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:''This article is about the London and North Western Railway's station.'' :''For the Great Central Railway's Brackley station, see Brackley Central railway station.'' Brackley Town was a railway station which served the Northamptonshire town of Brackley in England. It opened in 1850 as part of the Buckinghamshire Railway's branch line to Verney Junction which provided connections to Banbury, Bletchley and Oxford and closed in 1963. == History == From 1899 until 1963, Brackley was served by two railway stations on different lines. Brackley Central - opened by the Great Central Railway - was the second, the Buckinghamshire Railway having already connected the town to the railway in 1850. As the Great Central's station was constructed at the top of the hill upon which Brackley is situated and Buckinghamshire Railway's station at the foot of the hill, locals referred to them respectively as the ''Top Station'' and the ''Bottom Station''.〔Kingscott, G., p. 62.〕 The Buckinghamshire Railway's station was built at the southern end of the main high street and was constructed of a yellow-grey coloured stone.〔Simpson, B., p. 87.〕 A single loop was enclosed between two-facing platforms, each of a height of 32 inches. A water tower for locomotives was positioned on the roof of a stone shelter situated on the up platform, slowly refilling from a nearby spring. The station's goods shed was built at a right angle to the line where a wagon turntable enabled vehicles to roll into the shed, aided by a slight gradient. A short spur on a severe gradient served the Hopkins and Norris brewery; horses drew the wagons up the gradient to allow them to be returned to the station yard by gravity. The spur (known locally as the "barrel line") fell into disuse in the early 1920s and the rails were lifted by 1935.〔Simpson, B., p. 88-89.〕 The station's goods yard was not large, but was capable of accommodating the daily 3 to 12 wagons destined for the gasworks and the 4 to 5 wagons of malt and sugar for the brewery. A cattle dock could take four vans, and a 5-ton capacity crane was stationed in the yard.〔Simpson, B., p. 92-93.〕 The arrival of the Great Central in Brackley saw a great deal of trade ebb away from the branch. The Great Central provided a faster and more direct route to London; its station enjoyed seven trains a day from Marylebone, including an express which took 84 minutes, compared with the line's infrequent two to two service to Euston via Bletchley, a three quarter hour journey.〔Davies, R. and Grant, M.D., p. 195.〕 The branch line was used to transport bricks for the construction of the Great Central's station, and a new siding was installed near the line's ten mile post.〔Simpson, B., p. 89.〕 On 13 May 1950 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived at Brackley station en route to the first official British Grand Prix held at Silverstone. At the last minute it was discovered that the platform would be too low for the Royal Train's exit door and so an old wooden ammunition box had to be found and upended next to the door.〔 The station was renamed "Brackley Town" on 1 July 1950, but only for goods traffic.〔Mitchell, V. and Smith, K., plate 111.〕 The goods yard and through freight traffic ceased on 2 December 1963, nearly three years after the last passenger service had called.〔Mitchell, V. and Smith, K., plate 110.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brackley railway station」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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