Reading–Basingstoke line Reading–Basingstoke line The Reading–Basingstoke line is a short railway link between the South Western Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, constructed by the Great Western Railway between 1846 and 1848. The line is served by Great Western Railway local services between Reading and Basingstoke, which stop at the intermediate stations Reading West, Mortimer and Bramley. The line is also an important through route for longer distance passenger and freight services: CrossCountry services from Bournemouth and Southampton to Birmingham and the North of England and freight trains between Southampton Docks and the Midlands use the line. The section of
Shenandoah (B&O train) The "Shenandoah" operated to New York City via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until April 26, 1958, when the B&O discontinued passenger service north of Baltimore. As passenger patronage on American railroads continued to decline in the 1960s, the combination sleeper-dome and dining cars were dropped, and were renamed the "Diplomat" in 1964 and then dropped altogether in 1967. Amtrak revived the name in the 1970s for the short-lived "Shenandoah", a Washington—Cincinnati train. In 1961, westbound "Shenandoah" Train # 7 operated on the following schedule (departure times at principal stops shown): Shenandoah (B&O train) The Shenandoah was an American named passenger train of