{{short description|Railway line in South East England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox rail line |name = Marlow branch line |color = |logo = |logo_width = |logo_alt = |image = Marlow Branch Line 1.jpg |image_width = 300px |image_alt = |caption = A First Great Western Class 165 DMU running between Bourne End and Marlow in 2006. This service is known locally as "The Marlow Donkey". |type = [[Heavy rail]] |system = [[National Rail]] |status = Operational |locale = [[Buckinghamshire]], [[Berkshire]]<br />[[South East England]] |start = Maidenhead |end = Marlow |stations = 5 |routes = |daily_ridership = |open = 1854 |close = |owner = [[Network Rail]] |operator = [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] |character = Branch line |depot = |stock = [[British Rail Class 165|Class 165 "Turbo"]]<br />[[British Rail Class 166|Class 166 "Turbo Express"]] |linelength = |tracklength = {{convert|7|mi|10|chain|km}} |tracks = Single track |gauge = {{track gauge|uksg|al=on}} |old_gauge = {{track gauge|7ft|lk=on}} |minradius = |routenumber = |electrification = |speed = 50 mph (80 km/h) |elevation = |website = |map = [[File:Marlow branch line.png|300px]]<br />([[:commons:File:Marlow branch line.png|Click to expand]]) |map_state = uncollapsed }} {{Marlow Branch Line RDT|collapse=y}} The '''Marlow branch line''' is a [[Single track (rail)|single track]] [[railway line]] in England, between [[Maidenhead railway station|Maidenhead]] station in [[Berkshire]] and [[Bourne End railway station|Bourne End]] and [[Marlow railway station|Marlow]] stations in [[Buckinghamshire]]. It is {{convert|7|mi|10|chain|km}} in length.<ref>{{coord|51.5713|-0.7663|display=inline|region:GB_scale:5000}}</ref> Passenger services are operated by [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] using [[British Rail Class 165|Class 165]] and [[British Rail Class 166|Class 166]] [[Diesel multiple unit|diesel trains]]. The line connects to the [[Great Western Main Line]] at Maidenhead; it uses a section of the former [[Wycombe Railway]] line to [[High Wycombe]] together with the former [[Great Marlow Railway]].
The train that runs on the branch line is known as ''The Marlow Donkey'' although the exact derivation of the term is unclear. Karau and Turner say "the trains of pack horses, mules and donkeys carrying goods to the riverside prompted the local people to christen the train on the Great Marlow Railway, the 'Marlow Donkey', a name which survives to this day". However, Anthony Wethered, great-grandson of the first chairman of the company, suggests that it is the name of the line.<ref name=karau /> A third tradition identifies a particular locomotive. A [[pub]] in Marlow is named after it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mmpa.org.uk/history.html|title=The Great Marlow Railway|access-date=10 Jun 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = The Story of the Marlow Donkey | work = (from Summer 2003 Newsletter) | publisher = The Marlow Society | date = 22 April 2003 | url = http://www.marlowsociety.org.uk/prognews.htm | access-date = 2009-08-22 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070622114139/http://www.marlowsociety.org.uk/prognews.htm |archive-date = 2007-06-22}}</ref>
==Train services== The off-peak service is one train per hour in each direction between Maidenhead and Marlow. During morning and evening peak times a two trains per hour service is achieved by using two trains: one shuttling between Marlow and Bourne End, and another between Bourne End and Maidenhead. This is possible because Bourne End station has two platforms that may be used simultaneously.
All trains from Marlow must stop and reverse at Bourne End, as the line to Marlow has a [[Facing and trailing|trailing connection]], and the driver must change ends for the second part of the route. As a result of the position at which the Marlow branch enters Bourne End station, the length of trains serving Marlow is limited to two coaches of class 165 rolling stock. Most off-peak trains on the line begin at Marlow and terminate at Maidenhead.
The following settlements are served by the branch line: *[[Maidenhead]] *[[Furze Platt]] *[[Cookham]] *[[Bourne End, Buckinghamshire|Bourne End]] *[[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]]
==History== ===Construction=== In July 1846, the [[Wycombe Railway|Wycombe Railway Company]] was incorporated by the [[Wycombe Railway Act 1846]] ([[9 & 10 Vict.]] c. ccxxxvi). The act authorised the construction of a single line from the original Great Western Railway (GWR) station at Maidenhead, to High Wycombe. Construction began in 1852, and the completed line to High Wycombe, was finally opened on 1 August 1854.
The line left the {{abbr|GWR|Great Western Railway}} main line at the site of the present Maidenhead station, the first stop of which was Maidenhead (Wycombe Junction), renamed in the 1860s, Boyne Hill. This station was closed on 1 November 1871 upon the opening of the present Maidenhead station. The Wycombe Railway Company was taken over by the {{abbr|GWR|Great Western Railway}} on 1 February 1867.
{{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Great Marlow Railway Act 1868 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom | long_title = An Act for making a Railway from the Wycombe Branch of the Great Western Railway to Great Marlow in the County of Buckingham; and for other Purposes. | year = 1868 | citation = [[31 & 32 Vict.]] c. c | introduced_commons = | introduced_lords = | territorial_extent = | royal_assent = 13 July 1868 | commencement = | expiry_date = | repeal_date = | amends = | replaces = | amendments = | repealing_legislation = | related_legislation = | status = | legislation_history = | theyworkforyou = | millbankhansard = | original_text = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Vict/31-32/100/pdfs/ukla_18680100_en.pdf | revised_text = | use_new_UK-LEG = | UK-LEG_title = | collapsed = yes }} In August 1867 the business men of Great Marlow met to discuss a connection with the {{abbr|GWR|Great Western Railway}} Wycombe branch line, at the station then called Marlow Road (now Bourne End). The '''{{visible anchor|Great Marlow Railway Act 1868}}''' ([[31 & 32 Vict.]] c. c) was given [[royal assent]] on 13 July 1868 with an authorised capital of £18,000. Only about one third of this was raised locally and the {{abbr|GWR|Great Western Railway}} supplied the remainder. The {{convert|2.75|mi|km}} line opened on 27 June 1873, and Marlow Road was renamed Bourne End in 1874 to avoid confusion.<ref name=karau>{{cite book|title=The Marlow Branch|author1=Paul Karau |author2=Chris Turner |publisher=Wild Swan Publications, Oxon|date=c. 1987}}</ref>
The Marlow company maintained the line and supplied the station staff, whilst the {{abbr|GWR|Great Western Railway}} supplied and operated the rolling stock. The no. 522, [[GWR 517 Class]] 0-4-2 saddle tank locomotive (built at Wolverhampton in 1868), was affectionately known as the ''Marlow Donkey''. No. 522 was rebuilt at Swindon Works in 1884 and similar [[GWR 455 Class|Metro]] 2-4-0 class locomotives remained in service until 1935 when [[autotrain]]s were introduced.<ref name=karau />
The {{abbr|GWR|Great Western Railway}} acquired the remainder of the capital and owned the line from 1897, thereby relieving the Marlow owners of the responsibility for ongoing maintenance of the line.
The maximum number of stops on the line were: * Maidenhead (latterly renamed {{stnlnk|Maidenhead Boyne Hill}} and effectively replaced by the current [[Maidenhead railway station|Maidenhead station]]), * [[Cookham railway station|Cookham]], * Marlow Road (latterly renamed [[Bourne End railway station|Bourne End]]), * [[Wooburn Green railway station|Wooburn Green]], * [[Loudwater railway station|Loudwater]], * [[High Wycombe railway station|High Wycombe]].
In 1937 [[Furze Platt railway station|Furze Platt]] station was added on the outskirts of Maidenhead (before Cookham station).
===Partial closure=== Part of the original reason for the line, connecting High Wycombe to London, was removed by the opening in 1906 of the [[Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway]] which provided direct connections from High Wycombe via Gerrards Cross to [[London Paddington]] and the then-new [[London Marylebone]]. The Marylebone route, with minor alterations, forms the present-day [[Chiltern Main Line]]. The newer line took most of the traffic between High Wycombe and London away from the Bourne End route. In July 1962 the steam locomotive was replaced with a [[Diesel multiple unit]]. The service was gradually cut back through to 1969, by which time Marlow station had been demolished and replaced by a smaller one on the site of the former goods yard. Loudwater and Wooburn Green lost their ticket offices, Loudwater had been reduced to a single track halt and Cookham lost its passing loop.
Finally, on 2 May 1970 the stretch of line from Bourne End to High Wycombe was closed to passengers after the [[Department for Transport|Minister of Transport]] at the time refused to grant the British Railways Board £60,000 to keep the line open from Bourne End to High Wycombe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Local History|publisher=Marlow–Maidenhead Passengers' Association|url=http://www.mmpa.org.uk/history.html |access-date= 2014-07-20}}</ref> As a result of this, the intermediate stations at Wooburn Green and Loudwater had no services and closed.
[[File:Abbey Barn Lane Bridge, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.jpg|thumb|Abbey Barn Lane Bridge]]
During the 1970s and 1980s, much of the land occupied by the old line was sold off and a number of buildings were built on the path of the old railway. Five of its seven bridges were demolished, namely: Gordon Road; the access to the former E Gomme ([[G Plan]] furniture) factory where the track is now a road into a housing estate which replaced the factory; the A40 at Spring Gardens; Bassetsbury Lane; and Spring Lane. The bridge over Bowden Lane (now a footpath at this point) remains, and at the bottom of Abbey Barn Lane the bridge continues to carry the road over the site of the old line. To prevent future incursion, the path of the line through Bourne End, Wooburn Green, Loudwater and the Wycombe Marsh area of Wycombe is listed in the local plan, as set aside as a footpath/cycle route or bus route. Loudwater Station and goods yard, together with Bourne End coal yard siding, are now industrial and office units.
===Future=== The High Wycombe Society, a local conservation group, has campaigned for the reinstatement of the line as [[light rail]], the feasibility of which was confirmed by an engineering survey of the route.<ref>[http://bucksfreepress.co.uk/yoursay/opinion/yourletters/3706059.Thank_you_Elsa_for_getting_Bourne_End_railway_line_back_on_track/ Bucks Free Press, "Thank you Elsa for getting Bourne End railway line back on track", 26 September 2008.]</ref> In September 2008, [[Buckinghamshire County Council]] backed the proposal for reinstatement and called upon a private operator to finance the rebuilding work.<ref>[http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/search/3667136.Council_support_reopening_of_rail_link/ This is local London, "Council support reopening of rail link", 11 September 2008.]</ref> The future of the route was raised at a planning hearing later that year, at which [[Wycombe District Council]] identified the prospect of reinstatement as a reason for refusing a planning application to construct housing over the trackbed at Wycombe Lane, [[Wooburn Green]]. A previous application for the same development was rejected in 2006 and the Council's decision was upheld on appeal to the planning inspector.<ref>[http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/3861056.Railway_reopening_subject_of_homes_battle/ Bucks Free Press, "Railway reopening subject of homes battle", 19 November 2008.]</ref> In January 2009, a second attempt to build on the route of the railway line was rejected by the [[Planning Inspectorate]] which specifically cited the possible future reinstatement of the line as a reason for refusing consent.<ref>[http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/4076725.Developer_loses_Wooburn_Green_homes_appeal/ This is local London, "Developer loses Wooburn Green homes appeal", 26 January 2009.]</ref>
From 2009, the [[Windsor Link Railway]] proposed re-opening this line for heavy rail. They claim that this, combined with the new link from [[Slough railway station|Slough]] to [[London Waterloo railway station|Waterloo]], would have a positive business case and greatly facility orbital rail connections west of London.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} However, these plans were rejected by the Department for Transport in 2018.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/exclusive-windsor-to-heathrow-rail-scheme-rejected-outright/10037993.article|title=Windsor to Heathrow rail scheme 'rejected outright'|last=Smale|first=Katherine|date=7 December 2018|magazine=New Civil Engineer|language=en|access-date=3 February 2019}}</ref>
===Electrification=== {{see also|Proposed railway electrification in Great Britain}} The remainder of the line was confirmed for [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrification]] in the Government's railway [[High Level Output Specification]] for [[Network Rail Control Periods|Control Period 5]] (April 2014 – March 2019).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/hlos-2012/illustrative-options.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-07-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813073502/http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/hlos-2012/illustrative-options.pdf |archive-date=2012-08-13 }}</ref> In January 2016, electrification of the branch was ruled out following delays to the core [[21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Enhancements-Delivery-Plan-Update.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204213454/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/Enhancements-Delivery-Plan-Update.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-04 }}</ref>
==Route description== [[File:Bourne End Railway Station, Buckinghamshire.jpg|thumb|150px|Bourne End railway station, where the driver changes ends]] From splitting with the [[Great Western Main Line]] at [[Maidenhead railway station|Maidenhead station]], it turns north and enters a [[cutting (transportation)|cutting]], going under Grenfell Road and the [[A4 road (Great Britain)|A4]] Castle Hill, passing over the [[A308 road|A308]] Marlow Road and then a [[level crossing]] on Harrow Lane just before its next stop, [[Furze Platt railway station|Furze Platt]]. From Furze Platt it passes under B4447 Gardner Road, alongside the old Maidenhead Road as it exits the town, continuing through countryside briefly before crossing over the B4447 again before the second stop, [[Cookham railway station|Cookham]]. Immediately after leaving Cookham there is a level crossing on Station Hill, a slight cutting passing under Terry's Lane, up on a viaduct over [[Cockmarsh]] before crossing the [[River Thames|Thames]] and arriving shortly after at [[Bourne End railway station|Bourne End]]. Here the driver changes ends for Marlow, turning back along the north bank of the Thames by Spade Oak, passing south of the water treatment works, under the [[A404 road|A404]] Marlow bypass and finally [[Marlow railway station|Marlow station]], where the line [[terminal station|terminates]].
==See also== *[[Great Western Main Line]] *[[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] *[[First Great Western Link]] *[[List of closed railway stations in Britain]] *[[Wycombe Railway]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite book|author1=Mitchell, Vic |author2=Smith, Keith |name-list-style=amp |title= Branch Lines to Henley, Windsor and Marlow|publisher=Middleton Press|year=2002|isbn=1-901706-77-X}} *{{cite magazine|title=The 'Donkey' and the 'Turbo'|first=Chris|last=Leigh|pages=32–36|issue=304|date=7–20 May 1997|magazine=[[RAIL (magazine)|RAIL]]|publisher=EMAP Apex Publications|issn=0953-4563|oclc=49953699}}
==External links== *[http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ National Rail] *[http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ First Great Western] *[http://www.mmpa.org.uk Marlow–Maidenhead Passengers' Association] *[http://modernimagebranchlines.fotopic.net/c544930.html Modern Image Branchlines: Marlow]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} *[http://www.mdrs.org.uk/localrailways.htm Photographic history of the branch line] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080723130206/http://www.yourwycombe.co.uk/NewsPub/News/Stories/2006/09/15/11583109671.shtml Wycombe to Bourne End Railway] *[http://www.mmpa.org.uk/history.html Marlow–Maidenhead Passengers' Association] *[http://www.mdrs.org.uk/ Marlow & District Railway Society]
{{UK railway stations}} {{Railway lines in South East England}} {{Transport in Buckinghamshire}} {{Current rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom}}
[[Category:Rail transport in Buckinghamshire]] [[Category:Rail transport in Berkshire]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 1854]] [[Category:Railway lines in South East England]] [[Category:7 ft gauge railways]] [[Category:1854 establishments in England]]