Swindon Works

Swindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom.

History

In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. 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 Cheltenham branch 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, authorised the establishment of the works at Swindon. Construction started immediately and they became operational on 2 January 1843.

Swindon

Coordinates: 51°34′N 1°47′W / 51.56°N 1.78°W / 51.56; -1.78

Swindon ( pronunciation ) is a large town within the Borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, 35 miles (56 km) to the west and Reading, 35 miles (56 km) to the east. London is 71 miles (114 km) to the east. In the 2011 census, the population of the built-up area of Swindon was 185,609. The larger borough had a population of 209,000, including the small town of Highworth and the large village of Wroughton, an increase of 16.2% since 2001.

Swindon was named an Expanded Town under the Town Development Act 1952 and this led to a major increase in its population.Swindon railway station is on the line from London Paddington to Bristol. Swindon Borough Council is a unitary authority, independent of Wiltshire Council since 1997. Residents of Swindon are known as Swindonians. Swindon is home to the Bodleian Library's book depository, which contains 153 miles (246 km) of bookshelves.

Borough of Swindon

The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England. It is centred on the town of Swindon and forms part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire. It was formed in 1974 as the Thamesdown district of Wiltshire, from former areas of the municipal borough of Swindon and Highworth Rural District.

On 1 April 1997 it was made administratively independent of Wiltshire County Council, with its council becoming a new unitary authority. It adopted the name Swindon on 24 April 1997. The former Thamesdown name and logo are still used by the main local bus operator, Thamesdown Transport Limited.

Geography

The borough of Swindon occupies an area in the north east corner of Wiltshire and is bordered by two other counties, Gloucestershire (to the north) and Oxfordshire (to the east). Also, West Berkshire is only a short distance from the borough’s south eastern tip. The landscape is marked by the River Thames guiding the northern border and the Marlborough Downs encroaching to the south.

Swindon (disambiguation)

Swindon is a large town in Wiltshire, United Kingdom.

Swindon may also refer to:

Swindon, Wiltshire:

See also