Savernake Low Level railway station was a station on the

Berks and Hants Extension Railway Berks may refer to: Places * Berkshire, England * Berks, Nebraska, United States * Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Other uses * ''Berks'' (TV series), Filipino television series * Berks station, a SEPTA station in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

, near the village of Burbage in Wiltshire, England. It was open from 1862 until 1966.

History

The

, which ran from to , opened on 11 November 1862, and the station named ''Savernake'' was opened with the line. It was situated between and stations, about northeast of the village of Burbage where the line passed under the road to Durley. The site is directly above the

Bruce Tunnel The Bruce Tunnel is on the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton Locks in Wiltshire, England. The tunnel is long. It is named after Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1729–1814), the loca ...

which carries the

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

. There was a goods station at Burbage Wharf, about three-quarters of a mile to the west, providing an interchange between the railway, the canal and the road to

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. This was closed in 1947. On 15 April 1864, the Marlborough Railway opened its short branch line to , which was operated by the Great Western and then taken over by it, and Savernake became a junction. When the

Reading to Taunton line Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling) ...

was created and the Stert to Westbury cut-off opened in 1900, the platforms at Savernake were lengthened, the footbridge roofed and brick waiting rooms provided on the down platform. Until 1916, Savernake then had six trains a day, plus up to six

slip coach A slip coach, slip carriage or slip portion in Britain and Ireland, also known as a flying switch in North America, is one or more carriages designed to be uncoupled from the rear of a moving train. The detached portion continued under its own m ...

es from Paddington, the fastest covering the to Savernake in 75 minutes. In the 1950s Savernake had ten trains a day on the main line, seven to Marlborough and two other

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 ...

trains.Railway Magazine March 1958 T B Sands: Savernake, a Railway Crossroads in Wiltshire pp. 195-201 On 1 July 1924, the station was renamed ''Savernake Low Level''; the nearby station on the former

line becoming ' at the same time. The station was renamed ''Savernake for Marlborough'' on 11 September 1961 when the High Level station officially closed, although through trains on the former M&SWJR had used Savernake Low Level for some time because of a landslip on the original line. The station closed on 18 April 1966 but the first-built line remains in use, providing a route from Reading and Hungerford to and beyond.

Routes

References

External links

Savernake Station on navigable O.S. map
{{coord, 51.3675, -1.6621, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Disused railway stations in Wiltshire Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1862 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966 1862 establishments in England Beeching closures in England