The Lambourn Valley Railway

The History of the Lambourn Valley Railway: From Inception to Closure

The Lambourn Valley Railway (LVR) was a short rural railway in Berkshire, England, that ran between the towns of Newbury and Lambourn. Established in the late 19th century, the railway played a pivotal role in connecting the small, agricultural villages of the Lambourn Valley to the wider region, providing essential transportation for goods and passengers alike.

The LVR was conceived in the early 1880s, primarily to support local farmers and the burgeoning racing industry in Lambourn. Officially, the line was enabled by the Lambourn Valley Railway Act of 1883. However, financial difficulties delayed the project, and it wasn’t until 1897 that construction was completed by the contracting firm S. Pearson & Son. The railway finally opened to passengers and freight on 2 April 1898.

The line stretched 12 miles from Newbury to Lambourn, passing through small stations at Speen, Stockcross, Welford Park, Great Shefford, and East Garston, Eastbury, Bockhampton and Lambourn. Despite its modest size, the railway was vital to the local community, allowing farmers to transport crops and livestock while enabling horse trainers in Lambourn to easily send their horses to races across the country.

Initially, the LVR operated as an independent entity, funded largely by Colonel Archer-Houblon, who had a personal stake in the success of the venture. However, by 1905, financial strain led to the railway being absorbed by the Great Western Railway (GWR). The GWR upgraded much of the infrastructure, including station buildings and track, and the line continued to operate relatively successfully for several decades.

By the mid-20th century, however, the rise of road transportation began to erode the railway’s viability. Passenger numbers dwindled, and maintaining the line became increasingly uneconomical. In 1960, the LVR closed to passenger traffic. Freight services continued on a reduced scale on the southern part of the line serving the air force base at Welford for another 13 years until the entire line was closed in 1973.

While much of the railway’s physical infrastructure has since disappeared, remnants of the line—such as embankments remain visible along its former route.

More information is available at http://www.lambournvalleyrailway.info/

The line can be clearly seen on this map from the 1940’s

The handbill above announces the last journey of the Lambourn Valley Railway in 1973

A ticket for the last journey of the Lambourn Valley Railway

A 3rd class ticket from Lambourn to Eastbury issued in 1955

The picture gallery below is a collection of photos of the Lambourn Railway from various sources. A big thanks to Mike Dowdswell for sourcing many of the pictures and to Jim Bradshaw for turning black and white photos into colour photos in a process called Colourising.

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