Tracks in the Mist

Our March meeting was a presentation by Colin Brading entitled “Tracks in the Mist”, meaning long - lost railways.

The first line looked at was the Brill Tramway in the Vale of Aylesbury. Colin gave a brief history of railways in the area. One ran to Quinton near the border of the Duke of Buckingham’s Wotton estate. The tramway was a 6 mile long line built by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham in 1871 as a horse drawn tram line to transport agricultural produce from his land around Wotton House to Quainton Road. There was no junction connection between the tramway and the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway. The line was extended to Brill in 1872, with services including passenger traffic. Two steam locomotives were purchased, but journey times were very slow. Improvements to the tramway were made in the 1880s, and a link with the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway was made when Quainton Road station was relocated. A proposed extension of the railway from Brill to Oxford was not built.

The Metropolitan Railway acquired the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway and later the Brill tramway. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway became part of London Transport. A rural line many miles from the capital did not fit into London Transport’s plans, and the Brill line closed in 1935.

The second line looked at by Colin was the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Light Railway. It opened between Weston super Mare and Clevedon in 1897 and to Portishead in 1907. The line ran into financial difficulties and became part of the Colonel Stephens empire. Railcars were introduced which reduced costs and a short branch constructed to Wick St Lawrence connecting it to a wharf on the River Yeo. The loss of stone traffic from Black Rock quarry near Portishead was a major blow. With dwindling receipts the last train ran on 18 May 1940, and the lifting of the track began in 1942.

We thank Colin for an informative evening talking about two long- lost railways.