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Legend
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The Salisbury branch line of the Great Western Railway (GWR) from Westbury in Wiltshire, England, was completed in 1856. Most of the smaller stations were closed in 1955 but the line remains in use as part of the Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour Wessex Main Line.
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The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway was opened from Chippenham to Westbury in 1848 and the line, now part of the GWR, was extended towards Weymouth in 1850. A branch line from Westbury as far as Warminster was opened on 9 September 1851 and on to Salisbury on 30 June 1856.[1] The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a station in Salisbury alongside the GWR on 2 May 1859 on its eventual West of England Main Line to Devon and Cornwall.
The GWR line had been built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel using his 7 ft 0 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) broad gauge and sidings were provided between the two railways at Salisbury where goods could be transferred between broad and standard gauge wagons. The GWR’s Salisbury branch was converted to the same gauge as the LSWR on 22 June 1874[2] and after this date a number of GWR trains were run through onto the LSWR to Southampton and beyond. From 1932 GWR trains used the LSWR (now Southern Railway) station.
The line became a part of the Western Region of British Railways on 1 January 1949. Local trains were withdrawn on 19 September 1955 and all the stations between Warminster and Salisbury closed, leaving just these two and Dilton Marsh open for passenger trains. When British Rail was privatised in the 1990s it found itself a part of the Wales and West franchise, later becoming Wessex Trains before being transferred to First Great Western. Most trains using the route today operate between Cardiff and Portsmouth.
The first station out of Westbury was the last to be opened, serving the small community of Dilton Marsh from 1 June 1937. It was an unstaffed “halt” but tickets were sold from a nearby cottage. After strong local opposition to its proposed closing, the station was rebuilt in 1994 and continues to be served by a number of trains.[3]
Opened as the terminus of the branch on 9 September 1851, it became a through station on 30 June 1856 when the line was completed to Salisbury. As a terminus it was provided with a train shed covering the tracks; the main offices were built of wood on the northbound platform. The station was rebuilt with ordinary canopies in the 1930s but the wooden buildings remain in use.
Goods traffic was significant with a banana packing factory, Air Ministry and Royal Engineers depots being rail served. Ordinary goods traffic was withdrawn in 1973.[3]
The station serving Heytesbury was opened on 30 June 1856. Originally just a single track, this was doubled eastwards in 1899 and then westwards to Warminster the following year. The original platform became the one used by trains towards Salisbury and a second was added with a small waiting shelter when the line was doubled but there was never a footbridge between the two platforms. A goods shed was situated on the north side of the line to the east of the passenger facilities.
A 3.5 miles (5.6 km) branch line from the west end of the station was in use from about 1916 to 1926 serve a military camp and hospital at Sutton Veny.
The station closed on 19 September 1955 but the signal box, which was opposite the goods shed, remained open until May 1968. The original station building is still standing.[3]
Opened to serve the village of Codford on 30 June 1856, this station lost its passenger service on 19 September 1955 and its goods yard was closed on 10 June 1963. The signal box remained in use until June 1982.
The original single platform was built on the north side of the line next to a level crossing. A passing loop was installed here in 1897 which necessitated the construction of a second platform to serve trains towards Westbury. The line was doubled from Heytesbury in 1899 and on to Wylye in 1900. A 2.75 miles (4.43 km) branch line was in use from 1914 to 1922 to serve an army camp.[3]
The line runs through the Wylye valley and a station was provided at Wylye, although it was spelled “Wiley” by the GWR until 1874. The main building was on the left side of the line when travelling east towards Salisbury with a goods shed east of the platform and a level crossing beyond. Originally single track, the line from the west was doubled in 1900 and onwards towards Salisbury in 1901.
Passenger services were withdrawn on 19 September 1955 but goods traffic continued to be handled until 2 October 1961. The signal box was closed in 1973 when the level crossing was given automatic barriers.[3]
This short lived station was only in use from 30 June 1856 until October 1857. It served the settlements around Hanging Langford.[3]
The single platform station at Great Wishford was opened on 30 June 1856, on the left of trains travelling towards Salisbury. The line was doubled in 1901 and a second platform was then provided. The station was closed entirely on 19 September 1955 but the station master’s house is still lived in.[3]
Opened with the line on 30 June 1856, the station for Wilton was originally just one platform on the left of trains heading towards Westbury. A second platform was added when the line was doubled in 1896. A second station was provided a short distance to the south on the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway in 1859, a route that later became the West of England Main Line of the London and South Western Railway.
In September 1949 the former LSWR station was renamed “Wilton South”, and the former GWR station became “Wilton North”. In common with other local stations, it was closed on 19 September 1955 but Wilton South remained open for passengers until 1966. Wilton North remained open for goods traffic until 6 September 1965 and the goods shed remains intact and used as a shop.[3]
The GWR station at Salisbury was opened at Fisherton on 30 June 1856. Isambard Kingdom Brunel provided a brick-built terminal with a train shed to cover the tracks, and three years later the LSWR opened a new station alongside, connecting their line from London Waterloo with the new Salisbury and Yeovil line. A transfer siding was provided to allow goods to be exchanged between the two railways which were built using different different gauges, and a footbridge was opened in 1860 for passengers changing between the two stations.
The GWR converted their line to standard gauge in 1874 and after this a connecting line was laid between the two railways. In September 1932 the GWR’s passenger trains were transferred to the LSWR station. The GWR station remained in use until about 1991 and the sidings were latterly used as the base for British Rail’s exhibition trains. The sidings were then redeveloped as Salisbury TMD where South West Trains maintain their fleet of Class 159 DMUs. Brunel’s passenger buildings are still used as offices by non-railway businesses.[3]