The station and yard were built to the broad gauge on land acquired from the Mayor and Aldermen of the Borough of Abingdon on 19 March 1856 at a cost of £472.

Seven properties were demolished to make way for the station and yard, including the Plough Inn which was subsequently rebuilt at a different location.

[2] A locomotive shed was built on land which was never formally conveyed to the railway, but later acquired by adverse possession.

The branch continued to be used by freight trains (notably for MG Cars) and sporadic passenger excursions, the last of which took place in June 1984.

The station featured briefly in a 1963 documentary film made for cinematic release, "High, Wide and Faster" (from the Look at Life series), which examined contemporary developments in road, rail, and sea transport.