View source for Swindon and Cricklade Railway

{{Infobox heritage rail
|name=Swindon and Cricklade Railway
|picture=Hayes Knoll railway station by Brian Robert Marshall.jpg
|picture caption=''Slough Estates No.3'' with a service train at Hayes Knoll
|length=3 miles
|county=Wiltshire
|latitude=51.607
|longitude=-1.8436
}}
The '''Swindon & Cricklade Railway''' is a heritage railway in [[Wiltshire]] that operates on a short section of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway line between [[Swindon]] and [[Cricklade]].

==Preservation history==
The Swindon & 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]] in [[Hampshire]] to [[Cheltenham]] in [[Gloucestershire]].

The volunteer-operated railway has since built a tale of two railway stations: Hayes Knoll and Blunsdon – the headquarters of the line.

Hayes Knoll features a restored signalbox that is operational during special events.  The line continues north to South Meadow Lane (a few hundred yards close to a proposed Farfield Lane halt) near Cricklade, and the charity are also extending the line south via Mouldon Hill towards Swindon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org/line.php |title=The Line |accessdate=15 November 2010}}</ref>

The S&CR operates from South Meadow Lane (close to Farfield Lane nr Cricklade) via Hayes Knoll and Blunsdon to as far Taw Valley Halt (close to a nearby Mouldon Hill), at a current total of over 3 miles in length.

==Locomotives==
===Steam locomotives===
*Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST ''Swordfish'' No 2138. Built in 1941. Undergoing a boiler Overhaul with the chassis complete.
*Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST ''Salmon'' No 2139. Built in 1942. In regular service, boiler ticket expires in 2017.
*Hunslet 0-6-0ST ''Gunby'' No 2413. Built in 1941. Awaiting a major restoration.
*Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST ''Richard Trevithick'' No 2354. Built in 1954. Undergoing a ten-yearly overhaul.
*GWR 6959 Modified Hall Class 4-6-0 No. 7903 GWR 6959 Class 7903 Foremarke Hall|Foremarke Hall Built in 1949 currently on loan to the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway
*GWR 5600 Class 0-6-2T No.5637 Built in 1925. On loan to the East Somerset Railway In daily service.
*GWR 6959 Modified Hall Class 4-6-0 No. 6984 ''Owsden Hall''. Built in 1948. Arrived in May 2013 from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for the completion of its restoration to working order.

===Diesel locomotives===
*BR Class 03 0-6-0DM – D2022. In service.
*BR Class 03 0-6-0DM – D2152 – cut-down cab variant. Currently undergoing major overhaul.
*BR Class 08 0-6-0DE – D3261. Restored to service in October 2010.
*BR Class 09 0-6-0DE – Undergoing overhaul
*BR Class 73 Bo-Bo electro-diesel ''Sir Herbert Walker'' No E6003. In service.
*Fowler 0-4-0DM ''Woodbine'' No 21442. In service.
*Fowler 0-4-0DM No 7342. In regular use on works trains.
* Fowler 0-4-0DM No 422003. In service.

===Diesel Multiple Units===
*BR Class 119 unit 119021 (formed of 51074+51104). Undergoing a complete overhaul.
*BR Class 207 unit 207203 (formed of 60127+60901). In service.

===Specialist vehicles===
*TASC 45 No. 98504, built by Plasser & Theurer for the now-obsolete British Rail. A four-wheel vehicle with side-tipping dropside rear body, crew cab with mess facilities and a Hi-Ab crane on the rear. Used regularly on works trains and on galas.
*Wickham Railcar No 9031 (Type 27 Mk III, Works No. 8089), a small four-wheeled vehicle for departmental use.<ref name="otpNews2009">{{cite web|title=News – Wickham Trolleys – October 2009|url=http://www.ontrackplant.com/news/wickham-trolleys-2009-10-roundup|publisher=ontrackplant.com}}</ref> Crew cab seating five. Smaller than normal railway vehicles to standard loading gauge, as it is roughly 6 feet tall. Has no external couplings/drawbar or buffers. Undergoing overhaul, engine being replaced with that of a Peugeot 106.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ontrackplant.com/otp/9031 |title=9031 – Wickham Type 27A Trolley |accessdate=28 October 2010 }}</ref>

==Stations of the S&CR line==
*[[Cricklade]]
**(construction being planned as part of northern extension)
*Farfield Lane
**(construction planned as the current temporary northern terminus for line until Cricklade station is built. This will be at the site of a collapsed and in-filled bridge where Farfield Lane crosses the line and work will officially commence shortly after Taw Valley Halt is in place and opened to the public.)
*South Meadow Lane, run-round loop only, no platform facilities,
**(halfway point between Hayes Knoll and Farfield Lane). Used as a return point to Hayes Knoll when running north from Blunsdon, respectively.
*Hayes Knoll
*Blunsdon – ''headquarters of the line''
*Taw Valley Halt
**Opening in Spring 2014, and is 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 exiting utilities can be overcome to allow access Mouldon Hill station to be built)
*Mouldon Hill
**(construction being planned as part of southern extension towards swindon)

==Outside links==
{{commons|Swindon and Cricklade Railway}}
*[http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org Swindon & Cricklade Railway]

==References==
{{reflist}}