Swindon & Cricklade Railway - Extending to Mouldon Hill

Swindon &
Cricklade
Railway

Extending the line
to Mouldon Hill

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The Swindon & Cricklade Railway is now concentrating on completing its southern extension to Mouldon Hill Country Park, where there will be a new station - initially, at Taw Valley Halt.

Early in 2010 rough track panels were laid as far as Bridge 107. These extended the existing passenger railway, but were used for engineering purposes only.

This year, they have been removed and replaced with track in concrete sleepers that will eventually be used for passenger trains to Mouldon Hill.

2010 - temporary track laid

2011 - replaced by permanent track

Bridge 107 Until recently, progress towards Mouldon Hill has been hampered by the weak and decrepid state of Bridge 107. Until a permanent solution is achieved, a temporary steel deck has been laid over the top, allowing construction plant to cross. The deck was fabricated by the railway and moved to site during March.

New deck leaving Blunsdon ...

... and in place on Bridge 107

Road planings, the mechanically-removed remains of old highway surfaces, are ideal for making up irregularities in the formation. We received a large quantity recently, and on the weekend of 26/27th March we began the routine of loading them into a Mermaid wagon and taking them up the line.

Loading at Blunsdon ...

... and spreading around Bridge 107.

Saturday 2nd April trackbed up to Bridge 107 cleared and levelled ready for tracklaying.

View from the opposite direction from above

so the machine is hiding existing track.

Saturday / Sunday 9/10 April road planings laid to make up trackbed south of Bridge 107.

Looking south - trackbed curving right towards Mouldon Hill.

And the job of scrub clearance goes on!

Wednesday 13th April After initial levelling of a length of trackbed south of Bridge 107, a bulldozer with a laser-controlled blade was used for final adjustments.

Bulldozer just visible in the distance.

Setting up the laser.

Sat & Sun 16 / 17th April Use of two 9-tonne capacity dumper trucks allowed large quantities of ballast to be moved to the levelled formation. These high-capacity machines made exceptional progress possible over the weekend.

Thanks to Hewden Plant Hire for their help

in providing these on very generous terms.

Thursday 28th April today, track was laid over Bridge 107. This is light in weight, but suitable for construction traffic. It opens the way for high-standard track to be laid into Mouldon Hill.

Works train approaching Bridge 107.

And track is laid across.

Monday 2nd May a new farm crossing was built (see map) using pre-cast concrete sections. Meanwhile, more track has been laid on the Mouldon Hill side of Bridge 107.

A short section of track was laid.

Followed by the crossing components.

Monday 30th May The Bank Holiday weekend saw track laid up to the new farm crossing seen above.

Bridge 107 is beyond the trees in the background.

And Mouldon Hill round the bend seen ahead.

Saturday 11th June track has now been laid well beyond the new farm crossing.

Compare with the picture above right - not bad.

First time a locomotive has been this near to Mordon for some years.

Sunday 17th July No extensions to the track lately? We have had to take a break to deal with routine maintenance elsewhere on the railway. More relevant to the extension, we are preparing another consignment of sleepers ready for more tracklaying. Come back soon!

Saturday 11th November and back on the job! Over the last two weekends, ground has been cleared to extend the width of the formation to lay the Mouldon Hill loop and ballast shifted to site.

Moving ballast ...

... on to the extended formation.

Watch the progress!
This map will be updated as tracklaying progresses. The key below shows the various stages involved, from clearing an overgrown track bed to completing new track to passenger-carrying standards.