Waterloo – Staines – Reading – Didcot – Oxford – Bicester London Rd – Claydon – Winslow – Bletchley Flyover – Fenny – Millbrook – Bedford SJ- Bedford M - Woburn Sands – Bletchley – Leighton – Watford Jn – Euston

56046

A very leisurely, relaxed 1100 start from Waterloo followed by the usual stagger through Staines. A scream to Oxford, then onto the Bletchley branch for the last time. With the Claydon-Bletchley section "mothballed" after this weekend this was to be the last passenger train over the Bicester – Claydon line and the last loco hauled tour over Bletchley flyover. A Branch line Soc DMU tour the following Bank Holiday Monday worked the Bletchley-Claydon section on an itinerary that included the Wolverton Works "diveunder". Once busy with stone traffic, the ending of the Wolverton ARC traffic the previous year and curtailment of the Akeman "UKF" traffic a few weeks earlier meant the Bicester- Bletchley line had no regular traffic and closure was inevitable in a privatised railway environment.

Many local connections followed, a photo stop at Winslow before the station yard was lost to housing was interesting. Passing Swanbourne a few locals were out to wave us by. A ritualistic bellow by the whole train climbing onto Bletchley flyover, before a long signal check due a points failure at Fenny Jn. (the points and track had not been used for some time). Passing Forders the green containers used in "plaguex" and other recently ceased "contaminated waste flows" were piled high, another reminder of a more recently ceased local freight traffic flow.

At Bedford, a "Logs" contributor saved the day by donning his orange jacket and gloves to uncouple the grid allowing the booked run round before a lively return run back down the branch, through Leighton (to much flailing) and Euston around 1730.

The stock used on the tour obviously had to be air braked and unusually featured a rake of early MK II’s from a Waterloo-Exeter rake. When Old Oak Common based, such stock would have been a regular visitor to Swanbourne and Bletchley flyover whilst in the consist of the long lost morning Old Oak-Wolverton Works ECS turn in the 60’s and 70’s. The tour’s loco 56046 was also an ARC stone performer working out of Westbury over the flyover to Wolverton stone terminal before 59’s worked the last trains.

4 Mothball Phots (thanks to Robin Morel)

Not many tour phot stops feature Winslow. 56046 is seen here on the old down platform with all old station buildings removed for new house building.

A classic view of the tour’s highlight, climbing Bletchley Flyover

With Bletchley driver Chris Thompson up front 56046 is about to head South on the final leg of the tour.

An "RG" view of a rare livery and loco class at the blocks at Euston with 56046 and "West Of England" tour stock back at Euston.

The Bicester-Calvert section was reopened a year or so later with the Bath-Calvert Avon Bins being sensibly routed over the line rather than via congested Chiltern lines.

56046 survives, just, gathering cobwebs and moths at Toton Training Compound still in Dutch livery.

The reopening of the flyover and tracks through to Newton as part of the Forders VQ project saw engineers and the "Silverlink farewell" tours in Nov 2007 return to the Eastern stub of the branch and rumble over Bletchley flyover.. Rumours of the line fully reopening to passenger traffic have rumbled on for 20 odd years now but don’t hold yer breath.

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