On 2 July 1866 the Wallingford and Watlington Railway was opened between and Wallingford. Its relative speed and reliability enabled it to take a large share of goods previously carried on the Thames. Two months earlier, in May 1866, the Overend, Gurney & Co bank had crashed, causing one of the severest financial crises of the 19th century. The Bank Rate was raised to ten percent, which made it impossible for the W&WR to raise the capital for its planned continuation to Watlington. The company sold the line to the Great Western Railway in 1872, and it became known as the "Wallingford Bunk". British Railways closed the line to passengers in 1959 and to goods traffic in 1965, but the track between Hithercroft Road and Cholsey continued in use to serve the now demolished maltings until 1981 when BR removed the junction at Cholsey. However, the line has been preserved as the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway.