Cheltenham Racecourse railway station

Cheltenham Racecourse
Location
Place	Cheltenham
Area	Cheltenham
Grid reference	SO953250
Operations
Owned by	Great Western Railway
Operated by	Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
Platforms	1 (to be 2)
History
Opened	1912
Closed	1976
Re-opened	2003
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Cheltenham Racecourse railway station is a railway station serving Cheltenham Racecourse on the outskirts of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, England.

It is located on the former ex-GWR Cheltenham to Stratford line, which was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1906. The station itself was opened in 1912 specifically to serve the new racecourse at Prestbury Park, home of the famous Gold Cup meeting. The platforms were extended at some stage to accommodate trains of up to 14 carriages. The station was only opened on race days and so facilities were rudimentary, but it continued to serve racegoers travelling 'by rail to the races' (as contemporary advertising put it) until the March 1976 Cheltenham Festival.

Although most of the stations on the line closed in 1960 the line itself remained open for non-stop passenger services until 1968.^[1] Special trains on racedays only served Cheltenham Racecourse station from 1971 until 1976.^[2] The line was also used as a diversionary route with no scheduled passenger services until 1976 when a freight train derailed at Winchcombe and damaged the track. The line was officially closed in 1976 and the track was (by 1979) lifted shortly afterwards.

Cheltenham Racecourse (described by the Great Western Railway as Cheltenham Race Course) is at present the southern terminus of the currently 12-mile long heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The line has been reopened in stages given that the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway is run entirely by volunteers. The line trackbed itself was bought in 1984. The track from Gotherington to the racecourse was relaid in late-2001, The line was reopened as a heritage railway by HRH The Princess Royal on 7 April 2003.

The station itself is very attractively situated. It and is mostly in a cutting fringed by Corsican pine trees. Its northern end, where it emerges from the cutting, affords magnificent views towards Cleeve Hill. The original station booking office is of historic interest in that it is believed to be the only remaining example of a Swindon-built 'flatpack' prefabricated building that was brought by train and assembled on site. It is perched at the top of the cutting, next to the A435 roadbridge and just three minutes' walk from the main entrance of the racecourse. It has been well restored despite the efforts of local vandals over the years and there is an interesting collection of artifacts housed within it. A gentle slope through well-tended landscaping gives access to the platform where there is a new station building with a canopy, toilets and waiting room. Currently, only one platform of the station is in use. The second platform has been removed but is currently being rebuilt by volunteers. The station has two tracks, one adjacent to the platform and the other to allow locomotives to run around the train. A new signal box was opened in 2005 to control the signals and point work around the station.

Access to the station by car is only via the main racecourse entrance (follow brown signs to racecourse). There is a large free car park. A bus service runs from the Network Rail Cheltenham Spa station, through the town centre to the Racecourse Park & Ride, about 10 minutes walk from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway station.

Platform 2 Rebuild

In July 2012, as part of a new Development Foundation, the GWSR launched an appeal to reconstruct Platform 2 at Cheltenham Racecourse station. The intention is to reduce overcrowding at Platform 1. Their website details the rebuilding now being undertaken by volunteers.

References

1. Daniels, Gerald David; Dench, Leslie Alan (May 1973) [1964]. Passengers No More (2nd ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 36. ISBN 0-7110-0438-2. OCLC 2554248. 1513 CEC 573.
2. Croughton, G.; Kidner, R.W.; Young, A. Private and untimetabled Railway Stations.

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Gotherington		Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway		Terminus
	Historical railways
Bishop's Cleeve Line open, station closed		Great Western Railway Honeybourne Line		Cheltenham High Street Halt Line and station closed
	Proposed Heritage railways
Bishop's Cleeve Line open, station closed		Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway		Cheltenham Malvern Road Line and station closed

Coordinates: 51°55′26″N 2°04′06″W / 51.92401°N 2.06833°W