Staines and West Drayton Railway

The Staines & West Drayton Railway (S&WDR), also the Staines–West Drayton line and the Colnbrook branch, is a partially open, freight-only railway line in southern England. Formerly it ran for around 6 mi from the Great Western Main Line at West Drayton to Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, passing through the village of Colnbrook in Berkshire. The operational part of the line, north of Colnbrook, runs for 2 mi and is used exclusively by freight trains.

The earliest plans for a railway linking Staines-upon-Thames to the Great Western Main Line were put forward in the 1840s, but were not approved by parliament at the time. The Colnbrook Railway Act was passed in 1866, but the powers expired before the necessary capital could be raised. Further bills were required to authorise the S&WDR before construction eventually began in 1882. The line from West Drayton to Colnbrook opened on 9 August 1884 and passenger services began running to Staines-upon-Thames on 2 November 1885.

Following the Beeching Report of 1963, all passenger services were withdrawn on 27 March 1965. The full length of the line remained open for freight trains, until the southern half was closed in 1981 to allow the construction of the M25 motorway.

Route
The Staines–West Drayton line linked the Great Western Main Line (GWML) at West Drayton in the London Borough of Hillingdon to Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey. On opening, the line ran for around 6 mi, but only the northernmost 2 mi is still operational. The line was never electrified and has always been single track. The route is broadly parallelled by the southernmost part of the River Colne.

The operational part of the line runs for 2 mi from West Drayton Junction to Colnbrook Oil Terminal. It branches from the northern side of the GWML, 13 mi west of London Paddington, and immediately turns southwards, descending on a 1 in 104 gradient to pass beneath the main line. It passes beneath the Thorney Interchange, the junction between the M4 and M25 motorways. The single-track line has a maximum speed limit of 20 mph and train movements are controlled from Thames Valley Signalling Centre. At the southern end of the operational part of the line, the site of Colnbrook station is occupied by the oil terminal.

South of Colnbrook, the line is closed, the track has been lifted and part of the trackbed is occupied by the M25. The line ran across Staines Moor before climbing at 1 in 133 to pass over the Wraysbury River and the Staines–Windsor line. The station building for the southern terminus, Staines West, still stands to the northwest of Staines-upon-Thames town centre.

History
The earliest proposals for a railway line through Colnbrook were advanced in the mid-1840s, but were not granted parliamentary approval. By the 1860s, Staines-upon-Thames was an industrial town, with mills, factories and a brewery. In 1863, the West Drayton and Staines Railway proposed to link the area to the GWML, reducing the reliance on lines operated by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). The 1863 scheme failed, but two years later, two further proposals were submitted to parliament resulting in the Colnbrook Railway Act 1866, which authorised a single-track line from the south side of the GWML at West Drayton to the LSWR Staines–Windsor line. The Great Western Railway (GWR) agreed to operate passenger services, but the powers to construct the line expired before sufficient capital could be raised.

Despite opposition from the LSWR, a new act, authorising the Staines & West Drayton Railway company (S&WDR), was passed on 7 July 1873. The line, which was to follow the route approved in the 1866 act, required the use of the existing LSWR Staines station. The GWR agreed to operate the line, but refused to share its rival's station. In 1882, the S&WDR submitted a second bill in November 1882, to allow it to develop its own station in Staines-upon-Thames and to build a link to the linoleum factory in the town.

Construction of the line began in 1882, but financial pressures forced the S&WDR to save costs where possible. An existing private house was adapted for Staines West station, the southern terminus, which was provided with a single platform. The temporary terminus, and only intermediate station at Colnbrook, was also provided with a single platform and a passing loop was not installed there until 2 May 1904. The line from West Drayton to Colnbrook opened on 9 August 1884 and passenger services began running to Staines-upon-Thames on 2 November 1885.

The Metropolitan Rifle Range Company was formed 1890, to provide a firing range closer to the capital than the ranges at Bisley. The GWR constructed a halt which to serve the range, which opened 1 March 1892 Initially named Runemede Range, it became Runemede on 9 July 1934, then Yeoveney Yeoveney on 4 November 1935. The halt closed on 14 May 1962.

Poyle Halt opened as Stanwell Moor and Poyle Halt on 1 June 1927, but became Poyle for Stanwell Moor on 26 September that year. The waiting shelter was destroyed by fire on 5 October 1964. Poyle Estate Halt opened 4 January 1954 to serve new factories between Colnbrook and Poyle.

The first Beeching report, published in 1963, recommended the withdrawal of all passenger trains over the line. Passenger services ceased in March 1965, but the line remained open for freight trains. A farewell special excursion train ran along the full length of the line on 30 July 1978.

In the early 1980s, the southern part of the line was severed by the construction of the M25 motorway. Junction 14 was built on the site of Poyle Halt and part of the trackbed to the south was covered by the new road. The final train to reach Staines, a freight working to the oil terminal, ran on 16 January 1981. The line north of Colnbrook was retained to serve the factories and depots in the area.

Current and former freight operations
Although goods yards were provided at both Colnbrook and Staines West from opening, freight traffic on the line was slow to develop. In May 1877, a link was built across the River Colne to allow GWR trains to access the goods yard for the Staines Linoleum Works, a facility shared with the LSWR. The linoleum factory closed in 1973, but regular freight workings to Staines West had ceased in October 1953.

On 24 June 1964, Shell-Mex and BP opened a rail terminal for heating oil on the site of the former Staines West goods yard. The depot, served by a single siding capable of holding up to 12 tank waggons, was served by 2-6 trains per week, depending on the season. Initially steam engines were used to haul oil trains, but were replaced by diesel locomotives after the first few months. The construction of the M25 across the trackbed at Poyle, meant that terminal could no longer be served by trains running via Colnbrook. A link from the Staines–Windsor line opened in January 1981, thereby allowing continued rail access into the depot. Staines oil depot closed on 24 June 1991.

In 1974, the sidings at Thorney Mill were served by 24 oil trains and ten stone trains per week. The site also processed 360 tons of scrap metal. Trains ceased to run south of Thorney Mill in January 1981, but in May 1990 an new aviation fuel terminal for Heathrow Airport was opened at Colnbrook. Fuel is transferred from trains to the airport via a 1.9 km 12 in diameter pipeline. The Thorney Mill depot closed in 2013, but the site was reopened as an aggregates depot in January 2022.

Former passenger services and rolling stock
The Staines and West Drayton Railway opened on 2 November 1885, with nine trains each way between West Drayton and Staines West on weekdays. Sunday services began in 1887, with four return trips. By 1900, the weekday timetable included eight return workings, which increased to 14 return workings in 1912.

GWR autocoaches were introduced to the line on 1 October 1914 and had taken over the vast majority of passenger services by the start of 1916. In the 1920s and 1930s, rush hour passenger services were hauled by 2-6-2T tank engines. In the mid-1950s, there were 18 return trains weekdays, with 12 on Sundays. Most trains were two carriages hauled by GWR 0-6-0PT and 2-6-2T locomotives. GWR railcars were first used in January 1954 and took over all passenger services in October 1958.

The line was listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching Report and the enhanced peak-hour timetable was reduced in October 1964. Passenger services ceased in March 1965 and a bus service was provided as a substitute.

Proposals
The proposed Airtrack-Lite rail link from Heathrow Airport through Staines would entail laying track near the former southern part of the S&WDR route.