The Swindon & Cricklade Railway, a standard gauge heritage railway, lies a few miles northwest from the city of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire. At 2 1/2 miles in length it is only really accessible to the public from two points, the main station at Blunsdon, and the Taw Valley halt at the southern terminus near Mouldon Hill Country Park. There is sufficient free public parking at Blunsdon and Mouldon Hill but it's about a 250 metre walk to the railway's Taw Valley halt from the Mouldon Hill parking lot. The halt is comprised of a simple platform without any services. The track bed, without trackage, extends from the halt to the Mouldon Hill car park, a mere 150 metres or so, but it awaits the installation of track and run-around switches. Extending the railway there would provide a much improved southern terminus for the railway.
In the beginning... 1884... the Midland & South Western Junction Railway
(MSWJR) was formed from the amalgamation of the Swindon Marlborough & Andover Railway with the Swindon & Cheltenham Extension Railway. The purpose being to provide a link between the Midland Railway at Cheltenham in the north, to the London & South Western Railway at Andover Junction in the south, thereby offering a route further south to the port of Southhampton. Eventually the line was swallowed up by the Great Western Railway
(GWR) during the 1923 Grouping. Nationalization occurred in 1948 with the formation of British Railways. Today's heritage railway operates only a tiny portion of the entire abandoned line between Hayes Knoll, Blunsdon, and Taw Valley halt in the south. Blunsdon is the main departure and arrival station.
To visit the railway you will need to arrive at the main station at Blunsdon by vehicle as the heritage line is land-locked from other rail lines. There is free parking available there with just a short walk up a slight hill along Tadpole Lane to the roadway overbridge which offered the opening photograph in the collection of photos here. A railway foot crossing from the parking lot provides access to the licensed Whistle Stop Cafe located in a couple of old Norwegian passenger cars. A short walk beneath the roadway overbridge reaches the ticket office and souvenir shop with a tiny station and typical signal box a bit further along the platform. There are two tracks here but only one platform.
Hayes Knoll, the second station at the north end of the line, may be visited by riding the train from Blunsdon. There is no road access to the site. A large contemporary workshop building is located next to the station platform containing rolling stock and locomotives. The steam locomotive named "Owsden Hall", a former Great Western Railway engine, is currently undergoing restoration within the building.
There were only two steam locomotives operating during a visit in September 2019, GWR 0-6-2T number 5619 wearing British Railways livery and 0-6-0ST number 2138 "Swordfish".
 | Number: 5619 Name: None Type: 0-6-2T Branchliner Builder: GWR Swindon Built: 1924 Pressure: 200 pounds per square inch Superheater: Yes Cylinders: 18 x 26 inches | |
 | Number: 2138 Name: Swordfish Type: 0-6-0ST Six Coupled Builder: Andrew Barclay Built: 1941 Pressure: 160 pounds per square inch Superheater: Unlikely Cylinders: 14 x 22 inches |
