It was eventually decided to shorten the Malmesbury Branch, and have it connect to the newer South Wales Main Line at Somerford, instead of continuing south to the Great Western Main Line as it did before. By 1880, the GWR had absorbed the new branch into their vast network.Īfter decades of running branches throughout the west of England, the GWR were looking to find ways to cut down on the costs of running these small lines. The new branch opened in December of 1877, after a staggering £87,094 (£9.5 Million) spend, and regular services were put into effect by the Malmesbury Railway Company.
Construction wasn’t easy, bad weather proved to be a challenge, and the projected final cost of the line continued to rise.
The Malmesbury Railway Company was formed in 1872, work was approved, and GWR fronted half of the £60,000 price tag for the 6-mile branch, that’s over £6 Million in today’s money.īy this point, the GWR was realising that their broad-gauge reign was coming to a close, so the branch to Malmesbury was built to the more popular standard gauge. Plans were soon drawn up for a simple branch line connection from Dauntsey that would more than suffice. No, Malmesbury wouldn’t get a railway until the community itself spoke up and approached GWR. In the end, disagreements led to the line’s early abandonment. The northern section of the new route was reaching Midland Railway territory, and the new line’s construction would’ve given the Midland access to the GWR network. The W&GR would have run north to south, via Malmesbury, in an effort to link existing GWR routes together. The GWR did plan for other railways which would link Malmesbury to the rest of the World, the first of which was the Wilts and Gloucestershire Railway which was approved in 1864. Despite this however, when the Great Western Railway plotted their famed route from London to Bristol, Malmesbury didn’t make an appearance on the network. Being a centre for learning, the local Abbey also drew attention in the Middle Ages. Historically, Malmesbury held quite a significance to its name and earned its place within the Cotswolds thanks to being a prominent market town. The quaint, atmospheric picturesque single-line branch, from Somerford to the small town of Malmesbury, features authentic, heart of English countryside steam, ready for you to enjoy in this add-on for Train Simulator, courtesy of Partner Programme developer Just Trains.
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