Swindon and Cricklade Railway

Last updated

Swindon and Cricklade Railway
Hayes Knoll railway station by Brian Robert Marshall.jpg
Slough Estates No.3 with a service train at Hayes Knoll
Locale Swindon, Wiltshire, England
TerminusBlunsdon
Coordinates 51°36′25″N1°50′37″W / 51.607°N 1.8436°W / 51.607; -1.8436
Commercial operations
Original gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Length2.5 miles (4.0 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preservation history
1978Preservation Society formed
1984S&CR granted Light Railway Order (following reconstruction of the line)
1985S&CR re-opened and runs its first trains
1999Hayes Knoll Station opened.
2008South Meadow reached
2012Taw Valley Halt reached
2014Taw Valley Halt officially opened
Headquarters Blunsdon
Swindon & Cricklade Railway
BSicon exCONTg.svg
BSicon exBHF.svg
Cricklade
BSicon exHST.svg
Farfield Lane
(proposed)
BSicon ENDExa.svg
BSicon BHF.svg
Hayes Knoll
BSicon BHF.svg
Blunsdon
BSicon SBRUCKE.svg
Tadpole Lane
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
BSicon HST.svg
Taw Valley Halt
BSicon ENDExe.svg
BSicon exABZgl.svg
BSicon exdCONTfq.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Mouldon Hill
(proposed)
BSicon exCONTf.svg
Proposed extension towards Swindon

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.

Contents

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 2.5 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 & NameClassNotesPhotograph
No. 2354 Richard Trevithick Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 ST Built in 1954. Undergoing a ten-yearly overhaul.
No. 2157 Fambridge Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 ST Built in 1943. Undergoing a ten-yearly overhaul.
No.8 Fambridge.jpg
No. 1464 MSC No. 70 Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 T Built in 1921. Undergoing overhaul. Hudswell Clarke 1464 (5588697404).jpg
No. 3135 Spartan Fablok TKh49 Class 0-6-0 T Built in 1953. Under Overhaul 3135 Spartan at Blunsdon (27428754932).jpg
No. 3063 Willy Kerr, Stuart and Company Priestley Class 0-4-0 WT Built in 1918. On loan from The Flour Mill (Forest of Dean) for the 2024 season.
No. 5637 GWR 5600 Class 0-6-2 T No. 5637 was built in 1925. It entered traffic at Cardiff Cathays shed in late September 1925, but was transferred six weeks later to Barry shed and was used on local services in the Newport and Cardiff districts.

No. 5637 spent all its life in South Wales, being withdrawn from traffic in June 1964 and later sold to Woodham Brothers, arriving at Barry scrapyard in September 1964.

In August 1974, No. 5637 became the 61st locomotive to escape from Barry, when it was sold to the Birmingham Railway Museum at Tyseley. In 1981 it was resold, without any restoration having been carried out, to Thamesdown Borough Council for leasing to the Swindon and Cricklade Railway. Some time after, it was purchased by a group of volunteers at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway.

In 1998, after almost 18 years of restoration, No. 5637 was steamed for the first time since 1964. The locomotive was subsequently transferred by road to the East Somerset Railway for running in, and stayed there ever since. It has become the primary engine at the ESR, running most of the services.

No.5637 has moved back to the Swindon and Cricklade railway in March. Undergoing overhaul after current boiler ticket expired in April 2020.

Engine 5637 - geograph.org.uk - 864676.jpg
No. 6695 [4] GWR 5600 Class 0-6-2 T 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. Hugh llewelyn 6695 (5373474370).jpg
No. 35011 General Steam Navigation SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 Built in 1944. Arrived in April 2019. Currently part of a scheme to restore the loco to as-built condition with air-smoothed casing and chain link valve gear. [5] SR Merchant Navy 35011 "General Steam Navigation".jpg

Diesel locomotives

Number & NameClassNotesPhotograph
03 022 (D2022) BR Class 03 0-6-0 DM Built in 1958. Operational, returned to service in October 2019 after a general overhaul. Blue 03.jpg
D2152 BR Class 03 0-6-0 DM Built in 1960. Cut-down cab variant. Operational, Painted BR Black with wasp stripes. D2152 (03152) Swindon and Cricklade Railway (27415712921).jpg
PWM651BR Class 97/6 0-6-0 DE Built in 1959. Arrived from Strathspey Railway in August 2015. Operational. 24.07.82 Radyr Yard 97651 (6001161649).jpg
D3261BR Class 08 0-6-0 DE Built in 1956. Operational, Returned to service in October 2010. The Swindon and Cricklade Railway Diesel Gala 05.jpg
E6003 Sir Herbert Walker BR Class 73 Bo-Bo electro-diesel Built in 1962, Operational. The Swindon and Cricklade Railway Diesel Gala 04.jpg
No. 21442 "Woodbine" Fowler 0-4-0 DM Built in 1941. Operational. Inside the workshop, Hayes Knoll Station, Swindon and Cricklade Railway (3 of 3) - geograph.org.uk - 2554362.jpg
BF7342Fowler 0-4-0 DM Built in 1958. Operational Fowler 0-4-0 DM shunter FB7342 (27448583052).jpg
No 4220031 Fowler 0-4-0 DM Built in 1964. Operational. Re-engined with Rolls Royce C6, mainly used as a shed/yard shunter. Fowler 4220031 Hayes Knoll.jpg

Diesel multiple units

Number & NameClassNotesPhotograph
Class 119 unit 119 021 (formed of 51074+51104)Built in 1958/1959. Undergoing repairs. Swindon & Cricklade Railway Mixed Traffic Gala 02.jpg
No. 1302 Class 207 unit 207 203 (formed of 60127+60901)Built in 1962. In service until destroyed in a fire on 20 May 2016. Swindon & Cricklade Railway "The Easter Egg-Spress" 06.jpg
W79978BR British Railways AC railbusBuilt in 1958. Undergoing restoration.

Specialist vehicles

Vintage railway coaches

OriginNumberTypeNotesPhotograph
GWR No. 7545 GWR Toplight Brake corridor Tri-composite [8] built 1907 – extensive restoration in progress GWR 7545 Toplight Brake corridor Tri-Composite.jpg
GWR No. 3898 GWR Toplight corridor third [9] built 1920 – awaiting restoration. Later turned into a camping coach.
GWR No. 7362 GWR Collett BCK SunshineStored awaiting restoration.
TVR No. 73 Taff Vale Railway Composite coach.built 1890 – restoration completed using ex Fruit D chassis. [10] Taff Vale no. 73 First and Second Composite.jpg
CR No. 104 Cambrian Railways Full BrakeRecovered from derelict property in North Devon in August 2018. Will run with No. 110 when complete. Now under restoration. [11] Cambrian Railways Full Brake 104.jpg
CR No. 110 Cambrian Railways 1st/2nd compositebuilt 1894 – coach body being restored. [12] Cambrian Railways 1st and 2nd composite no. 110.jpg
NLR No. 111 North London Railway 1st classUnderframe suitable for 111 in stock. Work on rebuilding original frame has begun. [13] North London Railway no. 111 First class carriage.jpg
GWR No. 422Luggage BrakeNew-build brake carriage being converted from a goods brake for use on the vintage trains with Taff Vale 73. This is due to the possibility of obtaining a vintage brake carriage being very slim. Possibility of entering service in 2019. S&CR Luggage Brake no. 422.jpg

Express Railway coaches

Number & NameClassNotesPhotograph
No. 645Norwegian SaloonStatic Display at Blunsdon.
No. 1569BR British Railways MK1 RKB Built in 1960. Operational, painted in Moonraker livery.
No. 4766BR British Railways MK1 TSO Built in 1957. Operational, painted in Moonraker livery.
No. 1805BR British Railways MK1 RMBBuilt in 1957. Stored BR Restaurant Miniature Buffet 1805.jpg
No. 4598BR British Railways MK1 TSORebuilt as a QXX Cinema Coach, Operational

Wagons

OriginNumberTypeNotesPhotograph
LMS PBA274-wheel ventilated vanUnknown 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. [14] LMS Goods Van PBA27.jpg
GWR 27907, later 179804-wheel goods brake van Likely an early date GWR Toad due to the spoked wheels. Heavily modified for passenger use. Previously at Swindon Steam Museum GWR Brake van 17980.jpg Operational.
Swindon and Cricklade Rly34-wheel weedkilling wagonConverted from a four-wheel wagon underframe. Used for killing of weeds. [15] Swindon and Cricklade Railway weedkiller no. 3.jpg
GWR 92953, later PBA61047Four-wheel China Clay Wagon Built in 1913 at Swindon. Previously used by Port of Bristol Authority. [16] 12T GW 92953 at Blunsdon (26934453343).jpg
BR Goods brake van B 954937.jpg
BR 200241Four-wheel non-ventilated vanBuilt in 1969 at Ashford. BR 200241 Goods van.jpg

Stations of the S&CR line

StationNotes
South Meadow LaneHalfway 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)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Central Railway</span> British pre-grouping railway company (1897–1922)

The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cricklade</span> Human settlement in England

Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambrian Railways</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Mark 1</span> Railway coaching stock

British Rail Mark 1 is the family designation for the first standardised designs of railway carriages built by British Railways (BR) from 1951 until 1974, now used only for charter services on the main lines or on preserved railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haydon Wick</span> Human settlement in England

The civil parish of Haydon Wick is a northern suburb of the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, in England. It had a population of 25,036 at the 2021 census. The parish includes the former hamlet of Haydon and the suburbs of Greenmeadow and Rodbourne Cheney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coaches of the Great Western Railway</span>

The passenger coaches of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were many and varied, ranging from four and six-wheeled vehicles for the original broad gauge line of 1838, through to bogie coaches up to 70 feet (21 m) long which were in service through to 1947. Vacuum brakes, bogies and through-corridors all came into use during the nineteenth century, and in 1900 the first electrically lit coaches were put into service. The 1920s saw some vehicles fitted with automatic couplings and steel bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helston Railway</span> Former branch line in Cornwall, England, now a heritage railway

The Helston Railway is a heritage railway in Cornwall which aims to rebuild and preserve as much as possible of the former GWR Helston Railway between Nancegollen and Water-Ma-Trout on the outskirts of Helston. It is operated by the Helston Railway Preservation Company using members of the Helston Railway Preservation Society.

The Kent & East Sussex Railway has hosted a variety of heritage rolling stock since the line was closed by British Railways in 1961.

The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line West Sussex and East Sussex in England.

The Watercress Line operates a wide variety of locomotives and other stock as part of its preserved operations. More comprehensive bank of information about the railway's locomotives and rolling stock can be found on the Watercress Line's website in the "Our trains" section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cirencester branch line</span> Branch railway in Gloucestershire, England

The Cirencester branch line was a five-mile-long single-track branch railway line in Gloucestershire, England that connected Cirencester to the main line at Kemble. It was opened by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1841. The main line was extended from Kemble to a junction near Gloucester in 1845, by the GWR which had taken over the C&GWUR. The branch supported a busy passenger and goods business, but these declined in the 1930s, and closure was threatened in the 1950s. To reduce costs and maintain the viability of the line, lightweight four-wheel diesel railbuses were introduced, and they proved popular. Nevertheless, the line's decline was inexorable, passenger service closed in 1964 and the goods service ending the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devizes railway station</span> Former railway station in Wiltshire, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taw Valley Halt railway station</span>

Taw Valley Halt railway station is the current southern terminus of the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, a heritage railway line in Wiltshire, South-West England. The restored line was extended to the site of the halt in 2012, and the halt was opened in 2014. The halt is at the point where the new track diverges from the original route of the Midland and South Western Junction Railway. There is a short siding on the original trackbed.

The Swanage Railway is a railway branch line in Dorset, England, opened in 1885 and now operated as a heritage railway.

Preserved EMUs of Southern Railway. This is a list of preserved Southern Railway (UK) designated electric multiple units (EMUs).

The Epping Ongar Railway is a heritage railway in south-west Essex, England.

References

  1. "SWINDON AND CRICKLADE RAILWAY, registered charity no. 1067447". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  2. "The Line" . Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  3. Pigott, Nick, ed. (July 2012). "Putting the Swindon in Swindon & Cricklade!". The Railway Magazine . Vol. 158, no. 1335. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 65. ISSN   0033-8923.
  4. Smith, Roger (8 February 2023). "Swindon and Cricklade Railway to launch steam locomotive No. 6695 in new livery in March". RailAdvent. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  5. "35011 General Steam Navigation". Swindon and Cricklade Railway. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  6. "News – Wickham Trolleys – October 2009". ontrackplant.com.
  7. "9031 – Wickham Type 27A Trolley" . Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  8. "GWR 7545 Toplight Brake Corridor Tri-Composite built 1907". www.cs.rhrp.org.uk.
  9. "GWR 3898 Toplight Corridor Third, later, Camping Coach built 1920". www.cs.rhrp.org.uk.
  10. "TVR 73 Four-wheel Four Compartment Composite (body only) built 1890". www.cs.rhrp.org.uk.
  11. "Cambrian 104 Six Wheel Full Brake (body only)". www.cs.rhrp.org.uk.
  12. "Cambrian 110 Six-wheel First/Second Composite (body only) built 1894". www.cs.rhrp.org.uk.
  13. "NLR 111 Four-wheel Four Compartment First (body only)". www.cs.rhrp.org.uk.
  14. "LMSR unknown Goods Van built 1932". www.ws.rhrp.org.uk.
  15. "GWR DS 27802 Weedkilling Wagon". www.ws.rhrp.org.uk.
  16. "GWR 92953 China Clay Tipper built 1913". www.ws.rhrp.org.uk.