always felt that Ernest Marples put his own interests before those of the nation. Marples Ridgeway was a road construction company ( built the M4 flyover into London) along with Marples the removal and transport company. Then the changes in the Transport Act gave the advantage to Lorry size and speed thereby disadvantaging the railways. With green issues dominating the headlines maybe it's time to "build back better a revitalised rail infrastructure. But I wouldn't count on it!!!!
Thanks ever so much! And I think you're right to be cynical in your assessment! Do share the film far and wide if you can 🙂