It could now be providing a solution to present-day congestion on the A40. Sadly, the track of the Witney-Oxford railway was ripped up many years ago.
The picture, above right, was taken in 1962 when the last scheduled passenger train, hauled by tank engine No 9653, ran. It is pictured, packed with last-day travellers, many of them from Witney, at Fairford, Gloucestershire, the westerly terminus.
The single line opened as far as Witney in 1861 and was extended to Fairford in 1873.
It served Yarnton, Cassington, Eynsham, South Leigh, Witney, Alvescot, Brize Norton & Bampton, Carterton, Kelmscott & Langford, Lechlade and Fairford. A proposed link to Cheltenham never materialised because of lack of money.
The 22-mile railway was a lifeline for rural communities, handling both passengers and freight. But after the Second World War, competition from the roads led to its decline. Its closure saved British Railways £30,000 a year.
The other picture shows the same locomotive, probably on a different occasion, at Witney.
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