JOHN Sparrowhawk lived the dream of many schoolboys by riding in the cab of a steam locomotive and spending time in a signalbox.

He enjoyed many happy hours on the railway at Bampton, where his uncle was the signalman.

Mr Sparrowhawk, of Ashlong Road, Headington, Oxford, was prompted to write in after seeing pictures of trains on the Oxford-Witney-Fairford line in 1962 (Memory Lane, June 1).

He writes: “Before the war, I visited Bampton to stay with my uncle for a holiday. In the signalbox, I was fascinated by the array of levers, bells and other equipment needed on a single line railway. Highlights included the occasional trip on the footplate of the engine while cattle trucks or similar were shunted into the small sidings for unloading.

“When I was old enough to cycle, I would ride to Witney station and load my cycle into the guard’s van.

“At Bampton, my cousin (my uncle’s daughter) did the same and we travelled to Fairford.

“We then rode about 10 miles to Cirencester to spend the day with relatives. We did the journey in reverse at the end of the day.

“During the early part of the war, I often cycled from my home in Ducklington to Bampton station – the view of Brize Norton airfield from the signalbox was excellent.

“The signalman was supplied with an upright steel box in which to sit as a form of protection from air raids.

“There was also a crossing on the downline to enable aircraft to the dispersed in fields away from the airfield. There was a phone line to the signalbox to ensure no trains passed at the crucial time.

“It is surprising to note that although the airfield was so close, there was no electricity at the station – the platforms were lit with Tilley lamps which were filled and pressurised by hand every day.

“When I retired in 1991, instead of giving me a farewell card, my friends and colleagues signed and gave me a copy of Stanley Jenkins’s book, The Fairford Branch, which is full of details of this line.”

As we recalled, the 22-mile line, which was completed in two stages in 1861 and 1873, left the Oxford-Worcester line just beyond Yarnton station and served Cassington, Eynsham, South Leigh, Witney, Alvescot, Brize Norton & Bampton, Carterton, Kelmscott & Langford and Fairford. A proposed extension to Cheltenham never materialised because of lack of money.

The line handled both passengers and freight. It was a lifeline for rural communities and helped reverse the decline in Witney’s famous blanket industry, bringing coal to the steam-powered mills and delivering blankets to customers cheaply and efficiently. It was also heavily used by the military in the Second World War.

After the war, competition from road transport brought a steady decline. Passenger services ended in 1962.

Freight traffic continued until 1970 and the track was then lifted: a decision many stuck in A40 traffic jams today regret.