Blunsdon railway station

Blunsdon
Hudswell Clarke saddle tank Tubby at Blunsdon
Location
Place	Blunsdon
Area	Swindon
Coordinates	51°36′25″N 1°50′37″W / 51.60702°N 1.84362°WCoordinates: 51°36′25″N 1°50′37″W / 51.60702°N 1.84362°W
Grid reference	SU109897
Operations
Original company	Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland and South Western Junction Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1
History
1895	opened
1924	closed
Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom
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Swindon Area Railway Map
Legend GWML to London Highworth branch line Stratton Stratton Park Halt Stratton St Margaret Works M&SWJR to Cheltenham M&SWJR to Southampton Hayes Knoll Chiseldon Camp Halt Blunsdon Chiseldon Moredon Halt Swindon Town Moredon Power Station Swindon Rushey Platt Purton Golden Valley Line Wootton Bassett SWML to Swansea GWML to Bristol

Blunsdon railway station is a heritage railway station serving the village of Blunsdon, north of Swindon in Wiltshire, England.

It was one of the last to be opened by the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in 1895 on a railway that had opened in 1883. It was little more than a single-platform halt, and milk was the main traffic. It also had a single siding, used for such traffic as fertiliser and other agricultural requirements.

It was also one of the first stations on the route to be closed. Passenger traffic ceased in 1924, though regular trains had stopped calling in 1922, leaving one solitary passenger train service stopping at Blunsdon on a Sunday. Goods traffic ceased in 1937.

The site became the headquarters of the Swindon and Cricklade Railway in the late 1970s because it offered the best road access to the trackbed between Swindon and Cricklade. By that time, almost every trace of the original station had gone, and the present structures are all new.

Blunsdon station is actually within the boundaries of Purton, and the Purton area probably produced most of its original business. Unsubstantiated tradition says the station was named Blunsdon to avoid confusion with the Great Western station already existing in Purton village. Blunsdon St Andrew village is more than two miles away.

Blunsdon station offers a variety of services including the Swindon and Cricklade railway shop, canteen/buffet, toilets and car parking space.

Route

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Hayes Knoll		Swindon & Cricklade Railway		Taw Valley Halt
	Disused railways
Cricklade		Midland and South Western Junction Railway Swindon & Cheltenham Extension Railway		Moredon Halt

References

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

External links

• Information about Blunsdon station on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway website.