Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway

Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway
	Watlington in the 19th century
Overview
Stations called at	8 Princes Risborough (mainline terminus); Bledlow Bridge Halt (opened 1 September 1906); Wainhill Crossing Halt(opened 1 August 1925); Chinnor; Kingston Crossing Halt (opened 1 September 1906); Aston Rowant; Lewknor Bridge Halt (opened 1 September 1906); Watlington (terminus);
Dates of operation	1872–; Closed to passengers: 1 July 1957; Freight:1989
Successor	Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in Standard Gauge
Previous gauge	7 ft Broad Gauge
Length	9 mi (14 km) (original)
Track length	2.7 mi (4.3 km) (current)
Route map
Route map
v; t; e; Watlington & Princes Risborough Railway
	Legend

The Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway was an independent English railway company that opened a line between the Oxfordshire towns of Watlington and Chinnor in 1872. The 9 mi (14 km) branch, which connected to the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Princes Risborough, did not make any money and was taken over in 1883 by GWR resulting in its investors sustaining considerable losses.

In 1863 the Wallingford and Watlington Railway was proposed to link Wallingford and Watlington to the Great Western main line at Wallingford Road but this was only opened as far as Wallingford in 1866 before running out of money. In 1868 the Thame Gazette reported a proposal for a scheme to link Watlington to Princes Risborough instead, to be called the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway. It was mostly funded by the rich landowners of Watlington. The act of Parliament, the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict.c. cxliii), to build the line received royal assent on 26 July 1869 and it was opened in 1872, though not without some problems along the way.

By 1948, competition from road vehicles had led to a decline in rail usage across the UK. The nationalisation of the British railway network put the line under review of its future. In 1957 passenger services ceased but the line remained open for goods traffic until 30 December 1960, after which track on the southern part of the branch was lifted. However, a large cement works kept a 2.8 mi (4.5 km) stretch of the northern end of the line between Chinnor and Risborough junction open until 1989. After closure, this line was taken over by the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway and is now a heritage railway.