IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Gloucester Road Industrial Estate, Gloucester Road, MALMESBURY, SN16 0DY

The view south past modern buildings in the estate is broadly comparable to that obtained more than 50 years earlier by Ben Brooksbank Image when the railway to Malmesbury was still open. As best I can judge I was standing at the southern end of where the station platform once was. The one constant is Malmesbury Abbey visible in the far distance.

At the site of the old station; the shed is now a car garage.

Specialist auctioneers in Gloucester Road Industrial Estate.

Opened in 1871 as the terminus of a branch line from Dauntsey (later Little Somerford) on the main lines west of Swindon, this station closed to passengers in 1951 and completely in 1962. The site has since been redeveloped. View south along the old trackbed. The single platform was to the right, on which was a single storey station building. The old engine shed on the left is the only surviving railway building. See Image for a similar view in 1958. The former engine shed and Malmesbury Abbey are reference points.

The building pre-dates the age of mass motoring having started life in the 19th century as an engine shed for the Malmesbury Railway which opened in 1877 and closed in 1962. It is about the only identifiable artefact of the railway still extant. More about it here http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5020552657_929fd0d25b_b.jpg

View southward, towards buffer-stops of terminus of former ex-GWR branch from Little Somerford. (Cf. Image).

Once upon a time this was a railway. The Malmesbury Railway opened on 18th December 1877 and ran originally between Dauntsey http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3329014 and terminated here. It had been planned that the railway would connect with the Stonehouse and Nailsworth Railway but that never happened. Malmesbury Station closed to passengers, first temporarily between 12th February 1951 and 2nd April 1951, then permanently on 10th September 1951. Goods traffic ceased with the last train on 11th November 1962 and the track was lifted in October 1963. The station building seen in Ben Brookbank's historic image Image subsequently became dangerous and was demolished along with the goods shed. Today the only reminder is the engine shed Image which enjoys a new lease of life as a fast-fit automotive depot.

From the east side of Gloucester Road. Notices on the wall state that this is private, access-only, road. There is no public right of way. Trespassers will be prosecuted.

View southwards to the terminus and the Abbey beyond. This was the terminus of a Great Western branch from Little Somerford (formerly from Dauntsey) on the main lines west of Swindon. Passenger traffic had ceased on 10/9/51, but goods traffic was evidently still flourishing and continued until 12/11/62. The building at the left at the end of the fence is what was the station's engine shed and is still in use as a fast-fit tyre depot.