Swindon and Cricklade Railway
Heritage railway in Wiltshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a heritage railway in Wiltshire, England, that operates on a short section of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway line between Swindon and Cricklade.
| Swindon and Cricklade Railway | |
|---|---|
Slough Estates No.3 with a service train at Hayes Knoll | |
| Locale | Swindon, Wiltshire, England |
| Terminus | Blunsdon |
| Coordinates | 51.607°N 1.8436°W |
| Commercial operations | |
| Original gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Length | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Preservation history | |
| 1978 | Preservation Society formed |
| 1984 | S&CR granted Light Railway Order (following reconstruction of the line) |
| 1985 | S&CR re-opened and runs its first trains |
| 1999 | Hayes Knoll Station opened. |
| 2008 | South Meadow reached |
| 2012 | Taw Valley Halt reached |
| 2014 | Taw Valley Halt officially opened |
| Headquarters | Blunsdon |
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Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a registered charity.[1]
Preservation history
The Swindon and Cricklade Railway Preservation Society was formed by a group of enthusiasts in November 1978 to reconstruct and preserve a section of the Midland & South Western Junction Railway that ran from Andover, Hampshire, to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The volunteer-operated railway has reopened three stations: Hayes Knoll, Taw Valley Halt and Blunsdon, the headquarters of the line. Hayes Knoll features a restored signalbox that is operational during special events and a running/restoration shed. The length of the restored line is a little under 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km).
The line extends north to South Meadow Lane (a few hundred yards from the site of a proposed Farfield Lane halt) near Cricklade, and south to Taw Valley Halt on the outskirts of Swindon, near Mouldon Hill Country Park.[2] A southern terminus, Mouldon Hill, is proposed within the park.[3]
Locomotives
Steam locomotives
| Number & Name | Class | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6695[4] | GWR 5600 Class 0-6-2T | Built in 1928. Operational, moved from the West Somerset Railway in December 2019. Returned to service in September 2022 with an official launch in March 2023. | .jpg) |
Diesel locomotives
Diesel multiple units
Specialist vehicles
- Wickham trolley No 9031 (Type 27 Mk III, Works No. 8089), a small four-wheeled vehicle for departmental use.[5] Crew cab seating eight. Smaller than normal railway vehicles to standard loading gauge, as it is roughly 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. Has no external couplings/drawbar or buffers. Operational and fitted with Kohler diesel engine.[6]
Vintage railway coaches
| Origin | Number | Type | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GWR | No. 7545 | GWR Toplight Brake corridor Tri-composite[7] |  | |
| GWR | No. 3898 | GWR Toplight corridor third[8] | ||
| TVR | No. 73 | Taff Vale Railway Composite coach. | built 1890 – restoration completed using ex Fruit D chassis.[9] |  |
| CR | No. 104 | Cambrian Railways Full Brake | Recovered from derelict property in North Devon in August 2018. Will run with No. 110 when complete. Now under restoration.[10] |  |
| CR | No. 110 | Cambrian Railways 1st/2nd composite | built 1894 – coach body being restored.[11] |  |
| NLR | No. 111 | North London Railway 1st class | Underframe suitable for 111 in stock. Work on rebuilding original frame has begun.[12] |  |
Wagons
| Origin | Number | Type | Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMS | PBA27 | 4-wheel ventilated van | Unknown build date. Later used by the Port of Bristol Authority and numbered 27. Recently restored to operational condition and painted blue with a 'Jewson' logo.[13] |  |
| Swindon and Cricklade Rly | 3 | 4-wheel weedkilling wagon | Converted from a four-wheel wagon underframe. Used for killing of weeds.[14] |  |
| GWR | 92953, later PBA61047 | Four-wheel China Clay Wagon | Built in 1913 at Swindon. Previously used by Port of Bristol Authority.[15] | .jpg) |
Stations of the S&CR line
| Station | Notes |
|---|---|
| South Meadow Lane | Halfway point between Hayes Knoll and Farfield Lane; used as a return point to Hayes Knoll when running north from Blunsdon. No run-round loop, no platform facilities. |
| Hayes Knoll | Depot and workshop; no road access |
| Blunsdon | Headquarters of the line |
| Taw Valley Halt | Opened in 2014. Used as a return point to Blunsdon when running south from Hayes Knoll, and is the current terminus of the line (until funding, planning and issues with the existing utilities can be overcome to allow access to Mouldon Hill station to be built) |
