SideTracked Railway200 - High Wycombe
Date: Saturday 27th September 2025
Time: 8am to 8.30am
The original terminus station was built in 1854 after an original design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The station had one platform and a train shed that covered two broad gauge tracks. On one side of the train shed was a single road engine shed and on the platform side were a booking office and waiting rooms (on the Birdcage Walk side). The walls of the train shed, an engine shed and offices were constructed from brick and knapped flint with slate roofs. This building remained as a station in use until 1864 when it became a goods shed. Between the 1880s and 1940 various additions were made to the fabric of the old station. The building received grade two listing in 1999 due to being one of only six remaining GWR train sheds. Following listing most of the later additions were removed, restoring the building to its original footprint, the only addition being the flat roof second floor extension added in 1940.
With the building of the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway in 1906 the station was again rebuilt to the design that is in use today, with four lines between two staggered platforms and a subway. The subway still exists but is only used outside of the station, whilst a footbridge with lifts are within the station between both platforms. The station was originally the terminus of the Wycombe Railway line from Maidenhead, which was later extended to Aylesbury and Oxford, and then in 1867 was taken over by the Great Western Railway.
Celebrate 200 Years of Railway History!
In 1825, the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened the world’s first passenger railway station on Tuesday 27th September — a milestone that transformed travel forever. Steam locomotives carried passengers and goods at unprecedented speed, sparking a transport revolution that connected towns, boosted industry, and shaped modern Britain.
This special SideTracked Railway 200 event at High Wycombe is part of a nationwide celebration running from Wednesday 24th to Tuesday 30th September 2025. All finds and hides from this event count towards your SideTracked statistics, and a unique profile badge will be created especially for this event. Whether your chosen location is old, disused, miniature, or still bustling today, it’s part of a railway story that’s been 200 years in the making.