Forgotten Cheltenham to Andoversford Railway. Not only forgotten but lost as well. I went to have a look to see if any remains were left, and was quite surprised at the outcome. This section running through almost the centre of Cheltenham suburbs means that the land it occupies is prime building land. Consequently where the builders could get easy access they have done and no trace remains. Some areas though have difficult embankments or steep cuttings that at the time ruled out economic use, and means that some trace at least can be found. That's not to say it is always easy, and the railway like all abandoned railways, is getting absorbed into the surroundings. There are plans, fully costed up, to reinstate this rail connection between Cheltenham and the Cotswolds, when you watch this and subsequent films, I think you will see that it is a challenging proposition.
Railway sleeper posts are the most consistant remains from these old railways, but being made of wood they will eventually disappear and that will make finding the old railways much harder.
The railway having got to Andoversford, split into two. One branch headed to Notsford. Bourton, Stow, and joined the Oxford line at Kingham, whereas the other branch headed south as the Midland South West Junction Railway, through Swindon and on to Southampton. This then gave the Midlands merchants direct access to the Channel ports without being subject to control by the GWR