Swindon and Cricklade Railway
{{Short description|Heritage railway in Wiltshire, England}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox Heritage Railway
|name = Swindon and Cricklade Railway
|image_name = Hayes Knoll railway station by Brian Robert Marshall.jpg
|caption = Slough Estates No.3 with a service train at {{stnlnk|Hayes Knoll}}
|originalgauge = {{Track gauge|uksg|allk=on}}
|preservedgauge = {{Track gauge|uksg|allk=on}}
|years = 1978
|events = Preservation Society formed
|years1 = 1984
|events1 = S&CR granted Light Railway Order (following reconstruction of the line)
|years2 = 1985
|events2 = S&CR re-opened and runs its first trains
|years3 = 1999
|events3 = Hayes Knoll Station opened.
|years4 = 2008
|events4 = South Meadow reached
|years5 = 2012
|events5 = Taw Valley Halt reached
|years6 = 2014
|events6 = Taw Valley Halt officially opened
|length = {{convert|2.5|mi|km}}
|terminus = Blunsdon
|locale = Swindon, Wiltshire, England
|headquarters = Blunsdon
|coordinates = {{coord|51.607|-1.8436|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
}}
{{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 registered charity.{{EW charity|1067447|SWINDON AND CRICKLADE RAILWAY}}
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: {{stnlnk|Hayes Knoll}}, {{stnlnk|Taw Valley Halt}} and {{stnlnk|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 {{convert|2+1/2|mi|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.{{cite web |url=http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org/line.php |title=The Line |access-date=15 November 2010}} A southern terminus, {{stnlnk|Mouldon Hill}}, is proposed within the park.{{cite magazine |date=July 2012 |title=Putting the Swindon in Swindon & Cricklade! |magazine=The Railway Magazine |volume=158 |issue=1335 |page=65 |location=Horncastle |publisher=Mortons Media Group |editor-first=Nick |editor-last=Pigott |editor-link=Nick Pigott |issn=0033-8923 }}
Locomotives
=Steam locomotives=
| class="wikitable" |
| Number & Name
! Class ! Notes ! Photograph |
|---|
| No. 2354 Richard Trevithick
| Andrew Barclay {{whyte|0-4-0|ST}} | Built in 1954. Undergoing a ten-yearly overhaul. | |
| No. 1464 MSC No. 70
| Hudswell Clarke {{whyte|0-6-0|T}} | Built in 1921. Undergoing overhaul. | 150px |
| No. 3135 Spartan
| Fablok TKh49 Class {{whyte|0-6-0|T}} | Built in 1953. Under Overhaul | 150px |
| No. 3063 Willy
| Kerr, Stuart and Company Priestley Class {{whyte|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 {{whyte|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. | 150px |
| No. 6695{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Roger |date=2023-02-08 |title=Swindon and Cricklade Railway to launch steam locomotive No. 6695 in new livery in March |url=https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2023/02/swindon-and-cricklade-railway-to-launch-steam-locomotive-no-6695-in-new-livery-in-march.html |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=RailAdvent |language=en-GB}}
| GWR 5600 Class {{whyte|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. | 150px |
=Diesel locomotives=
| class="wikitable" |
| Number & Name
! Class ! Notes ! Photograph |
|---|
| 03 022 (D2022)
| BR Class 03 {{whyte|0-6-0|DM}} | Built in 1958. Operational, returned to service in October 2019 after a general overhaul. |
| D2152
| BR Class 03 {{whyte|0-6-0|DM}} | Built in 1960. Cut-down cab variant. Operational, Painted BR Black with wasp stripes. |
| PWM651
| BR Class 97/6 {{whyte|0-6-0|DE}} | Built in 1959. Arrived from Strathspey Railway in August 2015. Operational. |
| D3261
| BR Class 08 {{whyte|0-6-0|DE}} | Built in 1956. Operational, Returned to service in October 2010. |
| E6003 Sir Herbert Walker
| BR Class 73 Bo-Bo electro-diesel | Built in 1962, Operational. | 150px |
| No. 21442 "Woodbine"
| Fowler {{whyte|0-4-0|DM}} | Built in 1941. Operational. | 150px |
| BF7342
| Fowler {{whyte|0-4-0|DM}} | Built in 1958. Operational |
| No 4220031
| Fowler {{whyte|0-4-0|DM}} | Built in 1964. Operational. Re-engined with Rolls Royce C6, mainly used as a shed/yard shunter. |
=Diesel multiple units=
| class="wikitable" |
| Number & Name
! Class ! Notes ! Photograph |
|---|
| | Class 119 unit 119 021 (formed of 51074+51104)
| Built in 1958/1959. Undergoing repairs. |
| W79978
| BR British Railways AC railbus | Built in 1958. Undergoing restoration. | |
=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 trolley No 9031 (Type 27 Mk III, Works No. 8089), a small four-wheeled vehicle for departmental use.{{cite web|title=News – Wickham Trolleys – October 2009|url=http://www.ontrackplant.com/news/wickham-trolleys-2009-10-roundup|publisher=ontrackplant.com}} Crew cab seating eight. Smaller than normal railway vehicles to standard loading gauge, as it is roughly {{convert|6|ft}} tall. Has no external couplings/drawbar or buffers. Operational and fitted with Kohler diesel engine.{{cite web |url=http://www.ontrackplant.com/otp/9031 |title=9031 – Wickham Type 27A Trolley |access-date=28 October 2010 }}
Vintage railway coaches
Express Railway coaches
| class="wikitable" |
| Number & Name
! Class ! Notes ! Photograph |
|---|
| |
| | |
| No. 645
| Norwegian Saloon | Static Display at Blunsdon. | |
| No. 1569
| BR British Railways MK1 RKB | Built in 1960. Operational, painted in Moonraker livery. | |
| No. 4766
| BR British Railways MK1 TSO | Built in 1957. Operational, painted in Moonraker livery. | |
| No. 1805
| BR British Railways MK1 RMB | Built in 1957. Stored | 150px |
| No. 4598
| BR British Railways MK1 TSO | Rebuilt as a QXX Cinema Coach, Operational | |
==Wagons==
Stations of the S&CR line
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Station !Notes |
| South Meadow Lane
|Halfway 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 |
| {{stnlnk|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) |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website}}
{{Heritage railways in England}}