Chippenham railway station

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Chippenham
National Rail logo.svg
Chippenham station entrance 2011.jpg
The station buildings, seen from the southwest
General information
Location Chippenham, County of Wiltshire
England
Coordinates 51°27′45″N2°06′55″W / 51.4625°N 2.1154°W / 51.4625; -2.1154
Grid reference ST920737
Owned by Network Rail
Managed by Great Western Railway
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeCPM
Classification DfT category C1
History
Original company Great Western Railway
Pre-groupingGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
31 May 1841Opened
Passengers
2019/20Decrease2.svg 1.937 million
 Interchange Increase2.svg 29,117
Corsham
Line open, station closed		  Great Western Railway
Great Western Main Line 		  Christian Malford Halt
Line open, station closed
Disused railways
Terminus BR (Western Region)
Chippenham and Calne Line 		  Stanley Bridge Halt

Future

There were plans to electrify the Great Western Main Line along its whole length (Heathrow Junction to Bristol Temple Meads), which were originally scheduled for completion by 2016. [27] However, in November 2016, the work to electrify the section between Chippenham and Bristol (as well as Oxford to Didcot) was suspended due to 'cost overruns' until further notice. [28] The wires stop just east of Chippenham station.

Train operator Go-Op included Chippenham in its 2016 and 2019 plans for a service from the west of England to the West Midlands, via Oxford. [29] [30]

The Chippenham Station Hub project aims to improve the appearance of the station's forecourt and increase parking provision by building multi-storey car parks, releasing land for development. [31] There are seven phases, with Phase 1, the refurbishment of the booking office, having been completed and Phase 2 (redevelopment of Sadler's Mead car park) being in progress as of 2020. [32] [33]

Engineering works

Northwest of the station is an engineering works, established on a smaller site north of the station in 1842 by Rowland Brotherhood to support the Great Western Railway, and later supplying equipment to the worldwide rail industry. From 1894 it was home to the company which in 1935 became Westinghouse Brake and Signal, manufacturers of railway air braking and signalling equipment. Westinghouse was acquired by Hawker Siddeley in 1979, then sold to BTR in 1992. After BTR merged with Siebe to form Invensys, Westinghouse Brakes was sold in 2000 to Knorr-Bremse, who opened a new factory at Bowerhill, Melksham. [34] [35]

The signals business remained at Chippenham and became Westinghouse Rail Systems, within Invensys Rail Group. This business was sold to Siemens in 2013 and became part of Siemens Rail Automation. [36] Proposals submitted in 2016 for redevelopment of the site include homes, shops and a hotel as well as business space. [37]

Chippenham viaduct

Chippenham viaduct
Coordinates 51°27′40″N2°07′09″W / 51.46121°N 2.11921°W / 51.46121; -2.11921
OS grid reference ST 91815 73588
CarriesRailway
CrossesA420, New Road
Locale Chippenham
Owner Network Rail
Characteristics
DesignArch
MaterialStone, brick
No. of spans9
History
Designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Opened1841 (1841)
Statistics
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated22 June 1978 (1978-06-22)
Reference no.1267956
Legacy SystemLBS
Legacy System number462388

Immediately west of the station lies the Grade II* listed Chippenham viaduct, designed by Brunel and completed in 1841. [38] The first arch, over New Road, appears to have been modelled on the Roman triumphal arch. It has a 26-foot (8 m) span and is flanked by two smaller pedestrian arches of 10 feet (3 m), and extended to the west by a later brick arcade, making a total of nine arches. All is surmounted by a heavy cornice and parapet. The north side is faced with Bath stone ashlar with some brick patching, while the south side is in blue brick following widening in the early 1900s. [39] [38] Chippenham Civic Society has placed a blue plaque on the viaduct, which it refers to as the "Western Arches". [40]

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References

  1. ↑ Padgett, David (June 2018) [1989]. Munsey, Myles (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 3: Western & Wales (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. map 5B. ISBN   978-1-9996271-0-2.
  2. ↑ MacDermot, E.T. (1927). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. I: 1833–1863. Paddington: Great Western Railway. p. 25.
  3. ↑ MacDermot 1927 , p. 124
  4. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 60. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  5. ↑ MacDermot 1927 , p. 131
  6. ↑ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. London: Guild Publishing. p. 52. CN 8983.
  7. ↑ MacDermot 1927 , p. 286
  8. ↑ MacDermot, E.T. (1931). History of the Great Western Railway, vol. II: 1863–1921. Paddington: Great Western Railway. p. 6. OCLC   55853736.
  9. ↑ Awdry 1990 , p. 20
  10. ↑ Daniel, John (April 2013). "A Selection of Great Western Stations". The Great Western Archive. Chippenham. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. 1 2 TransWilts Community Rail Partnership (2009). "The "TransWilts" – Some key facts". Melksham, Wilts: Self. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Beckett, Derrick (2006). Brunel's Britain . David & Charles. p.  62. ISBN   978-0-7153-2360-1.
  13. ↑ Clark, R H (1981). An Historic Survey of Selected Great Western Stations, volume 3.
  14. ↑ Historic England. "CHIPPENHAM STATION, ENTRANCE BUILDING AND ATTACHED PLATFORM CANOPIES (1268119)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "Timeline: Access for All stations list". Network Rail. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  16. ↑ Armstrong, Julie (2 February 2015). "115-year-old railway bridge comes down as part of £3m access scheme". Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Opening of Chippenham station's new footbridge and lifts". Network Rail. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "New railway station bridge in £3m revamp needs work after just 8 months". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  19. ↑ "£1million scheme to provide step-free access at Wiltshire station". RailAdvent. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "Chippenham railway station: Work begins on £1m upgrade". BBC News. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  21. ↑ Historic England. "K6 TELEPHONE KIOSK ADJACENT TO CHIPPENHAM RAILWAY STATION (1268123)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  22. ↑ Historic England. "CHIPPENHAM STATION, FORMER BRITISH RAIL OFFICE IN THE CAR PARK (1268121)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  23. ↑ Historic England. "MORTIMORES WEIGHBRIDGE OFFICE, CHIPPENHAM STATION YARD (1267960)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Chippenham railway station receives national award for security" (Press release). First Great Western. 21 December 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  25. ↑ "First Great Western Trains". Services near the bottom. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  26. ↑ "Swindon to Westbury via Melksham (TransWilts line services)" (PDF). Great Western Railway. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Network Specification 2011 – Western". Network Rail. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  28. ↑ Great Western line electrification 'deferred' amid cost overruns
  29. ↑ "Proposed route". GO-OP. Archived from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  30. ↑ "Rail travel boost for Frome". Frome Times. 26 March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  31. ↑ "Chippenham Station". SWLEP. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  32. ↑ "News - Chippenham railway consultation - News - Wiltshire Council". wiltshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  33. ↑ "News - Work on improvements for Chippenham Car Park start this week - News - Wiltshire Council". wiltshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  34. ↑ O.S. Nock (2006). A Hundred Years of Speed with Safety: The Inception and Progress of the Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company Ltd., 1881 – 1981. Hobnob Press. ISBN   978-0-946418-51-0.
  35. ↑ "Invensys Sells Westinghouse Brakes to Knorr-Bremse". Invensys. 25 April 2000. Archived from the original on 14 March 2006.
  36. ↑ "Siemens completes Invensys Rail acquisition". Railway Gazette. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  37. ↑ Mackley, Stefan (29 April 2016). "Plans submitted to redevelop Langley Park". The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  38. 1 2 Historic England. "Railway Viaduct (1267956)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  39. ↑ Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: an Oxford Gazetteer of Structures and Sites. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-866247-1.
  40. ↑ "Heritage Blue Plaques | Chippenham Civic Society" . Retrieved 5 June 2021.
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