Brill Railway Station - Closure

Closure

On 1 July 1933 the Metropolitan Railway, along with London's other underground railways except for the small Waterloo & City Railway, was taken into public ownership as part of the newly formed London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB). Thus, despite it being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours travel from the City of London, Brill station became a terminus of the London Underground network. Frank Pick, Managing Director of the Underground Group from 1928 and the Chief Executive of the LPTB, aimed to move the network away from freight services, and saw the lines beyond Aylesbury via Quainton Road to Brill and Verney Junction as having little future as financially viable passenger routes, concluding that over £2,000 (about £100,000 as of 2012) would be saved by closing the Brill Tramway. As a consequence, the LPTB decided to withdraw all passenger services beyond Aylesbury. The Brill Tramway was closed on 1 December 1935; the last services ran on 30 November.

Upon the withdrawal of London Transport services the lease expired, and the railway and stations reverted to the Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad Company. With no funds and no rolling stock of its own, the O&ATC was unable to operate the line, and on 2 April 1936 the entire infrastructure of the line was sold at auction. The former goods shed at Brill sold for £7 10s (about £880 as of 2012), and a railway-owned house attached to Brill station fetched £350 (about £17,600 as of 2012). All buildings in Brill associated with the railway station have been demolished, and the station site is now a light industrial site known as the "Tramway Business Park".