Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

This railway is open.

Heathrow Express at Paddington.

Survey	To be entered
Engineers	To be entered
Act	To be entered
Contractors	To be entered
Opened	30 June 1841
Closed	No

Local area

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This line ran originally from London, capital of England and Britain, to Bristol which was the second city of Britain until eclipsed by industrial centres such as Birmingham. Much of the route runs through farmland but it also serves the west of London and other large town such as Reading, Swindon and Bath.

Chronology

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1850, 2 Sept Oxford, Millstream Jnct - Banbury (Single line)
1850, 7 Oct Westbury - Frome (Single line)
1851, 9 Sept Westbury - Warminster (Single line)
1852, 1 Oct Oxford, Millsteam Jnct - Birmingham (Narrow gauge from Isis River Bridge)
1852, 1 Oct Oxford, Millsteam Jnct - Banbury (ITALIC - standard gauge conversion?) Mixed and doubled
1854, 20 Mar Over Jnct - Gloucester Docks
1854, 29 May Bristol, Midland Jnct to Terminus (ITALIC)
1854, 1 Sept MERGE? Shrewsbury & Birmingham Rly
1854, 1 Sept MERGE? Shrewsbury and Chester Railway
1854, 14 Nov Brimignham - Priestfirld Jnct with OW & WR (Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Rly)
1854, 14 Nov Wolverhampton, Cannock Rd Jnct - Stafford Rd Jnct
1854, 14 Nov Stafford Rd Jnct - Oxley Vaiduct and Victoria Basin (ITALIC)
1854, 14 Nov Frome - Radstock (Mineral line)
1856, June 30 Warminster - Salisbury
1856, 1 Sept Frome - Yeovil
1856, 8 Sept West Drayon - Uxbridge
1856, 22 Dec Oxford, Isis bridge - Didcot north jnct (ITALIC)
1856, 22 Dec Didcot loop, north jnct - east jnct
1856, 22 Dec Didcot, east jnct - reading, west jnct (ITALIC)
1856, 22 Dec Reading loop, west jnct - oxford rd jnct
1856, 22 Dec Reading, Oxford rd jnct - basingstoke (ITALIC)
1857, 20 Jan Yeovil - Dorchester Jnct
1857, 20 Jan Dorchest Jnct - Weymouth
1857, 2 Feb Bradford Jnct - Bathampton
1857, 1 June Twyford - Henley
1857, 1 July Holt jnct - Devizes
1858, 1 Dec Reading,West Jnct - Jnct with Staines & Wokingham Rly (London and South Western Railway) (Single Line)
1859, 1 June Wednesbury, Branch to South Staffordshire Rly
1859, 18 July (Goods, psg 1860, 1 May) Great Western & Brentford Rly Southall - Brentford
1860, 2 Aug Ely Valley Railway Llantrissant - Tonyrefail (Goods)
1860, 10 Oct Stratford-on-Avon Rly, Hatton - Strattford (Old Stn) 1860, 20 Nov Birkenhead Railway (renamed so at that date), Joint with London and North Western Railway 1861, 1 July Wellington & Severn Jnct Rly Ketley Jnct - Lightmoor (Op 1857, 1 May and worked by Coalbrookdale Iron co until 1861, 1 July) 1861, 1 Oct Reading, West jnct - paddington (ITALIC) 1861, 1 Oct Single line, west jnct to east of reding stn supseded as running line (ITALIC) 1861, 1 Oct Southall - Brentford (Up line only) (ITALIC) 1861, 1 Nov Bordesley Jnct Branch to Midland Railway 1861, 1 Dec Vale of Llangollen Railway Ruabon, Llangollen Line Jnct - Llangollen (Goods only, psg 1862, 2 june) 1862, 1 Jan South Wales Railway 1862 8 Jan Ely Valley Railway (Goods) Mwyndy and Brofiskin Branch Bach to Gellyrhaidd 1862, 1 Mar East Somerset Railway Shepton Mallet - Wells 1862, March Slough - Windsor and west curve at slough (ITALIC) 1862, March Reading, stn jnct - oxford rd jnct (ITALIC) 1862, 22 May Wrexham & Minera Railway Croes Newydd Jncts - Jnct with old branch from Wheatsheaf at Brymbo (Old line abandoned between Moss and Brymbo) 1862, 1 July Shrewsbury & Hereford Rly Joint (Half GW & WM, Half LNWR) 1862, 1 July Leominster & Kington Rly 1862, 1 Aug Wycombe Rly High Wycombe - Thame 1862, 11 Nov Berks & Hants Extension Rly Hungerford - Devizes 1862, Dec Ely Valley Railway Tonyrefail - Dinas (Penygraig) 1863, 10 Jan Metropolitan Rly Bishops Rd - Farringdon Street (Old Stn) Worked by GW until 1863, 1 Aug 1863, 1 April West London Jnct - North Pole Jnct 1863, 1 April West London and West London Ext Railways. Joint 1863, 1 June Didcot Stn, east jnct - north jnct (ITALIC) 1863, 1 Aug West Midland Rly
Shrewsbury Lines Shrewsbury & Birmingham Rly 1849, 1 June Shrewsbury - Wellington (Jnt with Shropshire Union Rly (L&NWR)) 1849, 1 June Wellington - Oakengates 1849, 12 Nov Oakengates - Wolverhampton, High Lev and Victoria Basin 1854, 1 June Madeley Jnct - Lightmoor Shrewsbury & Chester Railway 1846, 2 Nov Chester, Saltney Jnct - Ruabon (Powers over Chester & Holyhead Rly, Chester Stn to Saltney Jnct) 1846, 2 Nov Branch to Saltney Quay 1847, July Wheatsheaf Jnct - Minera 1847 Nov Short branches to collieries and works at Ffrwd, Brynmally, Westminster, South Sea, Brymbo, and Vron 1848, 1 Aug Chester General Stn (Joint) 1848, 16 Oct Ruabon - Shrewsbury 1848, 23 Dec Gobowen - Oswestry
South Wales Railway 1850, 18 June Chepstow - Landore 1850, 18 June Grange Court (Jnct with GWR) - Chepstow East 1852, June Swansea, Branch to North Dock 1852, 19 July Chepstow East - Chepstow (Single, doubled 18 Apr 1853) 1852, Oct 11 Landore - Carmarthen (Single from Pembrey , dbled 3 feb 1853) 1854, 2 Jan Carmarthen - Haverfordwest (Single, dbled 1 Jul 1857) 1854 17 Jan Cardiff, Bute Street Jnct (With TVR) - station (ITALIC) 1854, 24 Jul Forst of Dean, Bullo Pill - Churchway, etc (Tramway converted) 1854, 24 July Bullo Pill Dock Branch 1856 15 April Haverfordwest - "New Milford" (Neyland) (Single - dbled 1 jul 1857) 1857, Feb Branch to Swansea Vale Rly 1858, 19 April Cardiff, Bute Docks Branch 1859, Sept Swansea, North Dock Branch extended
West Midland Railway 1860, 1 July Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway 1860, 1 July Newport, Abergaveny & Hereford Railway 1860, 1 July Worcester & Hereford Rly 1861, 1 July Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Rly (Littlemill jnct - usk op 2 june 1856, usk - monmouth (Troy) op 12 oct 1857) 1861, 17 Sept Malvern Wells - Shelwick Jnct (with Shrewsbury & Hereford Rly) 1861, 18 Nov Wirney Rly, Yarnton-Witney 1862, 1 Feb Severn Valley Rly, Hartlebury - Sutton Bridge Jnct (with Shrewsbury & Hereford Rly) 1862, 1 Feb Much Wenlock & Severn jnct rly, buildwas - much wenlock 1862, 1 mar bourton-on-the-water rly, chipping norton jnct - bourton on the water 1862, 1 july shresury & hereford rly. joint with gw and l&nw 1862, 1 july leominster & kington rly (leominster jnct - kington, op 2 aug 1857 and wrkd by brassey 'til jul 1862 then by WM and GW jointly) 1863, 1april Stourbridge rly, stourbridge jnct - cradley, cradley - corngreaves yard (goods) 1863, June Stroubrdge rly Lye - hayes Lane (goods) Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton rly p 1867

Description of route

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Express and branch lines to the West of London throughout Wales and western England running to locations such as Birmingham, Bristol, Birkenhead, Plymouth, Newport and Exeter.

Page last created on 19/07/1999
Page last edited on 22/11/2005
E-mails to: Ewan Crawford