Jason Prole

The Channel Islands Boat Train
by Roger Winnen
Part 2
Re: Churchill's funeral train
Roy Hart
I enjoyed reading Mike Roach's piece on this. (click here)
BR were faced with a number of logistical difficulties for this operation: Handborough station (until the 1960s it was HANDBOROUGH FOR BLENHEIM, but today both Village and station are HANBOROUGH) had its main buildings and road approach on the up side, but the train would (obviously) arrive on the down. This was clearly impossible, for Handborough had a signalbox and there was a crossover, but this would require an undignified and unseemly reversal. The solution was that a temporary facing crossover was laid in double-quick time and the train glided in direct to the up platform.
The station building at Handborough, being the station for Blenheim palace, had a special entrance with rather grand double doors for ceremonial occasions. They were never used much - indeed, the last time that they were opened before Churchill's funeral is when the German kaiser visited in 1901!
The funeral train returned the party to Paddington after the burial, hauled by a 'Western' class diesel.
Today Hanborough (without the 'd') is a halt on the Oxford to Worcester line: it is single track at this point with just the old up platform in use. The buildings are long gone.
Hope this is of interest,
Roy
The days clay
Jon Hird

Re: Ken's 'Mystery bridge'
Mike Bellew
The line closed during the Beeching cuts.