Culham station through time
The new millenium and refurbishment, to the present day
Image courtesy of Sir William McAlpine © Railway Heritage Trust
Early in 2004
This photograph shows the Old Ticket Office on a sunny Spring afternoon in 2004, only a few months after the major refurbishment by Network Rail which was completed in late 2003. The difference between this and earlier photographs is striking. This image was used in the Railway Heritage Trust's Annual Report of 2004 which noted the completion of the project and was kindly made available to us by Sir William McAlpine.
March 2010
Following its refurbishment, Network Rail resumed their search for occupiers for the Old Ticket Office. Graham Horn visited Culham village in early 2010 and took several photographs of the surrounding area, including this one of the ticket office which is used here with his kind permission. Seemingly between tenants, a large 'To Let' board has been attached to the gable end visible from the footbridge. When Entikera enquired about the possibility of reinstating a couple of railway posters to add atmosphere they were told that attaching anything to the building was strictly forbidden. Estate agents must be exempt from such rules - or perhaps they simply didn't ask.
Late August 2014
Entikera Limited (trading as Mp Fine Art Printing
Click or tap link to open a new page and visit the Mp Fine Art Printing website) leased the Old Ticket Office from Network Rail in March 2014 and they opened their doors to the public for four days in September 2014 as part of the National Heritage Open Days scheme. This was the first time in almost 40 years that the public had been able to view the inside of this unique listed building. Local media keenly covered the event with The Oxford Mail carrying an illustrated article and Radio Oxford transmitting two live reports from the Ticket Office on their morning show. Posters advertising the Open Days can just be seen in the windows in this photograph taken during August.
First snow in 2017
This photograph was taken in early December. The newly fallen snow adds a timeless quality to the Old Ticket Office. It was hoped to capture a unique image of 'Black 5' 45212 steaming through with an excursion from Slough to Stratford-on-Avon. Whilst the train started on time, the adverse weather sadly caused it to be cancelled after only reaching Reading but this view made going to the station worthwhile. Many services were affected on that Sunday, with a points failure also adding to the problems.
175th anniversary, June 2019
June 2019 saw great excitement and activity at Culham as we celebrated the 175th anniversary of both the Old Ticket Office and that of the Didcot to Oxford railway. The actual anniversary on 12th June was marked by GWR running a special non-stop train from Oxford to Paddington, setting a new speed record in a time of 37 minutes and 35 seconds! The ticket office was open to the public on Saturday 15th when events took place all along the line including visits by Clun Castle and Flying Scotsman. The office was opened to the public again on the Sunday.
You can read all about the open weekend, and the record breaking train, by visiting the '175th Anniversary' item under the 'ABOUT' menu tab.
