Waddesdon is a closed station that served the village of
Waddesdon
Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace maki ...
and its
manor, to the north of
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, England. The station is not to be confused with
Waddesdon Road railway station
Waddesdon Road railway station, called Waddesdon railway station before 1922, was a small Train station#Halt, halt in open countryside in Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened in 1871 as part of a short Horsecar, horse-drawn Tramway (industri ...
at the other end of the
Waddesdon Manor
Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, with over 463,000 visitors i ...
estate on the
Brill Tramway
The Brill Tramway, also known as the Quainton Tramway, Wotton Tramway, Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch, was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately b ...
.
History
The station was first opened as Waddesdon Manor by the
Metropolitan Railway
The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
on 1 January 1897.
"Manor" was dropped from the name on 1 October 1922.
It was the first station north of
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
on the section of the
Metropolitan Railway
The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...
between Aylesbury and .
The Metropolitan Railway amalgamated with several other transport companies to form the
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...
in 1933. The station was closed on 6 July 1936
when their services were curtailed at
Aylesbury
Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
.
While open, the station was also served by former
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line (GCML), also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR), is a former railway line in the United Kingdom. The line was opened in 1899 and built by the Great Central Railw ...
(running on the same tracks as the Metropolitan line as far as
Quainton Road
Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 in under-developed countryside near Quainton, in the English county of Buckinghamshire, from London. Built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway, it was the result of pressure from the 3rd ...
) which was not itself closed to passengers until 1966, under the
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
.
Today one platform of the station (on the side remote from the remaining track) remains; the other has been demolished. Until 2021 the line was used for a daily freight train carrying waste from London to Calvert, as well as special services between Aylesbury and
Quainton Road
Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 in under-developed countryside near Quainton, in the English county of Buckinghamshire, from London. Built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway, it was the result of pressure from the 3rd ...
for events at the
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, about west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two ...
.
Because of its association with the
Metropolitan line
The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in Hillingdon. Printed in magenta on the tube map, the line i ...
this station is considered to be one of the
Closed London Underground stations
The London Underground is a public rapid transit system in the United Kingdom that serves a large part of Greater London and adjacent parts of the home counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It has many closed stations, while other ...
although it is from London and is not underground.
Routes
References
External links
*
*
{{Closed stations Buckinghamshire
Disused railway stations in Buckinghamshire
Metropolitan line stations
Disused London Underground stations
Former Metropolitan and Great Central Joint Railway stations
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1897
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1936
Waddesdon Manor