Tower and Town, June 2019

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Marlborough To The Channel Ports (And Midlands)

Traders in Swindon were concerned that their rail links were all east-west, and came together to promote the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway (SMAR), which secured its act of parliament in 1873, 33 years after the GWR had reached Swindon. It ran south through Chisledon and the Ogbournes to Marlborough, then along the existing (GWR) Marlborough branch to Savernake, then newly constructed track to Andover. From there it ran over London and South Western (LSWR) tracks to Southampton.

In 1881 a further act of parliament approved the Swindon Cheltenham Extension Railway (SCER) going north through Cirencester to Cheltenham and providing a link with the midlands. All was then acquired by the Midland Railway which too was eager to gain access to the channel ports, so as the Midland and South West Junction Railway (MSWJR) it became a moderately important north-south route cutting across Great Western territory. During both world wars it became a crucially important link.

To begin with it used the single track Marlborough Railway for the 6 miles south of Marlborough, but the GWR was unhelpfully dog-in-the-mangerish about scheduling Midland Railway trains through, so the MSWJ built its own line south from Marlborough through a tunnel (now a protected bat roost), past Savernake (High Level), over the canal and the main line to rejoin its line to Andover.

Alexander Kirk-Wilson