Tracking down Wooburn’s lost railway

IT’S MORE than half a century since the last train ran through Wooburn Green.

But in truth closing the line can’t have been one of the harder decisions of the Beeching era.

Although the Wycombe Railway linked High Wycombe to the Great Western main line at Maidenhead, it was only ever a single line taking a rather circuitous loop north through Bourne End, Wooburn Green and Loudwater.

Standing on the old trackbed in the dappled sunshine of a glorious July afternoon, it’s easy to understand what a pleasant journey it might have been to meander your way from Maidenhead to Oxford by steam train along this route 150 years ago, but it was never going to be exactly fast.

Originally built to the same broad gauge as the GWR, it opened to passengers in 1854 and extended on through Princes Risborough and Thame to link up with the GWR line from Didcot to Oxford in 1864.

It was converted to standard gauge in 1870 three years after it was subsumed into the Great Western network and the little branch from Bourne End to Marlow opened in 1873.

But by the end of the 19th century new lines were already making life harder for some of the routes promoted during the railway mania of the 1840s, and when the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway opened between High Wycombe and Northolt Junction in 1899, it gave the GWR a shorter route between High Wycombe and Paddington that robbed the Wycombe Railway of much of its traffic.

Nonetheless passenger trains would still run over the route for another 70 years.

Freight services were withdrawn between Bourne End and High Wycombe on 18 July 1966, but British Railways did not close the line to passenger traffic until 4 May 1970.

Almost nothing remains of the original railway infrastructure today, although two sections of the track are open to ramblers and sharper-eyed observers can still spot other traces of the route.

Richard Gower explores the whole length of the route in his blog and there are some videos tracing the route too, both on foot and by bike.

Wooburn Green’s substantial brick-built station near the bottom of Whitepit Lane became a halt in 1968 because of the decreased service on the route and closed with the line in 1970.

It remained as a private dwelling until the late 1980s, being eventually demolished to make way for the Old Station Way development.

Loudwater’s station at the bottom of Treadaway Hill also became a halt in 1968 and was demolished in the mid-1970s to make way for an industrial park, though a railway conservation path towards High Wycombe follows the route of the former railway.

Back in Wooburn Green, dog walkers, joggers and cyclists make good use of the section of trackbed running towards Bourne End, some of it a parish council nature walk.

Visitors can park for free at Wooburn Park and slip across the footbridge over the Wye onto Town Lane, picking up the railway at the bottom of a footpath up the steep incline irreverently known locally as “Cardiac Hill”, which leads to Flackwell Heath.

From here, the trackbed is wide and offers a relaxed stroll behind industrial units and houses towards Bourne End.

On a drowsy July afternoon, the air is full of the soothing cooing of pigeons and the going is easy.

Open fields rise on the other side of the line, providing a welcome vista over ripening crops before the path gets a little narrower and the woods a little more dense.

Those heading to Bourne End emerge from the nature path a short distance from the station, which is still in use, taking passengers on to Marlow or Maidenhead.

On a still evening, the distance clatter of a small local train clattering over the Thames at Bourne End can sound very reassuring, much as perhaps the hoot of a whistle sounded back in the 1950s when a steam train chugged up the valley towards High Wycombe.

Those happy to have a level ramble can just turn round and head back to Wooburn Green, but for those with a bit more energy, a right turn before you get to Bourne End takes you up through the trees on a circular route back to your start point.

The climb isn’t quite as steep as Cardiac Hill, but the views out towards the Thames are far reaching.

Up here, the surroundings can feel idyllic on a summer’s day, with a light breeze rustling the crops and plenty of life bustling in the hedgerows.

It’s easy to feel you have completely escaped from the rat race, with few other walkers to disturb your serenity: and as your circle round to head back to base camp, it’s a whole lot more relaxed going down Cardiac Hill than coming up!