Blunsdon railway station


Blunsdon railway station is a former railway station, now operating as a heritage railway station. It was built to serve the village of Blunsdon, north of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, although located within the boundaries of Purton.

History

Blunsdon was one of the last stations to be opened by the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in 1895 on a railway that had opened in 1883. It was little more than a single-platform halt, and milk was the main traffic. It also had a single siding, used for such traffic as fertiliser and other agricultural requirements.
It was also one of the first stations on the route to be closed. Passenger traffic ceased in 1924, though regular trains had stopped calling in 1922, leaving one solitary passenger train service stopping at Blunsdon on a Sunday. Goods traffic ceased in 1937. The station closed on 1 August 1937.

Heritage railway

The site became the headquarters of the Swindon and Cricklade Railway in the late 1970s because it offered the best road access to the trackbed between Swindon and Cricklade. By that time, almost every trace of the original station had gone, and the present structures are all new.
Blunsdon station offers a variety of services including the Swindon and Cricklade railway shop, canteen/buffet, toilets and car parking space.

Route