Speaker Meeting, 6.15 for 6.30pm

That's the Swindon & Cricklade Railway Society’s strap line.  The Society, a charity, was founded 40 years ago.   Swindon's "other railway line", the Midland & South Western Junction Railway, ran from the Midlands to the South coast and had stations at Cricklade, Blunsdon, Swindon Old Town and Marlborough.  The line was particularly active during the two world wars after which it went into a steady decline until complete closure came about in the 1960’s.

Our guest speaker at this meeting was Geoff Barrett, Vice-Chairman of the Society’s Board of Trustees. (Centre in the picture with our President Ann and Senior Vice President Robin).

Compared to many other heritage railway societies, the C & SR is short in track length but it does offer visitors opportunities to get up close. Thousands come each year, mainly families with children, and they give rides to approximately 12,000 passengers a year. The Society’s volunteers number in the hundreds.

Railway preservation societies fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) requiring them to meet 21st century health and safety regulations even though they might be offering a 1960's experience. In 2016, following a visitor complaint, the ORR issued the Society with an improvement notice. They complied with that and all is well today.

Acquiring GWR steam locomotives from the period is a problem so they have many different types of engines. As for the future, the aim is to relay the track in a northerly direction as far as Cricklade. They have the track – it came from the Didcot power station site – but there are still some big obstacles to overcome. For example, they will need 5,000 tons of ballast and will have to build a bridge. The estimated cost is £1.6m.

As for extending the line southwards, they hope to reach the proposed Moulden Hill Park but are experiencing a lot of problems with Swindon Borough Council. Another problem they will have is sourcing coal. As from 2025 there will be no coal-fired power stations in Britain. Coal will probably have to be imported from countries such as Russia and the USA.

Nevertheless the Society is looking forward to a bright future aiming to give “social interaction, entertainment, and a see and do experience” to its visitors.

On behalf of members the Club’s Senior Vice President Robin expressed thanks to Geoff for an extremely interesting talk.

Swindon & Cricklade Railway website