It was September 23rd, 1868 when the line between Aylesbury and Verney Junction was opened by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway and Quainton Road Station came into existence. The Duke of Buckingham had ambitious schemes to connect his estate at Wotton to the main line at Quainton Road and shortly after the above railway opened, he proceeded with the work as a private undertaking, in order to provide railway facilities for his tenants. The first section, from Quainton Road to Wotton, was brought into use on April 1st, 1871, the greater portion of the remainder opened for mineral and agricultural traffic in November, and the final quarter of a mile in the summer of 1872.

By 1890, the Metropolitan Railway had absorbed the Aylesbury & Buckingham Railway to Verney Junction, and the extension of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (later GCR) received the Royal Assent in 1893, joining the Metropolitan Railway at Quainton Road in 1899. This gave many ideas to extend the 'Brill branch' to Oxford, but although a company was formed, it was unable to raise sufficient capital to enable construction to proceed.

The Wotton Tramway was closed in 1935, and Metropolitan trains ceased to run beyond Aylesbury in the mid-fifties, but the LNER (later BR) continued to serve Quainton until the station was closed to passengers in 1963. The last main line passenger train steamed through Quainton Road on 3rd September, 1966, after which the track between Rugby and Aylesbury was lifted except for a section of single line through Quainton to Calvert retained for freight workings.

1969 saw the start of a new chapter in the Quainton Road story when the station was officially opened as a 'Working Railway Museum' on 30th August, and there are now over 25 locomotives in residence, together with many carriages and wagons, and a large collection of small relics. The immediate aim of the Society is the purchase of the larger 'up' yard, which should take place later this year, followed by the erection of covered accommodation.

Photo:
S Nicholls - Juno & EN GNR Coach

Notes:
The text in this Quainton Railway Society publication was written in 1972 and so does not reflect events in the 40+ years since publication. The text and photographs are repeated verbatim from the original publication, with only a few minor grammar changes but some clarifying notes are added if deemed necessary. The photos from the original publication are provided as scans in this internet version of this long out of print publication.

Reference:
Illustrated Programme No. 1 Easter 1972