Rushey Platt railway station
Encyclopedia
Rushey Platt railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway
at Swindon
in Wiltshire
. The station opened on 18 December 1883 on the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway line from to the temporary terminus at . The S&CER line amalgamated in 1884 with the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
to form the M&SWJR, and through services beyond Cirencester to the junction at Andoversford
with the Great Western Railway
's Cheltenham Lansdown
to line, which had opened in 1881, started in 1891.
Rushey Platt was at the junction where the 1883 S&CER line branched off from the SM&AR link line between Swindon Town railway station and the main Great Western Railway
station at . It had platforms on both the through S&CER line and the link, but the service between the two Swindon stations ceased after March 1885 because of the high fees the GWR charged the M&SWJR to run over its tracks, and that part of the station closed only 15 months after it had opened.
Passenger services at the through platforms of the station lasted only a further 20 years and were withdrawn in 1905, the first station on the line to close to passengers. However, the station remained open for goods traffic, mainly milk, until the M&SWJR line closed to goods in 1964, and a private siding lasted even longer.
The railway embankment is still visible and all that remains of the station is a very weathered upper platform. The rest of the station has disappeared through time and development, and some of the site has been replaced by part of an industrial warehouse in Swindon's Rushey Platt Industrial Park.
Midland and South Western Junction Railway
The Midland and South Western Junction Railway was, until the 1923 Grouping, an independent railway built to form a north-south link between the Midland and London and South Western Railways allowing the Midland and other companies' trains to reach the port of Southampton.-Formation:The M&SWJR...
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...
in 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...
. The station opened on 18 December 1883 on the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway line from to the temporary terminus at . The S&CER line amalgamated in 1884 with the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway was one of the constituents of the Midland and South Western Junction Railway. It received Parliamentary approval on 21 July 1873 and construction began in 1875 ....
to form the M&SWJR, and through services beyond Cirencester to the junction at Andoversford
Andoversford
Andoversford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England, about six miles east of Cheltenham. The parish had a population of 668 according to the 2001 census....
with 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...
's Cheltenham Lansdown
Cheltenham Spa railway station
Cheltenham Spa railway station is in Gloucestershire, England, on the Bristol-Birmingham main line. It is managed by First Great Western and is about one mile from the town centre.-History:...
to line, which had opened in 1881, started in 1891.
Rushey Platt was at the junction where the 1883 S&CER line branched off from the SM&AR link line between Swindon Town railway station and the main 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...
station at . It had platforms on both the through S&CER line and the link, but the service between the two Swindon stations ceased after March 1885 because of the high fees the GWR charged the M&SWJR to run over its tracks, and that part of the station closed only 15 months after it had opened.
Passenger services at the through platforms of the station lasted only a further 20 years and were withdrawn in 1905, the first station on the line to close to passengers. However, the station remained open for goods traffic, mainly milk, until the M&SWJR line closed to goods in 1964, and a private siding lasted even longer.
The railway embankment is still visible and all that remains of the station is a very weathered upper platform. The rest of the station has disappeared through time and development, and some of the site has been replaced by part of an industrial warehouse in Swindon's Rushey Platt Industrial Park.