Great Western Railway Trains - Thames Valley Branches (Windsor and Henley) on May 12th 2018

Описание: Onboard journeys from 2 of the Thames Valley Branches with the focus on the Slough - Windsor Line and the Henley on Thames Branch (The Regatta Line).

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First beginning at Windsor & Eton Central which is the terminus of the Great Western Railway route from Slough.

Windsor & Eton Central opened on October 8th 1849 despite opposition from Eton College. Even for a period between 1883 and 1885 the former underground Metropolitan District Railway use to run from Ealing however it was abandoned after 2 years leaving the GWR to run the route. In 1929 there was once opened a intermediate stop called Chalvey Halt however it was short lived because it was closed only 14 months after opening.

Although at Slough there is a connection with the mainline itself however it's only used either by empty stock movements or engineer trains. With the service being 1 train every 20 minutes and turnaround times of 4 minutes at Windsor & Eton Central and 8 minutes at Slough.

Windsor services terminate on Platform 1 with interchange with the rest of the Great Western Mainline with all services on Platform 4 and 5 now at present being served by Class 387s on services to Reading and Didcot Parkway and at the time of filming the platforms were being extended in preparation for Elizabeth Line services. Platform 2 and 3 is for through trains although services from Oxford and Great Malvern stop here from Class 165s, 166s, HSTs and even the new Class 800s.

Next up is the Henley On Thames Branch the furthest of the Thames Branches with services beginning at Twyford.

Twyford first opened in 1839 like Slough and Maidenhead have 5 platforms which at the time of filming were having their platforms extended. All stopping services are provided on Platforms 3 and 4 whilst services to Henley On Thames depart from Platform 5 however like the Windsor and Marlow Branches only 1 train is allowed on the branch at a time.

The branch opened on June 1st 1857 although at one point it was double tracked however after a decline of traffic after World War II it was singled in stages in 1961. Steam Trains ran on the branch until being phased out in 1963 and Goods traffic ceased a year later in 1964.

The first station is Wargrave was a later addition opening on October 1st 1900 which had 2 platforms and a footbridge however after the line was singled the 2nd platform and footbridge were taken out of use. The original station building was replaced by a simple bus style shelter in 1988 by British Rail.

After the station the line crosses over the River Thames on the Shiplake Bridge which todays build dates from reconstruction in 1897 where the Iron Girder structure replaced the 1857 Timber built bridge.

When first opened in 1857 Shiplake was the only intermediate stop between Twyford and Henley. The station once had 2 platforms until the line was gradually singled although a passing loop was retained until 1968 when it was removed.

Like Wargrave a simple bus shelter is provided on the platform however at the end of the platform is a level crossing which originally had no barriers until March 2013 when half barriers was installed by Network Rail although over a year later cameras were installed on the crossing although not without controversy.

The final stop is Henley On Thames home of the Royal Regatta which is held every July at nearby Henley Bridge which crosses the Thames itself. The event first began in 1839 more than 18 years year before any trains came.

As for the Station itself it originally was 3 platforms although was gradually reduced from 3 to 2 in 1969, the train shed and original station building north of the station was sold in 1975 and eventually 2 platforms was reduced to 1 in 1986.

Todays station building dates from 1985 which is the only station on the Branch to have a ticket office with self ticket machines being provided. The station car park of 280 spaces is on the site of the former goods yard which was closed in 1964.

Services provided on the branch can run certain peak services to and from London Paddington with 3 in morning and 2 in the evening. During July when the Royal Regatta is on sometimes trains run non stop between Henley On Thames and Twyford and even the platform is built to cope with 4 - 8 cars although the latter is rarely used. The Branch was given the name of the Regatta Line by Oxfordshire County Council and Great Western in 2006.

The branch was supposed to be electrified as part of the Great Western Electrification however in November 2016 it was put on hold so diesels likely to remain on the branches for now.

Filmed on Saturday March 12th 2018 on iPhone 8 and edited on iMovie.