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Southcote Junction

Rail junctions in EnglandRail transport in BerkshireTransport in Reading, BerkshireUse British English from February 2017
Southcote junction geograph.org.uk 1354601
Southcote junction geograph.org.uk 1354601

Southcote Junction is a railway junction in the English town of Reading. It is the point where the Reading to Basingstoke line diverges from the Reading to Taunton line, and is situated between the Reading suburbs of Southcote and Coley Park and some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the south of Reading West station. A second adjacent junction, the Coley Branch Junction, formerly existed a few metres to the north where the Coley branch line diverged.The railway line from Reading to Hungerford (which would eventually become the Taunton line) opened on 21 December 1847, whilst the Basingstoke line opened on 1 November 1848. Both lines were proposed as part of the Berks and Hants Railway, but that company became part of the Great Western Railway before the track was laid. From 1908 until 1983, the Coley branch line diverged at Coley Branch Junction.Until 26 April 1965, the junction was controlled by Southcote Junction Signal Box, situated to the east of the line just north of the junction. A new signal box was opened here in 1896, to replace an earlier box, and it was upgraded in 1908 to cater for the new Coley branch. After closure the box was demolished, and control transferred to Reading Signal Box.The junction is readily visible from a footpath linking Wensley Road in Coley Park to Southcote Farm Lane in Southcote. This first crosses the trackbed of the old Coley branch, before running alongside the railway and then passing under both lines at the junction.Southcote Junction and the line between it and the junctions with the Great Western Main Line are heavily trafficked with a mixture of local passenger, long distance passenger and freight trains on both lines. In 2015, Network Rail’s Western Route Study suggested the provision of a grade separated junction at Southcote, with a third track to be provided between there and the Oxford Road Junction at Reading West.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Southcote Junction (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Southcote Junction
Southcote Farm Lane,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.441517 ° E -0.997481 °
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Southcote Junction

Southcote Farm Lane
RG30 3DZ , Southcote
England, United Kingdom
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Southcote junction geograph.org.uk 1354601
Southcote junction geograph.org.uk 1354601
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Nearby Places

Courages Sports Ground

Courages Sports Ground was a sports and cricket ground in Coley Park suburb of the town of Reading, Berkshire, England. The ground belonged to the Courage Brewery in the town, and was principally provided for the sport and recreation of the brewery staff. It was located south of Berkeley Avenue, which is a part of the A4 road, and was bordered to the west by the Reading to Taunton railway and to the north, south and east by housing. Established prior to 1961, the first cricket match recorded at the ground is in 1964 when Courages Cricket Club played Calmore Sports. Berkshire first played at the ground in the 1975 Minor Counties Championship against Wiltshire. Berkshire played seven further Minor Counties Championship matches at the ground, the last of which came against Wiltshire in 1983. Two MCCA Knockout Trophy matches were played there in 1984 between Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. The first match ended in no result, with the second match won by Berkshire a replay. A single List A match was played there in the 1986 NatWest Trophy between Berkshire and Gloucestershire. Gloucestershire batted first and made 249/9 from their sixty overs, with Andy Stovold top scoring in the innings with 58, while Peter Lewington's 3/23 were the best bowling figures of the innings. Berkshire were dismissed for 129 to lose the match by 120 runs, with Mark Simmons' 26 the top score in Berkshire's innings, while David Lawrence took figures of 4/36. This was the last time Berkshire played at the ground, with the final recorded match to be played there coming in 1990.The ground was sold for residential development soon after the last game, with two roads on the new estate named after the cricketers Ken Barrington and Gordon Greenidge. A small southern portion of the ground wasn't built on and today forms the core of Courage Park.