Our recent stories of the Oxford-Princes Risborough railway line revived memories of an unexpected hazard which faced passengers at Wheatley.

Workers hurrying to catch the early morning trains were advised to steer well clear of the cottage at 5 Farm Close Lane as they walked towards the station.

Miss Russell, who lived there, was in the habit of emptying her chamber pot out of the window after she got out of bed every morning!

Other passengers recalled a night when a train driver picked up the token from the signalman which gave him access to the single track, and dropped it.

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Passengers had to jump off the train and forage through the undergrowth to help him find it before they could proceed.

Passengers at Wheatley played a major role on the nostalgic night of January 6, 1963 when the last passenger train ran on the line.

Among them was a man in deep mourning, complete with frock coat and top hat. Another man wore the scarlet and blue gown of a Doctor of Philosophy. Asked his name, he replied: “Dr Beeching” – the man responsible for closing the line.

All along the route, fog detonators were set off to provide a noisy farewell.

When the train reached Princes Risborough, a portable gramophone played Land of Hope and Glory.

On the way back to Oxford, passengers broke into song – “If you miss this one, you’ll never get another one” – and at Wheatley, the farewell offering was Auld Lang Syne.

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The last train was hauled by steam tank engine 6111 and had five coaches, instead of the usual two, to cope with the large number of passengers.

The line had opened in two stages – Princes Risborough to Thame on August 1, 1862 and from Thame to Kennington junction, south of Oxford, on October 24, 1864.

Its busiest period was during the Second World War when trains with 12 coaches came from east coast ports to bring injured servicemen to the military hospital at Holton Park.

Other wartime traffic included war vehicles leaving the Cowley factory and the remains of crashed aircraft arriving for melting down.

In peacetime, apart from regular passenger services, there were freight trains carrying timber, milk, livestock, coal and general merchandise.

In 2000, Chiltern Railways considered reopening the line to provide a new route to London.

But the company dropped the idea in favour of what is now the Chiltern Line via Bicester.

The short section from Kennington junction to the Mini plant at Cowley remains open for freight trains carrying cars, and there are tentative plans to restore passenger services to this section.

This proposal has been the subject of campaigning for a number of years as the new line would reduce congestion.

The Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study has looked at how steps can be taken to improve the railways in the county.

At the Princes Risborough end, enthusiasts can join trains on the heritage line to and from Chinnor.

You can see numerous pictures of railway activity on the Wheatley Village Archive.