Chiseldon Camp railway station

Chiseldon Camp Halt was a small railway station on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway line, south of Swindon in Wiltshire, England.

Chiseldon Camp Halt
View from the site of Chiseldon Camp Halt towards the south
General information
LocationChiseldon, Wiltshire
England
Coordinates51°30′09″N 1°43′15″W / 51.50240°N 1.72086°W / 51.50240; -1.72086
Grid referenceSU193782
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyGreat Western Railway
Post-groupingGreat Western Railway
Key dates
1 December 1930Opened
11 September 1961Closed[1]
Railway lines in Swindon
Stratton
Stratton Park Halt
Stratton St Margaret Works
Swindon and Cricklade Railway Hayes Knoll
Chiseldon Camp Halt
Swindon and Cricklade Railway Blunsdon
Chiseldon
Moredon Halt
Swindon Town
Swindon
Rushey Platt
Purton
Wootton Bassett Junction

History

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Chiseldon village was provided with a station when the line opened as the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway in 1881, and during the First World War a long siding was built from the station to the military camp at Draycot Foliat.

In 1930, with the M&SWJR having been taken over by the Great Western Railway and with greater competition from road transport, a halt was opened on the main line itself about half a mile from the camp. The station was a single platform with a shelter, and it was unstaffed and run from Chiseldon station.

In the Second World War the Americans were stationed in large numbers at the then-named Chiseldon Camp and the line was extensively used for military transportation, as it linked the Midlands to the south. But traffic on the M&SWJR fell steeply after the War and the line closed to passengers in 1961, with goods facilities withdrawn from this section of the line at the same time. No trace of the station now remains; the rail route is part of the National Cycle Network.[2]

Route

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Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Chiseldon   Midland and South Western Junction Railway
Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
  Ogbourne

Sources

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  • Wiltshire Railway Stations, Mike Oakley, Dovecote Press, Wimborne, 2004, ISBN 1-904349-33-1

References

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  1. ^ Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 125. OCLC 931112387.
  2. ^ "National Cycle Network - Route 482". sustrans. Retrieved 15 November 2015.