Marlow Branch Line

The Marlow Branch Line is a 7.25mi single track railway line between Maidenhead, Berkshire, Bourne End and Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. Passenger services are operated by Great Western Railway using Class 165 and Class 166 diesel trains. The line connects to the Great Western Main Line at Maidenhead station, and uses a section of the former Wycombe Railway line to High Wycombe together with the former Great Marlow Railway.The train that runs on the branch line is known as The Marlow Donkey although the exact derivation of the term is unclear. Karau and Turner say "the trains of pack horses, mules and donkeys carrying goods to the riverside prompted the local people to christen the train on the Great Marlow Railway, the 'Marlow Donkey', a name which survives to this day". However, Anthony Wethered, great-grandson of the first chairman of the company, suggests that it is the name of the line. A third tradition identifies a particular locomotive. A pub in Marlow is named after it.