Its principal objective, as well as a general rural rail service, was the conveyance of iron ore from the East Midlands to South Wales.

Between 1951 and 1962 the passenger service was withdrawn in stages, and all of the line except a short stub at Kings Sutton was closed in 1964, followed by complete closure in 1969.

It was designed to connect the industrial areas of the West Midlands with the growing railway network, and it was to be built on the broad gauge.

Transport by animal power was slow and expensive, especially as the road network in the Cotswolds was poor, and Bliss was anxious to take advantage of the railway.

All of these were six miles (10 km) or so distant from Chipping Norton, making them unsatisfactory for Bliss's needs, although the railway line was to pass much closer to the town.

John Fowler, the OW&WR engineer, gave advice and encouragement, and at the end of the year an estimated cost of £24,000 was arrived at, and local people were enthusiastic enough to subscribe the necessary capital.

[2][page needed] The only difficulty in proceeding in Parliament was a last attempt by the Great Western Railway to insist on the broad gauge being adopted.

[3][page needed][4] Construction of the short line (four and a half miles, 7 km) did not take long, and it was opened to goods traffic on 1 June 1855.

[3][page needed][5] In 1860 discussions between the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) and its allies regarding amalgamation came to fruition.

Land acquisition proved to be exceptionally difficult, with many landowners holding out for unreasonable remuneration, but otherwise the construction, undertaken by Sir Morton Peto, was straightforward.

c. ccx), although only as far as Andoversford, from where the East Gloucestershire Railway was to build into Cheltenham, the Bourton company receiving running powers over that line.

The authorising act for the Bourton company's extension included a £50 daily penalty for failure to complete the line, and inability to raise finance was specifically excluded as an excuse.

Issues of liabilities due to the abandonment of the Cheltenham extension worried the GWR, and delayed the finalising of the transfer, and it was not until 1 February 1874 that the arrangement was formally effective.

It was to run from the GWR's Oxford line at Kings Sutton, and use the Chipping Norton branch and the Bourton-on-the-Water Railway as part of its route.

An alternative proposal was considered, to make a loop entering from Chipping Norton in to the junction from the south, enabling through operation without the cost of a bridge, but this was not proceeded with.

[2][page needed] Acquisition of the necessary land proved to be exceptionally difficult, and the scale of the engineering works was greater than was originally thought: the cutting near Hook Norton was said to be one of the largest attempted in England.

The Great Western Railway (GWR) agreed to work the line when it opened, but presented a number of requirements for facilities which the company had not thought to provide and which they could ill afford.

As well as requesting a large number of detail improvements, he required additional excavation to the cutting slopes near the tunnel approaches, incurring considerable extra cost.

Work on this section too suffered from bad weather, inadequate project management by the contractor, and above all a lack of finance by the company.

About 1880 passing loops had been added at Leckhampton and Charlton Kings, between Andoversford and Cheltenham, but the additional traffic from the M&SWJR began to overload the single line's capacity.

[note 5][2][page needed][7][4] Iron ore deposits had been found on the course of the eastern part of the line, and a number of siding connections had been made to accommodate the traffic; in addition flows from Northamptonshire to South Wales had been running for some time by the end of the nineteenth century.

This potential was increased in 1900 when the Great Central Railway reached Banbury, with the possibility of running traffic from the north and east over the B&CD line.

This moved the GWR to revive the flyover proposal at Chipping Norton Junction to enable through operation without reversal, and to double parts of the eastern section of the route.

In addition the south curve at Hatherley (the "Gloucester Loop"), and at Kings Sutton, which would enable direct running from Oxford and Yarnton towards Chipping Norton was revived, although this latter idea was never implemented.

The B&CDR company had originally suggested that their Leckhampton station should be known as Cheltenham South, an idea that was viewed with disfavour all round.

[note 6][7][page needed] Numerous improvements to existing crossing loops were implemented at the same time, as well as doubling the line at Adderbury.

At the same time, traditional industries transformed, and international competition reduced the demand for iron ore from the more expensive mining locations served by the line.