Banbury Merton Street railway station

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Banbury Merton Street Station was the northern Terminus of the Buckinghamshire Railway until 1966, when it was closed. Now it is the sorting office for Banbury. The line was built by Robert Stephenson.

Buckinghamshire Railway Route Map

Legend

Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham, Warwick

Banbury Bridge Street now known as Banbury Station

Banbury Merton Street opposite Bridge Street, walking distance between stations 350m

Chiltern Main Line east, Cherwell Valley/Oxford Canal Line south Line to London Marylebone

Cherwell Valley/Oxford Canal Line south to London Paddington, Reading via GWML

Oxford this Branch of Line forms part of the Varsity Line

Farthinghoe

Line to Fairford

Line to Blisworth

Islip

Brackley

Bicester

Chiltern Main Line north to Banbury Bridge Street, south to High Wycombe, London Marylebone

Launton

Marsh Gibbon & Poundon

Great Central Main Line north to Rugby

Fullwell & Westbury

Buckingham

Great Central Main Line south to Aylesbury

Line south to Aylesbury

Claydon

Padbury

Verney Junction

Line south to Quainton Road

Winslow

Swanbourne

West Coast Main Line to London Euston

Bletchley

Varsity Line to Bedford

Milton Keynes Central

West Coast Main Line Birmingham, The North

The station was completed on 1 May 1850. Built to serve as the terminus for the Buckinghamshire Railway and as a competitor to the nearby GWR Banbury Bridge Street station - walking distance between the two stations was 350, actual distance 20m - with trains to Oxford, Birmingham and London, the Buckinghamshire Railway tried to combat this with a route that joins with the Varsity Line to Milton Keynes, and another Terminus in Oxford. Immediately upon leaving the station the track remained separate from the GWR's Cherwell Valley/Oxford Canal Line and once south of Grimsbury where the station was situated, headed east to Farthinghoe, where the now Chiltern Main Line headed south to King's Sutton. Merton Street's location handed another advantage as it was situated next to the largest cattle market in Europe - a significant potion of the station was handed over for freight use. Also built was an exchange siding with Bridge Street. During WW1 both stations in Banbury profited from a Ministry of Munitions shell filling factory being situated near the town - Bridge Street had increased passengers, while Merton Street saw an increase in freight traffic. In 1938 both stations were so busy that the LMS propsed unifiying the two adjacent stations, rerouting all passenger services from the Merton Street side (including the Buckinghamshire Railway) to the Bridge Street side, and the Merton Street side being devoted to being a freight terminal. The arrival of WW2 saw the plan being postponed, and after the war Merton Street saw a great decline in passenger traffic, and in the 1950s the plan resurfaced, but only Bridge Street was rebuilt. However Merton Street's freight services were still as strong as ever, with the cattle market still going strong and various iron ore mines operating nearby Banbury. However this was the beginning of the end, on 2 January 1961 all passenger services ceased, and barely five years later, on 6 June 1966, freight services were withdrawn and Merton Street closed. Consequently, Banbury Bridge Street became the only station serving Banbury and dropped the Bridge Street suffix from its name, becoming simply Banbury Station.