Chiseldon Camp railway station

Chiseldon Camp Halt was a small railway station on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway line, south of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, between 1930 and 1961.

Chiseldon Camp Halt
View from the site of Chiseldon Camp Halt towards the south
General information
Location	Chiseldon, Wiltshire England
Coordinates	51.50240°N 1.72086°W / 51.50240; -1.72086
Grid reference	SU193782
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Western Railway
Key dates
1 December 1930	Opened
11 September 1961	Closed[1]
Location

v t e Railway lines in Swindon
Legend
Highworth branch line Great Western Main Line to London Stratton Stratton Park Halt Stratton St Margaret Works Midland & Sth Western Jn Rly to Cheltenham Midland & Sth Western Jn Rly to Southampton Hayes Knoll Chiseldon Camp Halt Blunsdon Chiseldon Taw Valley Halt Swindon Town Moredon Halt Swindon Moredon Power Station Rushey Platt Purton Golden Valley line Wootton Bassett Junction South Wales Main Line to Swansea Great Western Main Line to Bristol

History

Chiseldon village was provided with a station when the line opened as the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway in 1881, and during the First World War a long siding was built from the station to the army establishment at Draycot Foliat which was later known as Chiseldon Camp.

In 1930, with the M&SWJR having been taken over by the Great Western Railway and with greater competition from road transport, a halt was opened on the main line itself about half a mile from the camp. The station was a single platform with a shelter, and it was unstaffed and run from Chiseldon station.

In the Second World War, American forces were stationed in large numbers at Chiseldon Camp, where they built a hospital. The line was extensively used for military transportation, as it linked the Midlands to the south.

Traffic on the M&SWJR fell steeply after the war and the line closed to passengers in 1961, with goods facilities withdrawn from this section of the line at the same time. No trace of the station now remains; the trackbed is part of the National Cycle Network.^[2]

Route

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Chiseldon		Midland and South Western Junction Railway Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway		Ogbourne

Sources

• Wiltshire Railway Stations, Mike Oakley, Dovecote Press, Wimborne, 2004, ISBN 1-904349-33-1 pp.39–40