The 184th video of my train spotting adventures.
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This video takes us along the historic GWML to the equally historic (not all in appearance) station of Swindon. A semi-large 4-platform interchange station situated 77 miles down the line from London Paddington, it serves as a regional interchange much like Didcot Parkway, though as more of a main-city station.
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The construction of Swindon Railway Station wasn't engaged until Brunel and colleagues decided that a new area with which to swap and/or refuel locomotives was needed on the main GWML route from Paddington to Bristol. Alongside the junctions that opened up by the station - the GWML itself extending through Swindon around 1840 onwards, and since 1836 the extension of the lines from Cheltenham & Gloucester by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway (C&GWU) - the growing GWR wished for maintenance facilities to be opened nearby, as well as other older stations that sadly no longer exist. Swindon's main station itself opened in 1842, known as "Swindon Junction" due to the existence at the time of the old Swindon Town station not far away. The Swindon Works facility (nowadays part of the STEAM Railway Museum) was opened in 1843.
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It was a station built with 3 stories of height, and featured the first recorded refreshment facilities on the railways, divided by class at the time, with even some of royal identity using the facilities at a few points during its history. The bottom floor housed said refreshments and other station facilities, whilst the upper two contained hotel spaces. Such as Brunel had planned, up until 1895 every train passing through had to stop to change locomotive for approximately 10 minutes, allowing for refreshment periods for passengers. When Swindon Town closed in 1961, the station was renamed to simply "Swindon".
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The most of the original building was demolished in 1972, after which the existing station complex plus large office block were erected on the site. Originally the station only had the main island platform space for trains, comprising todays Platforms 1, 2 & 3 - Platforms 1 & 3 for through trains, and Platform 2 as is today used for trains to & from Westbury. Platform 4 was opened in 2003 to allow for trains to/from Cheltenham Spa to not conflict with trains to/from Bristol and South Wales. Today, all services are run by GWR, with every train stopping (except for empty stock movements).
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Filmed on the:
Great Western Mainline
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Services seen:
GWR) Services towards Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Chippenham, Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Newport, Cardiff Central, Swansea, Westbury, Didcot Parkway, Reading and London Paddington.
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Trains seen:
GWR) Class 800/802 IETs, Class 165 Networker Turbo, Class 158 Express Sprinter
FL) Class 66, Class 59
DB) Class 66
DC) Class 60
Colas) Class 70, Engineering Unit
WCR) Class 47
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10 фев 2023
