Saffron Walden Railway

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Saffron Walden Railway

Legend

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Stour Valley Railway

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|  | Bartlow
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Stour Valley Railway

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|  | Ashdon Halt
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|  | Acrow Halt
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|  | Saffron Walden
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West Anglia Main Line

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|  | Audley End
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West Anglia Main Line

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The Saffron Walden Railway was a branch of the Great Eastern Railway between Audley End and Bartlow on the Stour Valley Railway between Shelford to Haverhill, a distance of 7+1⁄4 miles (11.7 km).[1][2]

## Branch information[edit]

### Opening[edit]

The line was opened between Audley End and Saffron Walden on 21 November 1865 and to Bartlow in 1866.

### Operation and services[edit]

The line was the initiative of the local Gibson family whose bank helped to finance the railway. It remained independent until 1 January 1877 when the Great Eastern Railway purchased the line.[3] The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is AEB.[4]

Initially, there were six return trains a day and, between 1877 and 1894, trains operated between Saffron Walden and London. Coaches dating from the 1890s operated on the line until the 1950s.[5] From July 1958, the line was operated by railbuses until closure.

### Closure[edit]

The line closed to passengers on 7 September 1964 and to freight three months later. At Audley End, services used a separate platform, the building of which still remains, in the current car park (52°00′15″N 0°12′28″E﻿ / ﻿52.0043°N 0.2077°E﻿ / 52.0043; 0.2077).

## References[edit]

1. ^ Saffron Walden Railway notes
2. ^ R.S. Joby (1977). Forgotten Railways East Anglia. David & Charles. ISBN 0715373129.
3. ^ Leslie Oppitz (1999). Lost Railways of East Anglia. Countryside Books. ISBN 1-85306-595-1.
4. ^ "Engineer's line reference".
5. ^ Richard Spendlove (1992). Branch lines around Cambridge. HEGA publications.

## External links[edit]

* Slideshow of station photographs including some on Saffron Walden Railway
* "Disused Stations". Subterranea Britannica.
* Photographs of the stations

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