Moreton-in-the-Marsh
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GWR "Star" class no. 4051 "Princess Helena" at Moreton-in-the-Marsh with a southbound train, circa 1935
Moreton-in-the-Marsh station opened in June 1853, with the station being the highest point on the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. The site chosen coincided with the terminus of the 1826 Stratford and Moreton Tramway, which had been taken over by the OWW railway in 1847, and Moreton would act as junction for this line, although for most part only to Shipston-on-Stour, as subsequent expansions of the OWW system rendered the line to Stratford redundant. In order to pass across Batsford Park (to the northwest of the town), the railway was obliged to stop every passenger train at Moreton, a situation which still exists today.
The station was quite substantial with the main buildings being on the down (northbound) platform and wooden buildings on the up (southbound) island platform (shared with the Shipston branch). The original 1853 buildings were replaced in 1872. A footbridge was provided between the two platforms; this was an extended bridge as it also acted to allow a public right of way to cross the line at this point.
The final closure of the Shipston branch in 1960, and the subsequent singling of the line between here and Evesham in 1971 (a move reversed in 2011) saw the station's importance reduced somewhat, but it has remained open, probably due to its status as a gateway to the North Cotswolds (and possibly due to the Batsford agreement complicating any attempt to close the station).