The Railway & RADLEY
by David Heath

Radley lies some 5 miles south of Oxford and 2 miles east of Abingdon, and though there is evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation, the village appears to have its origins in a Saxon fishing settlement situated on the River Thames. By the Middle Ages, Radley (in old English Read-Leah or Red Clearing) had become a small agricultural community and today it has developed into a parish of approximately 2,800 inhabitants, although it is perhaps more famous for the college which was established in the 1840s.

It was during this period that the people of Radley had their first contact with the Railway - the GWR's Didcot & Oxford was opened on 12th June 1844, though the village was not provided with any station. In 1856 the Abingdon Branch opened and a junction station was built 3/4 mile south of Radley near Nuneham which was demolished in 1873 when the branch was extended northwards to a new station at Radley. Though originally envisaged by the GWR to serve the village and not the independent Abingdon Railway Company's line, Radley station would be known for almost a century as the 'Junction for Abingdon' and indeed the branch generated much of the station's traffic. London expresses would make their only stop en route at Radley to pick up passengers brought from Abingdon and it is interesting to note that it was not until 1883 that a footbridge was thankfully provided between the platforms.

Radley had quite an interesting layout - in addition to the two main running lines there were three loops and two sidings in the yard. The first loop, which ran on the opposite side of the Down platform, was used by the Abingdon train, the adjacent loop served as an overspill for storing wagons, and the far loop was primarily a run-round, though a cattle dock was established here in 1903. Goods facilities were actually introduced during the mid 1890s: the siding nearest the roadbridge served the coal traffic, and the other handled luggage for the college.
Access to the station was by means of a long drive which led from the Lower Radley side of the roadbridge. Radley station remained virtually unchanged until the Second World War, when the 'Up' and 'Down' running loops each capable of holding 250 wagons - were installed between Radley and Sandford. The approach to Radley from Oxford is on a down gradient and Wally Turner, who was the signalman at Radley during the '50s and '60s recalled several occasions when, particularly in wet weather, heavy goods trains, braking for the end of the loop, would slide past and derail on the catchpoints.

Stories of railway ghosts and haunted stations are not uncommon, and Radley was no exception. Percy Wright, who for many years was the station-master, reckoned something lurked in the shadows and would often tell his colleagues that when he walked home late at night he could hear footsteps following him. Although Percy really believed the place was haunted, his staff didn't take it seriously, and when new employees started work they would be told of the 'ghost' and would become victims of practical jokes. One such instance is quoted in Harold Gasson's book "Signalling Days" when he threw a bundle of cotton-waste, soaked in water, from the signal box late one night which landed with a thud on the platform just behind a porter who was locking up the station. With a shriek he fled from the premises and away into the village. Another instance was recalled by Wally Turner. He was on night duty and had been to the toilet, which was situated close to the box, about 11pm. He was on the phone to his colleague at Culham signal box at midnight when suddenly the toilet cistern flushed. He was petrified as the station was locked and otherwise deserted. Maybe the ball-cock had jammed an hour earlier, gradually releasing itself - or could it have been the ghost? Nobody will ever know ...

One of the final services made by the GWR to Radley was in late 1947 when the platforms were extended. Then, in September 1963, the Abingdon branch closed to passenger traffic. The rationalisation of the Beeching period saw Radley downgraded to an un-manned halt; the buildings were demolished and the superfluous track in the goods yard lifted to form a car park. By the 1970s the station was only a shadow of its former self - weeds growing on the platforms which were devoid of all structures apart from a solitary brick shelter on the Up side which served as a waitingroom and, it appeared from the smell, an unofficial public convenience!
The situation did not improve much in the early 1980s. The graffiti-ridden station was now a notorious blackspot in the Oxford area, though one clever piece of graffiti read "America has Johnny Cash, Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan and Stevie Wonder. Britain has no Cash, no Hope, Maggie Thatcher and No Bloody Wonder! " .

In 1983, B.R. engineers discovered that the old roadbridge was subsiding thanks to a continual pounding by the heavy lorries serving the gravel pits in Lower Radley, and during one weekend in November of that year, the line between Oxford and Didcot was closed whilst the bridge was demolished and replaced by a new and rather unattractive prefabricated concrete structure. This bridge has more clearance than the original to allow for overhead wires should the line ever be electrified - a prospect more likely at that time than at the present.

1986 saw the launch of 'Network SouthEast' and part of Director Chris Green's "Operation Pride" was a clean-up for all of the sector's nine hundred plus stations. Over the following months Radley received the customary red lamp-posts, the old monochromatic nameboards were replaced by new colourful Network signs, and the blue/grey footbridge was repainted in chocolate and cream - a fitting reminder of a once proud station.

Little has changed during the last few years other than the provision of a new set of lamp-posts and those hideous 'bus-stop' type shelters.

Despite the 'Beeching Axe' in the 196Os, when many villages bigger than this lost their stations, British Rail has not only kept Radley, Culham and Appleford open but has maintained a frequent service in both directions using the superior speed and comfort of the new 'Networker Turbos'. There were plans a few years ago to re-open the branch line from Abingdon as a steam-hauled tourist railway. Unfortunately this was not to be, but if the little tank engine and auto-coach had been standing in the bay platform today as "Nunney Castle" pulled in on the main line maybe one could just have imagined it to be 12th June 1954!