Swindon and Cricklade Railway

Swindon and Cricklade Railway
Slough Estates No.3 with a service train at Hayes Knoll
Locale Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Terminus Blunsdon
Coordinates 51°36′25″N 1°50′37″W / 51.607°N 1.8436°W / 51.607; -1.8436Coordinates: 51°36′25″N 1°50′37″W / 51.607°N 1.8436°W / 51.607; -1.8436
Commercial operations
Original gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Length 2.5 miles (4.0 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preservation history
1978 Preservation Society formed
1984 S&CR granted Light Railway Order (following reconstruction of the line)
1985 S&CR re-opened and runs its first trains
2008 South Meadow reached
2012 Taw Valley Halt reached
2014 Taw Valley Halt officially opened
Headquarters Blunsdon
Swindon & Cricklade Railway
 M&SWJR to Cheltenham (Lansdown)
 Cricklade
 Farfield Lane (proposed)
Hayes Knoll
 Blunsdon
 Tadpole Lane
 River Ray
 Taw Valley Halt
M&SWJR to Andover
 Mouldon Hill (proposed)
 Proposed extension towards Swindon

The Swindon & 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 registered charity.[1]

Preservation history

The Swindon & 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

Diesel locomotives

  • BR Class 03 0-6-0DM – D2022. Awaiting major overhaul.
  • BR Class 03 0-6-0DM – D2152 – cut-down cab variant. Major overhaul almost complete. Intermittent service.
  • BR Class 97/6 0-6-0DE – PWM651. Arrived from Strathspey Railway in August 2015. Operational.
  • BR Class 08 0-6-0DE – D3261. Restored to service in October 2010.
  • BR Class 09 0-6-0DE – 09004. Undergoing overhaul. Intermittent service.
  • BR Class 73 Bo-Bo electro-diesel Sir Herbert Walker No E6003. In service.
  • Fowler 0-4-0DM Woodbine No 21442. In service.
  • Fowler 0-4-0DM No 7342. In regular use on works trains.
  • Fowler 0-4-0DM No 422003. In service.

Diesel multiple units

  • BR Class 119 unit 119021 (formed of 51074+51104). Undergoing a complete overhaul.
  • BR Class 207 unit 207203 (formed of 60127+60901). In service until destroyed in a fire on 20 May 2016.[4]

Specialist vehicles

  • TASC 45 No. 98504, built by Plasser & Theurer for British Rail. A four-wheel vehicle with side-tipping dropside rear body, crew cab with mess facilities and a HIAB crane on the rear. Used regularly on works trains and on galas.
  • Wickham Railcar No 9031 (Type 27 Mk III, Works No. 8089), a small four-wheeled vehicle for departmental use.[5] Crew cab seating five. Smaller than normal railway vehicles to standard loading gauge, as it is roughly 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. Has no external couplings/drawbar or buffers. Undergoing overhaul, engine being replaced with that of a Peugeot 106.[6]

Vintage railway coaches

  • GWR Toplight coach No 7545, built 1907 – extensive restoration in progress
  • Taff Vale Railway coach No 73, built 1890 – restoration completed using ex Fruit D chassis
  • Cambrian Railways 1st/2nd composite No 110, built 1894 – coach body being restored
  • GWR Toplight coach No 3898, built 1920 – awaiting restoration

Stations of the S&CR line

  • Cricklade
    • construction being planned as part of northern extension
  • Farfield Lane
    • construction planned as a temporary northern terminus until Cricklade station is built; at the site of a collapsed and in-filled bridge where Farfield Lane crosses the line
  • South Meadow Lane, No run-round loop, no platform facilities. A siding is planned but has yet to be laid.
    • halfway point between Hayes Knoll and Farfield Lane; used as a return point to Hayes Knoll when running north from Blunsdon
  • Hayes Knoll
  • Blunsdon – headquarters of the line
  • Taw Valley Halt
    • Opened in 2014, and is 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)
  • Mouldon Hill
    • construction being planned as part of southern extension towards Swindon

References

  1. ↑ Charity Commission. SWINDON AND CRICKLADE RAILWAY, registered charity no. 1067447.
  2. ↑ "The Line". Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Pigott, Nick, ed. (July 2012). "Putting the Swindon in Swindon & Cricklade!". The Railway Magazine. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. 158 (1335): 65. ISSN 0033-8923.
  4. ↑ Robins, Tina. "Blaze destroys vintage train" (20 May 2016). Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "News – Wickham Trolleys – October 2009". ontrackplant.com.
  6. ↑ "9031 – Wickham Type 27A Trolley". Retrieved 28 October 2010.
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