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The Bicester Military Railway (BMR) is a railway in Oxfordshire, England belonging to the Ministry of Defence . It links military depots at Piddington, Arncott and Graven Hill with the Oxford to Bicester Line.

The line has no road bridges. All of its crossings of public roads at Ambrosden, Arncott and between Arncott and Piddington are by level crossings.

The Bicester Military Railway was built in 1941 within the Bicester Central Ordnance Depot and was used extensively in the Second World War.

The British Prime Minister Harold Wilson visited the BMR in mid 1965 prior to a government spending review. On his orders it was spared from the railway cutbacks that were left over from Lord Beeching's railway review of the early 1960s ^{[citation needed]}.

The BMR has about 40 miles of standard gauge track in use. The BMR is the main base for 275 Railway Squadron, a unit of the Royal Logistic Corps. Before 1999, 275 Railway Squadron was a stand-alone Squadron. Other RLC Regiments refer to the squadron colloquially as the Railway Children. The Sub Unit recruits exclusively from the railway industry. Every solider in the unit is a tradesman, able to drive a locomotive, operate railway signals, shunt, and do permanent way work. The unit's regular sister unit is 79 Railway Squadron and sometimes undertakes permanent way work with the Royal Engineers unit 517 STRE.

275 Railway Squadron's now defunct insignia is a cross section of flat bottom rail in a blue diamond. This dates back to unit's involvement with the Longmoor Military Railway.

Sources

Lawton, E.R. (1992). The Bicester Military Railway. Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-86093-467-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Train Diversions webpage about Bicester Military Railway
First Great Western webpage about Bicester Military Railway

References

Template:UK-rail-stub

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-The '''Bicester Military Railway''' is a railway in [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]] belonging to the [[Ministry of Defence (UK)|Ministry of Defence ]]. It links military depots at [[Piddington, Oxfordshire|Piddington]], [[Arncott]] and Graven Hill with the [[Oxford to Bicester Line]].
+The '''Bicester Military Railway''' (BMR) is a railway in [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]] belonging to the [[Ministry of Defence (UK)|Ministry of Defence ]]. It links military depots at [[Piddington, Oxfordshire|Piddington]], [[Arncott]] and Graven Hill with the [[Oxford to Bicester Line]].
 The line has no road bridges. All of its crossings of public roads at Ambrosden, Arncott and between Arncott and Piddington are by [[level crossing]]s.
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 The Bicester Military Railway was built in 1941 within the [[Bicester]] [[Central Ordnance Depot]] and was used extensively in the [[World War II|Second World War]].
-It was visited by the British [[Prime Minister]] [[Harold Wilson]] in mid 1965 prior to a government spending review. On his orders it was spared from the railway cutbacks that were left over from [[Lord Beeching]]'s railway review of the early 1960s {{Fact|date=May 2008}}.
+The British [[Prime Minister]] [[Harold Wilson]] visited the BMR in mid 1965 prior to a government spending review. On his orders it was spared from the railway cutbacks that were left over from [[Lord Beeching]]'s railway review of the early 1960s {{Fact|date=May 2008}}.
-Approximately 40 miles of [[standard gauge]] track are in use today. It is the primary base for [[275 Railway Squadron]], a unit of the [[Royal Logistic Corps]].275 Railway Squadron pre 1999 was a stand alone Squadron. Known collectively amongst the other RLC Regiments as the Railway Children. This Sub Unit recruits exclusively from the rail industry. The unit primarily operates out Bicester where there is 40 miles of MOD owned railway on which to operate on. Every solider in the unit is an A tradesman and each is able to carry out loco driving, signal operations, shunting and permanent way work. The units regular sister unit is 79 Railway Squadron and can sometimes be found track bashing with its RE cousin 517 STRE .
+The BMR has about 40 miles of [[standard gauge]] track in use. The BMR is the main base for [[275 Railway Squadron]], a unit of the [[Royal Logistic Corps]]. Before 1999, 275 Railway Squadron was a stand-alone Squadron. Other RLC Regiments refer to the squadron colloquially as the ''Railway Children''. The Sub Unit recruits exclusively from the railway industry. Every solider in the unit is a tradesman, able to drive a locomotive, operate railway signals, shunt, and do permanent way work. The unit's regular sister unit is 79 Railway Squadron and sometimes undertakes permanent way work with the [[Royal Engineers]] unit 517 STRE.
 Railway Squadron's now defunct insignia is a cross section of flat bottom rail in a blue diamond. This dates back to unit's involvement with the [[Longmoor Military Railway]].