Swindon Works

Swindon Works is located in Swindon and was opened by the GWR 1843. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until it was closed in 1986.

History
In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the Great Western Main Line between London and Bristol by the Great Western Railway (GWR). Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

From 1836, Brunel had been buying locomotives from various makers for the new railway. Brunel's general specifications gave the locomotive makers a free hand in design, although subject to certain constraints such as piston speed and axle load, resulting in a diverse range of locomotives of mixed quality. In 1837, Brunel recruited Daniel Gooch and gave him the job of rectifying the heavy repair burden of the GWR's mixed bag of purchased locomotives.

It became clear that the GWR needed a central repair works so, in 1840 Gooch identified a site at Swindon because it was at the junction of the Golden Valley line and also a "convenient division of the Great Western line for engine working". With Brunel's support, Gooch made his proposal to the GWR directors, who, on 25 February 1841, authorized the establishment of the works at Swindon. Construction started immediately and they became operational on 2 January 1843.

Location
There are several stories relating to how the railway came to pass through Swindon. A well-circulated myth that Brunel and Gooch were surveying a vale north of Swindon Hill and Brunel either threw a stone or dropped a sandwich and declared that spot to be the centre of the works.[2][3] However Swindon's midway point between GWR terminals and the topography of land near the town were more likely factors.[4][5]

The GWR mainline was originally planned to cut through Savernake Forest near Marlborough, but the Marquess of Ailesbury, who owned the land, objected. The Marquess had previously objected to part of the Kennet & Avon Canal running through his estate (see Bruce Tunnel). With the railway needing to run near to a canal at this point, and as it was cheaper to transport coal for trains along canals at this time, Swindon was the next logical choice for the works, 20 miles (32 km) north of the original route.

The line was laid in 1840, but the location of the works was still undecided. Tracks were laid at Didcot in 1839 (chosen as Lord Wantage did not want the railway passing close to Abingdon) and for some time this seemed a more likely site.

Gooch noted that the nearby Wilts & Berks Canal gave Swindon a direct connection with the Somerset coalfield. He also realized that engines needed to be changed at Swindon or close by as the gradients from Swindon to Bristol were much more arduous than the relatively easy gradients between London and Swindon. Drawing water for the engines from the canals was also considered, and an agreement to this effect was completed in 1843. Gooch recorded at the time: http://www.swindonweb.com/index.asp?m=8&s=116&ss=321&t=THE+RAILWAY+WORKS

Once the plan was set for the railway to come to Swindon, it was at first intended to bring it closely along the foot of Swindon Hill, so as to be as close as possible to the town without entailing the excessive engineering works of building on the hill. However, the Goddard family (Lords of the Manor of Swindon), following the example the Marquess of Ailesbury (and many other landowners of the day), objected to having it near their property, so it was laid a couple of miles further north.