Waddesdon Railway Station, Buckinghamshire

Waddesdon is a closed station that served the village of Waddesdon and its manor, to the north of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The station is not to be confused with Waddesdon Road railway station at the other end of the Waddesdon Manor estate on the Brill Tramway.

History

The station was first opened as Waddesdon Manor by the Metropolitan Railway on 1 January 1897. “Manor” was dropped from the name on 1 October 1922. It was the first station north of Aylesbury on the section of the Metropolitan Railway between Aylesbury and Verney Junction.

The Metropolitan Railway amalgamated with several other transport companies to form the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. The station was closed on 6 July 1936 when their services were curtailed at Aylesbury.

While open, the station was also served by former Great Central Main Line (running on the same tracks as the Metropolitan line as far as Quainton Road) which was not itself closed to passengers until 1966, under the Beeching Axe.

Today the permanent way, now single-track, remains in place through the site of the station. One platform of the station (on the side remote from the remaining track) remains; the other has been demolished. The line is still used for the occasional freight train, as well as special services between Aylesbury and Quainton Road for events at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

Because of its association with the Metropolitan line this station is considered to be one of the Closed London Underground stations although it is over 30 miles (48 km) from London and is not underground.

Future

The line through the station may once again see trains running, as work is being planned to run services north of Aylesbury to Milton Keynes and Bedford on the Varsity Line to commence in 2019.