| Swindon &
Cricklade Railway |
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 We have now opened an extension of the Railway North beyond Hayes Knoll to South Meadow Lane. This has virtually doubled the length of the existing passenger railway. |
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| Work on the Northern Extension began early in 2006. The Extension starts from the crossover points at the Cricklade end of Hayes Knoll station. The extent of our new track is shown on the map on this page. As with most things in railway preservation, the work was not particularly straightforward. The rail we used has been recovered from various places - notably Gloucester Docks, thanks to Sustrans, and from Ely in Cambridgeshire, thanks to Network Rail. This all had to be transported to site and, in many cases, had to have the ends re-cut and |
drilled before they could be used. Preparing the concrete sleepers was also a considerable project in it own right. They came with flat-bottom fittings, and these have had to be removed and replaced with chairs to accept our bullhead rail. Compared with all this, "laying track" is comparitively simple (didn't say "easy"!) The final job was to lay ballast and level the track. This was done together with the ballasting and levelling of the refurbished line between Blunsdon and Hayes Knoll. |
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Map shows route of Northern Extension. Track laid North of Hayes Knoll shown in black. The extension is a further stage in the goal of reaching Cricklade. Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland |
 Passenger train on the northern extension, heading away from South Meadow Lane towards Hayes Knoll.  Train arriving at Hayes Knoll from the extension. |
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