Above: The Collett-designed, ex-Great Western Railway 0-6-0 loco no. 2252 simmers quietly at Lambourn, having just hauled its tender and two-coach train up the branch line from Newbury. The next job for the driver and fireman, here seen peering out of the cabin, is to uncouple the Swindon-built engine, run round the train and hook up for the trip back - or maybe shunt the good yards and trundle the next goods train down the line. This seems the most likely explanation, as the single lamp headcode describes a branch freight train. This image dates from the late 1950s.
History of a branch line from 1898-1973
It must be regarded as quite miraculous that the Lambourn Valley Railway actually existed at all as an independent company. Especially when you consider that this area was predominantly GWR country. But for seven years, exist it most certainly did.
However, in 1905, the Lambourn Valley Railway Company was swallowed up by the mighty Great Western Railway and, although it never lost any of its rural charm, the line from Newbury to Lambourn and back again became, in essence, just another GWR branch line.
For all that, however, the LVR, both as an independent line and in its subsequent GWR incarnation, possessed a unique charm and became - as so many branch lines did - an essential part of the communities through which it passed before its official closure (to passengers) in 1960.
This site tells the stories of that branch line, of the locomotives, lots of details about each station and other infrastructure, and of some of the people who gave their lives to it and helped to make it what it was.
People and things
Some of the personal stories of people who both worked on and used the line are on our recollections page so, if you have any information about the LVR that you'd like to share, please get in touch, and we'll add them to that page. In the meantime, there are lots of intense personal recollections on that page.
In addition, you'll find on this site links to books and models, and more about the line than you ever thought you might want to know.
What might have been
And finally, there's a short discussion on how things could have turned out differently; was the closure of the LVR inevitable?
However, in 1905, the Lambourn Valley Railway Company was swallowed up by the mighty Great Western Railway and, although it never lost any of its rural charm, the line from Newbury to Lambourn and back again became, in essence, just another GWR branch line.
For all that, however, the LVR, both as an independent line and in its subsequent GWR incarnation, possessed a unique charm and became - as so many branch lines did - an essential part of the communities through which it passed before its official closure (to passengers) in 1960.
This site tells the stories of that branch line, of the locomotives, lots of details about each station and other infrastructure, and of some of the people who gave their lives to it and helped to make it what it was.
People and things
Some of the personal stories of people who both worked on and used the line are on our recollections page so, if you have any information about the LVR that you'd like to share, please get in touch, and we'll add them to that page. In the meantime, there are lots of intense personal recollections on that page.
In addition, you'll find on this site links to books and models, and more about the line than you ever thought you might want to know.
What might have been
And finally, there's a short discussion on how things could have turned out differently; was the closure of the LVR inevitable?
Find more info and images on Nick Catford's excellent Disused Stations website. There's also a Facebook group about the line - if you are on FB, just do a search for it, or you'll find it here.
About this site
This site is a homage to the Lambourn Valley Railway, both because of its inherent character and the part it played in the lives of so many people, but also as a prime example of a Great Western Railway branch line, displaying all the charm of the genre - and alas, suffering the fate of so many of its ilk, closing even before the infamous Beeching Report. While we'll never see its like again, it lives on in memories, recollections, and images: the quintessential British branch line.
Manek Dubash
Manek Dubash
Updates & credits
- Last site update: 7 June 2022. Added railcar photo on the branch heading out of Newbury. See Updates page for details. This site receives regular but undocumented attention in the form of updated photos for better quality, and tweaks and updates to the copy.
- Site origination: Ken Tarbox
- Curation and design: Manek Dubash
Site originator Ken Tarbox passed away on 2 February 2022.
RIP Ken: thank you for leaving us this lovingly created site.
RIP Ken: thank you for leaving us this lovingly created site.
