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The Marlow Branch Line is a small railway line between Maidenhead, in Berkshire, and Bourne End and Marlow in Buckinghamshire, England. Passenger services are operated by First Great Western using Class 165 DMUs. The line connects to the Great Western Main Line at Maidenhead, and uses a section of the former Great Western Railway branch line to High Wycombe.

The train that runs on the branch line is affectionately known as The Marlow Donkey, and a pub in Marlow is named after it. The origins of the name are unclear ^[1], but the term has been in use since the early days of steam haulage on the line.

Train services

The off-peak service is normally one train per hour, in each direction, between Maidenhead and Marlow. During the morning and evening peaks the train frequency is increased. A half-hourly service is achieved by using two trains: one shuttling between Marlow and Bourne End, and one between Bourne End and Maidenhead. This is possible because Bourne End station still has two platforms that may be used simultaneously.

All 'through' trains must stop and reverse at Bourne End, as the line to Marlow has a trailing connection, and the driver must change ends for the second part of the route. Most trains on the line begin and terminate at Maidenhead, but some run through to London Paddington.

The following towns and villages are served by the branch line:

Maidenhead
Furze Platt (North Maidenhead)
Cookham
Bourne End
Marlow

History

The original Maidenhead to Wycombe Branch line

The original Maidenhead to High Wycombe branch line had stops at:-

Maidenhead (latterly renamed Boyne Hill and effectively replaced by the current Maidenhead station),
Cookham,
Marlow Road (latterly renamed Bourne End),
Wooburn Green,
Loudwater and
High Wycombe.

In 1873 an extension was added connecting Marlow station to Bourne End station.

In 1937 Furze Platt station was added on the outskirts of Maidenhead (before Cookham station).

Construction

In July 1846, The Wycombe Railway Company was incorporated by an Act of Parliament. 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 GWR 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 GWR on 1 February 1867. In August 1867 the business men of Great Marlow met to discuss linking Marlow with the GWR Wycombe Branch line, at the then Marlow Road station (now Bourne End). This line opened on 23 June 1873, with no. 522, 0-4-2 saddle tank locomotive (built at Wolverhampton in 1868), it was affectionately known as the Marlow Donkey. No. 522 was rebuilt at Swindon Works in 1884 and remained in service until 1935^{[citation needed]}. The GWR acquired the capital and operated the line from 1897.

Partial closure

In the 1960s the branch began to decline. 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 further down the line. Loudwater and Wooburn Green lost their ticket offices, Loudwater had been reduced to a single track halt and Cookham lost its passing loop. On 2 May 1970 the stretch of track from Bourne End to High Wycombe was closed, one of the victims of the Beeching axe.

Replacement buses

Replacement bus services on the Bourne End to High Wycombe section are:

Carousel Buses, service 1 [1]
Arriva, service 35 [2]

Today

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. Two of its three bridges were demolished (the one at the bottom of Abbey Barn Lane continues to carry the road over the site of the old line). To prevent future incursion, the path of the old railway line through Bourne End, Wooburn Green, Loudwater and the Wycombe Marsh area of Wycombe, is now listed in the local plan, as set aside as a footpath/cycle route or bus route. Due to building around the site of Wooburn Green station it is unlikely to be reinstated as a railway. However, the High Wycombe Society is campaigning for re-opening. [3]

The line is not electrified.

Route description

From splitting with the Great Western Main Line at Maidenhead station, it turns North and enters a cutting, going under Grenfell Road and the A4 Castle Hill, passing over the A308 Marlow Road and then a level crossing on Harrow Lane just before its next stop, 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 third stop, 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 Thames, and arriving shortly after at 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 Marlow bypass and finally Marlow station, where the line terminates.

References

^ The Marlow Society

External links

[1] The Marlow Society

[1]

@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 The GWR acquired the capital and operated the line from 1897.
-=== Beeching ===
+=== Partial closure ===
 In the 1960s the branch began to decline.  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 further down the line. Loudwater and Wooburn Green lost their ticket offices, Loudwater had been reduced to a single track halt and Cookham lost its passing loop. On [[2 May]] [[1970]] the stretch of track from Bourne End to High Wycombe was closed, one of the victims of the [[Beeching axe]].
+=== Replacement buses ===
+Replacement bus services on the Bourne End to High Wycombe section are:
+* Carousel Buses, service 1 [http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/travelinfo/Database_PDFs/1_Bourne_end_High_wycombe.pdf]
+* Arriva, service 35 [http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/travelinfo/Database_PDFs/35_High_wycombe_Flackwell_hth_Bourne_end.pdf]
 === Today ===