Swindon Town 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 ...

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

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 was sited in the Old Town area about one-and-a-half miles from 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 Swindon Junction.

History

Swindon Town was originally planned under an Act of 1873 for a different site to the east of the eventual station, with a tunnel to be built under the hill on which the Old Town sits. But money ran out and the line was realigned to run south of the hill. 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 ...

opened between Swindon Town and Marlborough on 27 July 1881; in early 1882, the line was extended northwards from Swindon Town to a junction with the Great Western main line at Rushey Platt, and services were started between the two Swindon stations. Rushey Platt became a junction the following year with the opening of 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 ...

as far as Cirencester Watermoor. The SM&AR and the S&CER combined to form the M&SWJR in 1884. Services between the two Swindon stations ceased in 1885 because of the high charges the GWR imposed on M&SWJR trains. Finally, the northern section of the M&SWJR was extended in 1891 from

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

to a junction with the GWR

Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway The Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway (B&CDR) was a railway company through the Cotswolds in England that built a line between points near Banbury and Cheltenham. Its principal objective, as well as a general rural rail service, was the conve ...

line at

Andoversford railway station Andoversford Junction railway station was in Gloucestershire on the Great Western Railway's Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway that opened in 1881. Situated about six miles east of Cheltenham, the station served the village of Andoversford wi ...

, so that through-services could be run from the north to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and the south coast. Swindon Town was seen as the most important station on the line, and housed the M&SWJR's offices. There was a loop line, a locomotive turntable and a loco shed at the site. The loop line platform was used for the shuttle services to Swindon's GWR station when these were reinstated following the takeover of the M&SWJR by the GWR at the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

in 1923. Swindon Town station was heavily used in early years, but increasingly suffered from the concentration of traffic at the main GWR station as the focus of the town shifted away from the Old Town area to the newer parts that developed around the GWR station and the railway works there. Passenger and goods traffic on the M&SWJR fell very 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. Goods facilities were withdrawn in 1966, although freight trains conveying materials for the construction of the M4 motorway continued until 1972 when the track was abandoned. The track was lifted around 1978

Route

Present day

The M&SWJR offices remain on the site, but much of the rest has disappeared under a trading estate. Part of the track alignment, Old Town Railway Cutting, has been opened as a railway path and nature trail.

References

Bibliography

* ''Wiltshire Railway Stations'', Mike Oakley, Dovecote Press, Wimborne, 2004, {{Closed stations Wiltshire Disused railway stations in Wiltshire Former Midland and South Western Junction Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1881 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961 Transport in Swindon Buildings and structures in Swindon 1881 establishments in England