Withdrawal of Services
On 1 July 1933 the Metropolitan Railway, along with London's other underground railways aside from 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 over 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours travel from the City of London, Wood Siding became a London Underground station. As a cost-cutting measure Wood Siding became unstaffed and the porter's hut was sold as a garden shed; from then on, the train crew would work the crossing gate. Although it was now officially a part of the London Underground network, Wood Siding—in common with all Metropolitan Line stations north of Aylesbury—was never shown on the tube map.
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 £2000 (about £100,000 as of 2013) would be saved by closing the Brill Tramway. As a consequence, the LPTB decided to abandon all passenger services beyond Aylesbury. The Brill Tramway was closed on 1 December 1935, with the last trains running on 30 November. While services on the Brill Tramway were withdrawn completely following the transfer to public ownership, the LPTB considered the Verney Junction branch as having a use as a freight line and as a diversionary route. The LPTB continued to maintain the line and operate freight services until 6 September 1947.
Read more about this topic: Wood Siding Railway Station
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