History of the Great Western Railway site – BPMA’s new home

November 30th, 2009 admin

Swindon is largest town in Wiltshire with a population over 170,000.  However, before 1840 Swindon was a market town serving the surrounding dairy farms with fewer than 2500 inhabitants.  Its growth and population boom can be seen as a direct result of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s decision to choose Swindon as the site for the railway works of the Great Western Railway (GWR). At its peak in the mid 20th the railway works were employing over 14, 000 and the works stretched for 2.4 km.  The railways were nationalised in 1948, and GWR became British Rail Western Region and the works became part of British Rail Engineering under the 1960 Transport Act.  In 1960 the Evening Star became the last steam locomotive built for British Rail. The site …


Originally posted on PostalHeritage

 
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