The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

 railway that linked the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 at Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

, with Cheltenham

Cheltenham

Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Much of the route is still in regular use today (see Golden Valley Line

Golden Valley Line

The Golden Valley Line is a railway line from Swindon to Cheltenham in the UK.The line was originally built as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in the 1840s...

).

The line between Cheltenham and Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

 was worked jointly with the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway

Birmingham and Gloucester Railway

The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England.It is one of the world's oldest main line railways and includes the famous Lickey Incline, a dead-straight stretch of track running up the 1-in-37 gradient of the Lickey Ridge...

, necessitating mixed gauge

Dual gauge

A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

 track and shared maintenance. The line between Gloucester and Standish

Standish, Gloucestershire

Standish is a small village and civil parish in the Stroud local government district in Gloucestershire, England.The village is north-west of Stroud, on the B4008 road to Quedgeley...

 Junction was owned by the C&GWUR, but the Bristol and Gloucester Railway

Bristol and Gloucester Railway

The Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. It is now part of the main line from the North-East of England through Derby and Birmingham to the South-West.-History:...

 had running rights over it. The Bristol and Gloucester Railway and standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

 Birmingham and Gloucester Railway then merged, and were then quickly taken over by the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

. The Bristol & Gloucester line was soon converted to standard gauge to allow through trains from Bristol to Birmingham, thus extending the mixed gauge as far south as Standish. Despite this joint working, the stations were generally independent with the individual railways providing duplicate facilities at Cheltenham, Gloucester and Stonehouse.

Chronology

• 1836 Authorised by Act of Parliament
  Act of Parliament
  An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
  
  
• 1840 Railway opened from Cheltenham to Gloucester (only for Birmingham & Gloucester Railway trains)
• 1841 Railway opened from Swindon to Cirencester
  Cirencester
  Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
  
  
• 1843 Railway company sold to Great Western Railway
• 1845 Railway opened from Kemble
  Kemble, Gloucestershire
  Kemble is a village in Gloucestershire, England.It lies four miles from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames Head, the source of the River Thames. Kemble Church is part of the Thameshead benefice, comprising the communities of Kemble, Ewen, Poole Keynes, Somerford Keynes, and...
  
   to Gloucester leaving Cirencester on a short branch
• 1847 Independent station opened at Cheltenham
• 1872 Line converted from broad gauge to standard gauge, and mixed gauge lines around Gloucester removed
• 1882 Kemble station opens at Kemble Junction after local landowner finally gives permission for a station
• 1903 Introduction of steam railmotor local passenger services in the Stroud Valley, resulting in the opening of 7 small halts to boost traffic
• 1964 Stroud Valley local services withdrawn and all the halts and some of the intermediate stations closed. Only Kemble, Stroud and Stonehouse remain.
• 1965 Line from Kemble to Cirencester closed
• 1966 Cheltenham St James closed as London services transferred back to Cheltenham Lansdown (now Cheltenham Spa).

Stations

Includes stations opened by the Great Western Railway (1843–1947) and BR (1948–)

• Swindon
  Swindon railway station
  Swindon railway station is in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station entrance is on Station Road, to the south of the line.It is approximately from the central bus station and the town centre...
  
   (1840, Great Western Railway)
• Purton (1841)
• Minety and Ashton Keynes (1841)
• Oaksey Halt (1929)
• Kemble
  Kemble railway station
  Kemble railway station is a railway station that serves the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire. The station is located on the Swindon to Gloucester "Golden Valley" line. Despite its rural location, Kemble station has a high number of passengers, due mainly to the proximity of...
  
   (1845 for interchange only; 1882 for public access)
  • (1960)
  • (1959)
  • Cirencester
    Cirencester Town railway station
    Cirencester Town railway station was one of three railway stations which formerly served the town of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England; the others were and .-History:...
    
     (1841)
• Tetbury Road
  Tetbury Road railway station
  Tetbury Road railway station was built by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway to serve the Gloucestershire villages of Kemble and Coates, and the town of Tetbury.-History:...
  
   (1845)
• Chalford
  Chalford railway station
  Chalford railway station was situated on the Great Western Railway's Golden Valley Line, between and . It was just east of the bridge carrying Cowcombe Hill over the railway...
  
   (1897)
• St Mary's Crossing Halt
  St Mary's Crossing Halt railway station
  St Mary's Crossing Halt was opened on the 12th October 1903 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Stroud. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester and this was one of many small stations and halts built on this line...
  
   (1903)
• Brimscombe (1845)
• Brimscombe Bridge Halt
  Brimscombe Bridge Halt railway station
  Brimscombe Bridge Halt was opened on the 1st February 1904 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Stroud. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester and this was one of many small stations and halts built on this line...
  
   (1904)
• Ham Mill Halt
  Ham Mill Halt railway station
  Ham Mill Halt was opened on the 12th October 1903 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Stroud. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester and this was one of many small stations and halts built on this line for the...
  
   (1903)
• Bowbridge Crossing Halt
  Bowbridge Crossing Halt railway station
  Bowbridge Crossing Halt was opened on the 1st May 1905 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Stroud. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester and this was one of many small stations and halts built on this line for...
  
   (1905)
• Stroud
  Stroud railway station
  Stroud railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England. The station is located on the Swindon-Gloucester "Golden Valley" line.-History:...
  
   (1845)
• Downfield Crossing Halt
  Downfield Crossing Halt railway station
  -External links:*...
  
   (1903)
• Cashes Green Halt
  Cashes Green Halt railway station
  Cashes Green Halt was opened on 22 January 1930 on what is now the Golden Valley Line between Stroud and Stonehouse. This line was opened in 1845 as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway from Swindon to Gloucester and this was one of many small stations and halts built on this line for the...
  
   (1930)
• Ebley Crossing Halt (1903)
• Stonehouse
  Stonehouse railway station
  Stonehouse railway station is a railway station that serves the town of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, England. The station is located on the Swindon-Gloucester "Golden Valley" line.-History:...
  
   (1845)
• Gloucester
  Gloucester railway station
  Gloucester railway station serves the city of Gloucester in England. The station was originally built as the terminus of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway in 1840, but the arrival of the Bristol and Gloucester Railway and Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in 1844, and then conversion...
  
   (1844, Bristol & Gloucester Railway) (1874, joint with Midland Railway)
• Cheltenham (Malvern Road)
  Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road railway station
  -History:The station was opened by the Great Western Railway on 30 March 1908, as Cheltenham Malvern Road. It was provided so that trains along the line to would not have to start and terminate at , which involved a reversal. The station took its name from the road to the north from which a long...
  
   (1908)
• Cheltenham (St James)
  Cheltenham Spa St. James railway station
  -History:The first station was opened by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway on 23 October 1847, as Cheltenham. It was the terminus of the final section of that company's line from a junction with the Great Western Railway at , which had opened in stages: to on 31 May 1841; to on 12...
  
   (1847)

Swindon and Gloucester stations were already served by other railways prior to the arrival of the C&GWU in 1841 and 1845 respectively. Between Stonehouse (Burdett Road) station and Gloucester trains on this line passed next to the station at Haresfield

Haresfield railway station

-History:The station was opened on 29 May 1854 on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway when that railway, which had opened in 1844, was being converted from broad gauge to the standard gauge used by its new owner, the Midland Railway....

, but the station only served Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

trains running between Bristol and Gloucester, and there were no platforms facing the C&GWUR (Great Western) tracks.