66608 rounds the curve on the approach to Kings Sutton station with the 6M22 11:56 Westbury to Stud Farm ballast empties on 28 May 2010. The trees and hawthorn bushes behind the locomotive hide the spot where the Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway diverged for the start of its journey across the Oxfordshire Hills and the Cotswolds, to meet up with the Midland & South Western Junction Railway at Andoversford. The line closed as a through route in 1951, but the section of line from Kings Sutton to the first station (Adderbury) remained open for freight until 1969, when the final customer, Bibby & Sons ceased using rail. A short spur survived near this spot for a further two years. |