Bicester Military Railway It seems as though this railway is all but abandoned. It appears that way when travelling through the site. If anyone knows any better, it would be good to hear from you. I have seen pictures on the internet, with notes about the railway, which say that it was last used in 2014. I only came across the railway by accident as I explain in my blog: https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2018/08/01/bicester-military-railway I have been aware of the Longmoor Military Railway for some time now. I knew nothing of the Bicester Military Railway until my wife and I had part of a weekend in the area. We were travelling along the M40 and using Satnav and we noticed an interesting area off to the East of the motorway which was just visible on the Satnav. Our initial thought was that there might have been some opencast workings in the area. Much of the military site has been sold off. The northern half of Graven Hill Depot is now an estate of plots for self build homes! (https://www.gravenhill.co.uk)
Ashchurch MOD Railway and Railway Station I was reading a book by Neil Parkhouse and looking at a series of photographs of the historic station at Ashchurch which was demolished as part of the fall out from the cuts associated with Dr. Beeching. Apart from feeling a sense of dismay that the original station and its building, together with the branch-lines it served, has been lost for ever, I noticed a reference to a siding serving MOD Ashchurch and decided to investigate. DE&S Ashchurch, known locally as "Ashchurch Camp", was the UK MOD's primary vehicle storage and distribution site for all types of armoured and soft-skinned vehicles, together with Royal Engineer bridges, boats and construction plant. The Centre was the only vehicle depot in the UK using Controlled Humidity Environments (CHE) for long-term vehicle storage. https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2018/08/04/mod-ashchurch-and-ashchurch-railway-station MOD Ashchurch remains at risk of closure and its site is marked in the local authority plan for mixed development.
I had no idea such facilities ever existed. Of course I knew something had to have once been, for war efforts, past. Had never seen anything written up or otherwise documented. Never expected to see so much written or in photography. Too often such places seem to just fade away. You've done a remarkable job assembling so much data!
MOD Kineton and it's Railway History I was challenged to look at MOD Kineton by someone who read my blog on Bicester Military Railway. This post is the result. .... https://rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com/2018/08/09/mod-kineton-and-its-railway-history MOD Kineton developed as a depot in the Second World War. Construction began in 1941 and the depot came to occupy most of the land between Kineton and Temple Herdwyke. It was a Central Ammunition Depot, it also served during the war as a transit camp, with Polish and Czechoslovakian troops based there. The site continues in use into 21st Century. Much of the original railway and sidings at MOD Kineton has been removed but the depot continues to be rail-served and to have a significant internal rail network.
