Transport in Wycombe (From Bucks Free Press)
Send your news, photos and videos by texting bucksfreepress to 80360 or email
Transport in Wycombe
11:49pm Thursday 22nd October 2009
Today’s blog should have been part II of the history blogs, but I didn’t have time to write it properly. So instead I thought I’d throw together this little piece- which I hope isn’t as boring and geeky as it sounds!
Unfortunately ancient roads are not my forte- railways and modern roads are! I do believe that the spoil from the construction of the Hellfire Caves was used to build the road to High Wycombe (the A40), but I may be wrong. Here I invite you, the reader, to tell us about transport in Wycombe prior to the nineteenth century.
Railways are one of my passions- the railway itself by the way, not the trains. So-called ‘train spotters’ can sit themselves next to a line and note down all the numbers of the locomotives that pass them, but that is not my idea of fun!
Wycombe was actually one of the last towns in Buckinghamshire to gain a railway. Slough, Bletchley and Wolverton had one in 1838, Aylesbury in 1839 and Buckingham and Winslow in 1850. We had to wait until 1854 when the Wycombe Railway opened a branch off the Great Western main line at Maidenhead. This was later extended to Thame in 1862, Aylesbury in 1863 and Oxford in 1864.
In 1906 the town got its own direct link to London when the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway constructed their joint line, nowadays known as the Chiltern Main Line- it is along that line that all trains to London run, using the old Great Central section of the joint line. The system was actually a lot more complicated than that- but I fear a detailed explanation would be too dull!
In 1970, the line to Maidenhead was cut back to Bourne End- which was a terrible decision in my opinion. I hope that one day it can be reopened.
What else can I say? Do you really want a history of modern roads in Wycombe?! Well, to be brief the motorway came in 1967, the Marlow bypass in 1972 and several other bypasses in the town centre, including the infamous Abbey Way in the 60s and 70s. I’m sure others will know the exact years if you want to know them.
Sorry about this. I’ve written this in about twenty minutes with little thought and only a bit of research to find some years of opening etc, mainly so I can continue the pattern of a blog every five days.
I will do part II of the history blog soon. I promise!
V © MMIX
Comments(15)
tom.marlow
says...
11:54am Fri 23 Oct 09
Plus ça change...
says...
1:39pm Fri 23 Oct 09
But is it 2009 - modern times.
And we still let our hills dictate to us.
I wonder what percentage of Wycombe traffic passes through the junction at the bottom of Amersham Hill?
Or what percentage goes past the Oxford Road roundabout?
Or how much traffic is 'just passing through'?
All those 'grains of sand' squeezed through the narrowest neck of the Wycombe egg timer.
Knowing individual journey origins and destinations might help us make some good decisions.
tom.marlow
says...
4:23pm Fri 23 Oct 09
.
For trains they are a much bigger issue (unless you want to make lots of tunnels).
.
For cyclists they are an issue too. Well for me anyway. If I ride to wycombe or maidenhead from marlow I take the flat route along the river valley rather than the more direct route. Perhaps I'm just lazy.
J B Blackett
says...
8:18pm Fri 23 Oct 09
Plus ça change... wrote:I am thinking about what you and T.m are remarking on - there could be an answer. So ......
Hills yes.
But is it 2009 - modern times.
And we still let our hills dictate to us.
I wonder what percentage of Wycombe traffic passes through the junction at the bottom of Amersham Hill?
Or what percentage goes past the Oxford Road roundabout?
Or how much traffic is 'just passing through'?
All those 'grains of sand' squeezed through the narrowest neck of the Wycombe egg timer.
Knowing individual journey origins and destinations might help us make some good decisions.
.
'The hills are alive to the sound of musing'
.
Regards
Plus ça change...
says...
10:08am Sat 24 Oct 09
tom.marlow wrote:Fully understand.
My point was that for roads, hills dont matter. . For trains they are a much bigger issue (unless you want to make lots of tunnels). . For cyclists they are an issue too. Well for me anyway. If I ride to wycombe or maidenhead from marlow I take the flat route along the river valley rather than the more direct route. Perhaps I'm just lazy.
Suppose my point was a bit 'tangential' to your comment but relevant all the same.
We've had all this history and experience of transport in and around Wycombe and in the country but we don't seem to be getting any better at it.
Innovations and big steps forward that we achieved in the past seemed to be beyond these days.
If we had a real picture of where people are going from and to on a routine and daily basis, maybe we could improve all our lives.
Travel is like grocery shopping.
90% of where we go and what we buy is probably always the same.
So let's really find out and make things easier.
For ourselves.
With your bike you probably have a greater autonomy than most vehicle drivers.
J B Blackett
says...
12:30pm Sat 24 Oct 09
Plus ça change... wrote:T.m and Pcc
tom.marlow wrote:Fully understand.
My point was that for roads, hills dont matter. . For trains they are a much bigger issue (unless you want to make lots of tunnels). . For cyclists they are an issue too. Well for me anyway. If I ride to wycombe or maidenhead from marlow I take the flat route along the river valley rather than the more direct route. Perhaps I'm just lazy.
Suppose my point was a bit 'tangential' to your comment but relevant all the same.
We've had all this history and experience of transport in and around Wycombe and in the country but we don't seem to be getting any better at it.
Innovations and big steps forward that we achieved in the past seemed to be beyond these days.
If we had a real picture of where people are going from and to on a routine and daily basis, maybe we could improve all our lives.
Travel is like grocery shopping.
90% of where we go and what we buy is probably always the same.
So let's really find out and make things easier.
For ourselves.
With your bike you probably have a greater autonomy than most vehicle drivers.
- Easier is Good.
- Bike is Good.
- Flat Route is Good
- Tunnel is Good
- History (learning from) is Good
- Surveys (learning from) is Good
- Even Lazy is Good
.
- Big steps in the Past may have been Bad
- Routine is Bad (potentially) .
.
Mr A Einstein said (and I paraphrase)
"A sign of madness is to keep doing the same thing in the hope that the result will be different"
.
This is where we are with transport policies at the moment - doing the same thing but faster and faster and becoming more and more expensive.
.
To what purpose Albert E would say, I think. We have to strategically change direction, not tinker around with short-sighted moronic fragmented transport plans instigated by our beloved politicians.
.
We can not go on like this.
.
Regards
demoness
says...
9:51am Wed 28 Oct 09
Oliver Newbury
says...
11:14am Wed 28 Oct 09
-
Now what would that cost?!
-
Did you know that all proposals for new tram systems in London have been cancelled? Yet Crossrail is going ahead. I'm 100% in favour of trams; London needs its system back!
demoness
says...
6:07am Thu 29 Oct 09
Oliver Newbury
says...
7:21pm Fri 30 Oct 09
demoness wrote:I was admiring the canals... honest. :)
I want to know WHAT a decent young man like yourself was doing in Amsterdam!!!!
demoness
says...
11:19pm Fri 30 Oct 09
Oliver Newbury
says...
11:27pm Fri 30 Oct 09
demoness wrote:Are you asking what sort of canals I was admiring?
Ohh Ollie - there is so much I could say here... but I won't! LOL
J B Blackett
says...
1:37am Sat 31 Oct 09
demoness
says...
7:30am Sat 31 Oct 09
J B Blackett wrote:LOL JB.
Alimentary , Dr Watson ?
I could barely stomach that pun.
Craig....
says...
2:04pm Mon 14 Dec 09
tempation....to....d
o....sick....."canal
"....joke....
The original High Wycombe station in 1902 (Leicestershire County Council)
Handy Cross roundabout under construction in 1966 (from wikipedia)
Comment now! Register or sign in below.
Log in with us
Fields marked with * are mandatory.
Or
Log in with