Marsh Gibbon and Poundon railway station

Marsh Gibbon and Poundon railway station was a railway station to the west of Verney Junction on the Oxford and Bletchley section of the LNWR's branch of what is now known as the Varsity Line.

Marsh Gibbon and Poundon
Station in 1967.
Location
Place	Marsh Gibbon
Area	Buckinghamshire
Grid reference	SP651246
Operations
Original company	LNWR
Pre-grouping	LNWR
Post-grouping	LMS
Platforms	2
History
7 August 1880	Station opens
1 January 1968	Station closes[1]
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History

The line was opened in 1850–51 with a station at Launton some two miles away. The original intention had been to call this station Poundon Bridge, however the name never seems to have been used. Marsh Gibbon and Poundon opened on 7 August 1880.[2]

The era of extravagantly designed and built country stations had long passed, and what was provided were simple but practical timber buildings without awnings. Oddly the station still retained the low platforms of earlier stations on the line. Even though there were proposals to raise them in the early 20th century, they remained until closure. Small moveable steps had to be provided to allow passengers to board and alight easily.

Station house in 2007.

Another feature was the bay window in the main building which was on the down Oxford platform. This projected out onto the platform since it was the signal box. There was a clock in the centre which was visible on the platforms as required by the Board of Trade. There was a small waiting shed on the up Bletchley-bound platform, and a single siding off the down, running at an angle in front of the main building

At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway; it duly passed to British Railways in 1948, as part of the London Midland Region. Diesel trains were provided for passenger services from 2 November 1959.[3] The station stopped handling goods traffic on 2 November 1964; the signalbox was closed in January 1965[4] and passenger services were withdrawn when the whole of the route from Bletchley to Oxford closed on 1 January 1968.[3]

Routes

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Launton Line and station closed		London and North Western Railway Varsity Line		Claydon Line and station closed

Varsity Line
GER line to Ipswich GER line to Mildenhall West Anglia Main Line Fen line Cambridge Cambridge (LNWR) Goods Cambridge line GER line to Huntingdon Note: Alignment west of Cambridge is now track of Mullard Observatory's moving telescope Lord's Bridge Toft and Kingston Old North Road Gamlingay Potton Great Northern Railway East Coast Main Line (LNWR) Sandy Sandy Great Northern Railway East Coast Main Line Girtford Halt River Ivel former navigation Blunham Willington Bedford St Johns former site Bedford St Johns current site Bedford Midland Bedford–Hitchin line (Midland Railway) Kempston and Elstow Halt Midland Main Line Kempston Hardwick Wootton Broadmead Halt Stewartby Millbrook Bedford to Bletchley Lidlington operates as the Ridgmont Marston Vale line Husborne Crawley Aspley Guise Woburn Sands Bow Brickhill Grand Junction Canal Fenny Stratford Bletchley TMD LNWR West Coast Main Line Bletchley Swanbourne Winslow Verney Junction Metropolitan Railway to Banbury Claydon Winslow Road Reversing siding of freight line to Calvert Granborough Road Great Central Main Line to Finmere Marsh Gibbon and Poundon Calvert Launton Calvert landfill Grendon Underwood Junction Quainton Road Junction Great Central Main Line (London–Aylesbury line) Quainton Road open only on Bank Holidays Metropolitan Railway to Aylesbury GWR Bicester Cut-off line Bicester chord Bicester London Road Bicester Military Railway Wendlebury Halt GWR Oxford and Rugby Railway Charlton Halt Oddington Halt GWR Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Islip Oxford Parkway GWR former Oxford, Witney and Fairford Railway Oxford Road Halt Yarnton Oxford Canal Buckinghamshire Junction Railway Wolvercote Junction Dukes Cut Wolvercote Tunnel Wolvercot Platform Wolvercote Halt Oxford Canal Oxford North Junction Port Meadow Halt Sheepwash Channel Rewley Road Swing Bridge Oxford General Oxford Rewley Road Cherwell Valley line

Notes

1. Hendry & Hendry 1982.
2. Mitchell & Smith 2005, Figure XII.
3. Mitchell & Smith 2005, Historical background.
4. Mitchell & Smith 2005, Figure 62.

References

• Hendry, R. Preston; Hendry, R. Powell (1982). An historical survey of selected LMS stations: layouts and illustrations. Vol. 1. Oxford Publishing.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (July 2005). Oxford to Bletchley. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-904474-57-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Marsh Gibbon and Poundon station on Subterranea Britannica.