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 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 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 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.
Origins Watlington suffered in the early part of the nineteenth century from poor road communications, at a time when transport and trade were becoming important, and other settlements were flourishing. The road network was very poor:
Watlington is a small town, the streets of which are narrow, and the houses, with a few exceptions, mean and ill-built. The nearest navigable stream is at the distance of 6 miles; a circumstance fatally adverse to the prosperity of the place. Here is no staple manufacture of any consequence... In addition to the remoteness of water-conveyance, the badness of the neighbouring roads, which are perhaps the worst in the county, acts prejudicially on commercial speculation.Edward Mogg, Paterson's Roads, Being an entirely Original and Accurate Description of All the Direct and Principal Cross Roads in England and Wales, 18th edition, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman, London, 1832
According to the 1851 census, the population of Watlington then was 1,884.
As the 19th century progressed, it became increasingly obvious that good communications were essential for economic and commercial prosperity, and a railway was a key part of that.
The first railway scheme involving Watlington was put forward about 1861, for a line from the Great Western Railway at Cholsey, through Wallingford, Benson, Watlington and Chinnor to Princes Risborough. However, the complete plan was not adopted, instead the more modest proposal to build a line from Cholsey to Wallingford was put to Parliament in 1863; but it was withdrawn by its promoters. A new bill was resubmitted at the end of 1863 for the next parliamentary session, now including Cholsey to Wallingford and Watlington. The line, called the Wallingford and Watlington Railway, was authorised by the Wallingford and Watlington Railway Act 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. cclxvi) on 25 July 1864 with capital of £80,000. Getting the subscriptions to pay for the construction proved to be difficult, partly due to the difficult economic situation of the country at the time, but a contract was let for line from the GWR main line to Wallingford in the Spring of 1865.
The Wallingford railway branch line opened without public ceremony on 2 July 1866. Following the opening the board met to consider the next step of extending the line to Benson (at the time frequently referred to as Bensington), but it was obvious that money could not be raised to carry out any such work. Only £17,575 of the £80,000 capital for the line had ever been paid up, and the financial market was extremely difficult following the collapse of Overend, Gurney and Company. When it became known that a bill was to be presented to Parliament for a line from Princes Risborough to Watlington, it was clear that the Wallingford and Watlington Railway was not going to build any more of their line.
Watlington and Princes Risborough
The rival proposal was announced on 12 May 1868: a railway branch line was to link Watlington with Princes Risborough, on the former Wycombe Railway, now taken over by the Great Western Railway. Princes Risborough was a junction for the main line to Oxford via Thame, and a branch to Aylesbury. Events moved swiftly and the (32 & 33 Vict. c. cxliii) authorising the Watlington and Princes Risborough Railway received royal assent on 26 July 1869.Colin G Maggs, The Branch Lines of Oxfordshire, Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2013,
It was to be a line in length, and the authorised capital was £36,000; the estimated cost of construction was £33,889. The prime mover in getting the scheme implemented was the Earl of Macclesfield, whose seat was near Watlington, and the chairman of the company was Thomas Taylor, an exceedingly wealthy Lancashire cotton manufacturer now living locally. In fact only £8,000 of the company's capital was subscribed by other individuals.
At this time the Wycombe Railway was a broad gauge single line; the Watlington line would form a junction with it three-quarters of one mile () west of Princes Risborough, and the section from the junction to the station would be made mixed gauge. However, the Wycombe Railway was converted to standard () gauge by the time of construction of the Watlington line, so that mixed gauge was unnecessary.
In fact during construction, in March 1872, the GWR decided to run the Watlington line in to Princes Risborough alongside the Thame line, so that there were to be two single lines. When the Watlington Company considered that their railway construction was complete, they arranged for Colonel Rich of the Board of Trade to visit to make an inspection, in order to obtain the necessary approval for opening for passenger traffic. At that time the GWR had not formed the junction at the point of convergence of the Watlington line, nor the second single track. The Watlington line evidently terminated without a junction or station. As well as finding a number of detail matters unsatisfactory, Rich reported
"that the line should be continued from the point north of Princes Risborough station to the station. At present there is no terminus at the station [actually the end of the Watlington line] to deposit the passengers at." Rich also reminded the directors that an undertaking as to the method of working the single line was required.
On 16 June 1872, the engine shed at Watlington (of course not yet in use) caught fire, causing considerable damage. The local fire engine had just been acquired and dealing with the fire was its first duty.Bucks Herald, 22 June 1872, accessed in the British Newspaper Archive, subscription required
Apparently not comprehending the objection to the blank end of their line approaching Princes Risborough, the directors arranged for a second visit from Col Rich, and this took place on 11 July 1872. The connecting line at Princes Risborough had still not been made and once again he declined to recommend the line for opening. The company had also indicated the type of engine they expected to use on the line, to be hired in from the GWR. It was a "517" class 0-4-2ST. He considered that this was a heavy class of locomotive considering the very light character of the permanent way, which would, he considered, lead to serious maintenance difficulties. The undertaking regarding the method of working had still not been submitted, and also the GWR had not connected the Princes Risborough section of its own line, so Rich again refused permission to open.
Stations
The trackwork was finally completed, but further delay ensued while the directors failed to provide the undertaking of method of working; when they finally did so on 14 August, stating that the train staff and ticket system would be used, the Board of Trade gave its sanction. The line opened on 15 August 1872.
The stations were at Princes Risborough, Chinnor, Aston Rowant and Watlington. The Princes Risborough station was a short wooden platform adjacent to, but separate from the GWR station.Christiansen is in error (page 150) when he states that "six intermediate stations and halts" opened in 1872.
Watlington; Lewknor Bridge Halt; opened 1 September 1906; Aston Rowant; Kingston Crossing Halt; opened 1 September 1906; Chinnor; Wainhill Crossing Halt; opened 1 August 1925; Bledlow Bridge Halt; opened 1 September 1906; Princes Risborough; main line junction station.M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology, The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002
The construction of the line employed minimal earthworks to keep cost down; after descending at 1 in 107 leaving Princes Risborough the line climbed at gradients up to 1 in 68 to reach Chinnor; the line then continued undulating to Aston Rowant with short up and down gradients, then falling at up to 1 in 78 to the Watlington terminus.
Financial difficulties From the outset working expenses exceeded receipts; to the end of 1872 expenditure was £789 and receipts came to £665.Figures quoted in Karau; but immediately afterwards he says that Bradshaw’s Shareholders Manual tended towards optimism, saying receipts have been sufficient, and quoting the £124 loss as a £124 surplus, and that "so far the company has been able to discharge the GW account for loco hire etc." This must be a mistake. The company also included the £3,000 retention moneyA proportion of the contractor's bill retained until the initial maintenance period has expired. as an asset, whereas it was a liability! £12,000 in debenture loans had been taken to finance the construction.
At a shareholders' meeting on 20 October 1873, the Board announced that "We are sorry to add that ... the expenditure [exceeds] income by a considerable sum." Inevitably there was no dividend. There was an account with the GWR for the toll for using its section of line and the station at Princes Risborough, and for locomotive hire; the account remained unpaid and mounted, and repeated requests for payment by the GWR were ignored. The financial situation was desperate.
It is likely that the GWR presented an ultimatum regarding engine power, for in September 1875 the Watlington company took delivery of a second hand 2-2-2WT locomotive, originally built by Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1857 for the Furness Railway; the price was £900. This was money the Company did not have, and the locomotive and some rolling stock were acquired by a nominally independent company, the Watlington Rolling Stock Company, formed in 1875.This is an eighteenth century rolling stock company, a ROSCO, familiar in the twenty-first century British railway scene. The penniless Watlington Railway was its only customer, so it is difficult to see how it could survive. (The locomotive was extremely unsuitable for use on the line quite apart from its poor mechanical condition, and a second engine was later procured.)