Disused Stations: Uxbridge Vine Street Station

In July 1962 an unidentified Pressed Steel Co. single-unit railcar departs Uxbridge Vine Street on the short journey to West Drayton. The lack of a visible exhaust suggests the driver was carrying out a gear change, during which throttling back was required. In contrast a very visible exhaust emits from the goods yard on the right where an ex-GWR Prairie tank was busying itself shunting. The Pressed Steel Co. was better known as manufacturers of road vehicle bodies, particularly cars, and began life as a partnership between William Morris (of Morris Motors, Cowley, Oxford fame) and the Budd Company of Philadelphia, USA. In railway circles Budd is perhaps best known for its RDC (Rail Diesel Car) products. Pressed Steel also built diesel and electric multiple units for BR and the single-unit railcars, later Class 121, were based upon the Driving Motor Brake Second vehicles of what became Class 117. Unfortunately and as with the Gloucester RC&W Class 122, it was seen fit to retain the position of the exhaust stacks on the exterior of the vehicles rather than, for example, using the system originally applied to the Cravens DMUs whereby the exhaust was taken up through the brake compartment in insulated ducting to the roof. Nevertheless what became Class 121, introduced in 1960, was destined to become the final 'First Generation' DMU type in revenue service on the National Network with the final examples not bowing out until 2017. The rear destination blind seen here still shows 'Uxbridge', it being hardly necessary to change it for this short run to West Drayton. The headcode, 2A81, is however the correct one for the Vine Street branch. That for the Staines West branch, which for a short distance shared its route with the Vine Street branch, was 2A82. As evidenced here, Vine Street still saw plenty of goods traffic in 1962 and in the distance a rake of coal wagons stand in the coal sidings. Also visible in the distance is the seldom-photographed Vine Street signal box. The engine release road was in the left background of this view and was probably a remnant of the road accessing the one-time engine shed. Manor Way siding was beyond the signal box and on the Up side of the line. The road it was named after is spelled 'Manor Waye' and although unconfirmed the 'Manor Way' spelling might have been an archaic spelling rather than an error. The railways had something of a penchant for using archaic spellings. Manor Waye, the road, today ends abruptly at the gate on the east side of the recreation ground with the former railway running along the recreation ground's west side. Back in the dim and distant past, however, the road, then more a path than a road, skirted around the perimeter of the recreation ground and thus brought it closer to the railway. Vine Street signal box was the only one on the branch. There was at one time signals at Cowley, presumably operated locally and unlocked from West Drayton West 'box as signalling records for Vine Street make no mention of it. As an interesting side, opposite the aforementioned recreation ground and curving along the southern boundary of Whitehall School playing field still exists, as of 2018, a section of very low embankment. This is the remains of the never completed link between the Vine Street branch and Uxbridge High Street station which would have seen the early closure of Vine Street station.
Photo by John Cosford from his Flickr photostream