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The Devizes branch line was a railway line from Holt Junction, Wiltshire to Patney and Chirton, Wiltshire, and named after Devizes, the largest town on the line. The branch was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1857, and from 1862 when the Reading-Hungerford line reached Devizes it became part of the shortest route from London to the West Country. Those services were re-routed in 1900, and the line closed in 1966.
The idea of a railway line through Devizes was first conceived in 1830, before the Great Western Railway (GWR) had begun to construct its main lines. Devizes was regularly considered by the GWR as a major stop on its London to Bristol Line but lost out to Swindon due to lack of potential traffic from Devizes.
A branch to Devizes was included in plans for the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, authorised by Parliament in 1845; however, that company could only afford to build part of its main line, from Thingley Junction near Chippenham to Westbury, before it was taken over in 1850 by the Great Western Railway.
Potential construction costs were high because Devizes stands on a hill, so the town was left without a station. In 1854 the GWR finally began to build from near Holt Junction on the former WS&WR line eastward to Devizes, completing the branch in 1857. [1]
In 1862, the GWR extended its Reading-Hungerford line westward via Pewsey to Devizes, creating a direct link from London Paddington to Bristol which was shorter than any other route. This was the busiest period for the Devizes line, but traffic declined from 1900 after the Stert-Westbury link was built to reduce journey time by avoiding the steep inclines into Devizes.
The line and all its stations closed in 1966 under British Rail's Beeching cuts. [1] The closure of the line can be accounted for by the awkward geography of the Devizes line, and the declining amounts of traffic due to alternative railway lines and the increasing popularity of road transport.
Apart from a few remaining bridges and the tunnel under the grounds of Devizes Castle, there is little evidence of the railway on the landscape, and all stations and halts were demolished in 1970.
Melksham Without is a civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It surrounds, but does not include, the town of Melksham and is the largest rural parish in Wiltshire, with a population of 7,230 and an area of 29 square kilometres.
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at Westbury and the West of England Main Line at Salisbury.
The Hungerford railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Hungerford in Berkshire, England. It is 61 miles 43 chains measured from the zero point at London Paddington.
Bedwyn railway station serves the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. It is 66 miles 33 chains from the zero point at London Paddington. Along with Pewsey station, it serves the market town of Marlborough which is 6 miles (10 km) away. A bus from the town connects with most trains on Mondays to Saturdays.
The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850.
The Bristol and North Somerset Railway was a railway line in the West of England that connected Bristol with Radstock, through Pensford and further into northern Somerset, to allow access to the Somerset Coalfield. The line ran almost due south from Bristol and was 16 miles (26 km) long.
The Berks and Hants Railway comprised two railway lines built simultaneously by the Great Western Railway (GWR) south and west from Reading in an attempt to keep the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) out of the area that it considered to be its territory in England.
The Langport and Castle Cary Railway is a railway line from Castle Cary railway station to Cogload Junction near Taunton, Somerset, England, which reduced the length of the journey from London to Penzance by 20+1⁄4 miles (32.6 km).
Marlborough railway stations refers to the two railway stations which served Marlborough, Wiltshire, England; the town supported two railway routes and Savernake, the junction station at first, later had a second station.
The Salisbury branch line of the Great Western Railway from Westbury to Salisbury in Wiltshire, England, was completed in 1856. Most of the smaller stations were closed in 1955 but the line remains in use as part of the Wessex Main Line.
The Stert and Westbury Railway was opened by the Great Western Railway Company in 1900 in Wiltshire, England. It shortened the distance between London Paddington station and Weymouth, and since 1906 has also formed part of the Reading to Taunton line for a shorter journey from London to Penzance.
Devizes railway station was the railway station serving Devizes in Wiltshire, England between 1857 and 1966. The station was on the Devizes branch line, between Pans Lane Halt and Bromham & Rowde.
Pans Lane Halt railway station was a railway station serving the southeast of the town of Devizes in Wiltshire, England, between 1929 and 1966. The station was on the Devizes branch line, between Devizes station and the Reading-Taunton line.
Holt Junction was a railway station which served the village of Holt, Wiltshire, England between 1861 and 1966. It stood on the Wessex Main Line at its junction with the western end of the Devizes branch.
Semington Halt railway station was the railway station serving Semington in Wiltshire, England. The station was on the Devizes Branch Line, in between Holt Junction and Seend.
Seend railway station was near the village of Seend in Wiltshire, England. The station was a stop on the Devizes Branch Line, between Semington and Bromham & Rowde. Its position northwest of the village was chosen to serve the iron ore mine and iron works at Seend Cleeve.
Bromham and Rowde Halt was the railway station serving Bromham and Rowde in Wiltshire, England between 1909 and 1966. The station was a stop on the Devizes Branch Line, between Seend and Devizes.
Savernake Low Level railway station was a station on the Berks and Hants Extension Railway, near the village of Burbage in Wiltshire, England. It was open from 1862 until 1966.
Stert is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about 2 miles (3.2 km) away to the northwest.
The Reading–Taunton line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line from which it diverges at Reading railway station. It runs to Cogload Junction where it joins the Bristol to Exeter and Penzance line.
