Marlborough Railway

Marlborough Railway on a Railway Clearing House plan

The Marlborough Railway was a British railway company based in Wiltshire , England .

history

After the construction of the Berkshire and Hampshire Extension Railway between Hungerford and Devizes in 1862, a horse-drawn bus service was established between Savernake and Marlborough .

As early as 1860 there were first ideas for a Marlborough Railway which advertised a route that branched off at Burbage and should continue north via Marlborough. This project was opposed by the Great Western Railway , since it was penetrated into the territory of the company.

The Marlborough Railway, sponsored by the Marquess of Ailesbury , received permission to build a railway line from Savernake to Marlborough on July 22, 1861 . The Great Western Railway held £ 10,000 in the registered capital of £ 45,000. The 8.8 kilometers long line, built in the broad gauge of 2140 mm, branched off from the Berkshire and Hampshire Extension Railway . The route had to climb an incline of up to 1:58.

It was opened on April 14, 1864. The line was leased and operated by the Great Western Railway. In 1874 the line was converted to standard gauge. The company was profitable and a dividend of 6% was paid annually. The Great Western Railway took over the company on August 7, 1896.

literature

• Christopher Awdry: Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies . Stephens, Wellingborough 1990, ISBN 1-85260-049-7 .

Web links

• Tom (TB) Sands: Savernake, a Railway Crossroads in Wiltshire in Railway Magazine February & March 1958
• Railways, A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 4 (1959), pp. 280-293.