Cricklade railway station was on the

Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The station opened on 18 December 1883 on the

Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...

line from

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

to the temporary terminus at Cirencester Watermoor. The S&CER line then amalgamated with the

Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...

to form the M&SWJR, and through services to the junction at

Andoversford Andoversford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England, about east of Cheltenham. The village is on the River Coln, parallel to the A40.The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 555. In 2019 ...

with the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

's Cheltenham Lansdown to

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

line, which had opened in 1881, began in 1891. Cricklade station was on the southern edge of the town of

Cricklade 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. History Cricklade ...

, and was a passing place on the M&SWJR line, which was mostly single track. It was one of the busier stations on the line with both passengers and freight traffic, and there was a large volume of milk traffic. As a whole, traffic on the M&SWJR fell steeply after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the line closed to passengers in 1961, with goods facilities at Cricklade being withdrawn in July 1963. No trace of the station now remains, as link roads around the town now use the rail alignment and land beside the roads has been used for housing.

Future and Preservation

The Heritage

Swindon and Cricklade Railway 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 is a Chari ...

aim to extend north to Cricklade in the near future, where a new "replacement" station site would be constructed as part of the S&CR's northern extension.

Route

References

* ''Wiltshire Railway Stations'', Mike Oakley, Dovecote Press, Wimborne, 2004, Disused railway stations in Wiltshire Former Midland and South Western Junction Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1883 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961 Cricklade {{SouthWestEngland-railstation-stub