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On March the 31st 1898
the Board of Trade inspection of The Lambourn Valley railway took
place. The inspecting officer Col Yorke, declared that subject
to a speed limit of 25 miles an hour and axle loadings not exceeding
8 tons, opening of the railway was approved. The private opening
was set for Saturday April the 2nd 1898 and the full public opening
for the following Monday the 4th of April. |
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Lambourn station as
on the day of opening showing the original timber water tank and
the lightly laid trackwork. Track construction was of flat bottom
rail spiked directly to the sleepers and then ballasted over.
The first public service train into Lambourn hauled four Brown
Marshall coaches that were purchased by the company chairman. |
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South Berkshire M.P. Mr. G Mount was
aboard, his duty was to open the line officially on arrival at
the terminus, both he and Mr Gipps made the journey on the footplate
along with the driver and fireman. Thirty-Seven minutes after
leaving Newbury, the train arrived in Lambourn welcomed by a celebratory
peel of bells from the Parish Church and music from a local Brass
Band. Two further trips were made that day each carrying
around 80 fare-paying passengers. |
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The Lambourn Valley
Railway Company ran as an independent company from the 4th of
April 1898 until it was taken over by the Great Western Railway
Company on July the 1st 1905. The new owners now had control over
12¼ miles of cheaply built line, the first job would be
to bring it up to the exacting standards the GWR. Within
2 or 3 months, the line was relayed with pre-used material from
GWR stock. The communication was system was improved with the
installation of two-way telephones linking Newbury to all the
manned stations along the length of the line. Lambourn Terminus
also under went a transformation during this extensive upgrading. |
| Access to the station was - appropriately
enough - Via Station Road through a 15' 6" single span gate.
The rear of the Station building was supported on brick arches whilst
the steeply graded bank to the rear of the platform was inlaid with
granite blocks for support. |
By the
1920s, Road transport was starting to impact on the railway companies
quite noticeably and in an effort to compete with the private
transport operators, Great Western aquired a large fleet of it's
own road vehicles.Great Western's very first local bus service
was inaugurated on the 17th of August 1925 and ran from Swindon
to Lambourn, travelling via Stratton Park, Wanborough and Aldbourne.
A second Swindon service was introduced on the 26th of July 1926
passing through Ashbury, Wanborough and Coate. This particular
route lasted just three years, and was withdrawn on the 6th of
July 1929. |
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| This view shows
The staff with one of the Thorneycoft buses used on the
Swindon to Lambourn service. The Bus is parked on the Station
platform which was its defined arrival and departure point.
Left - Signalman Bert Allen
with his dog outside the signal box
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Two almost identical views
of 1901 class 2007 as the crew prepare for a somewhat uncomfortably
cold and draughty journey back to Newbury Station. The photos
would have been taken in or around 1934. |
| Mention
Lambourn to almost anyone and they immediately connect it with
the Horse Racing industry. Race Specials were a common occurrance
on the line especially throughout the 15 years between 1920 and
1935, a time when race traffic was at it's pinnacle. Several of
the Lambourn trainers had private horse boxes with their names'
sign-written on either side. These boxes were usually Paco 'A's
which were dual fitted for for working to Redcar or Newcastle
over LNER tracks, where westinghouse braking was a required commodity. |
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Signalman's comforts included a stove, cupboards, desk and chair.
The business end of the box contained a stud locking frame with
20 levers at 5 inch centres. This view taken in 1938 also shows
9 spares (painted white). Other
signalling equipment included a No. 9 token instrument for the
section of line to Welford it replaced the earlier tablet instrument.
Such a simple box was for many years classified 6 in the GWR grading
system, Class 1 being the highest. |
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