IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Fire Fly Avenue, SWINDON, SN2 2FW

The oval that used to be Fire Fly Avenue is now a straight road off Kemble Drive, with building works on both sides. In the background is Heelis, the HQ of the National Trust.

Looking towards Olympus House near the Steam Museum of the Great Western Railway, Churchward House & Apollo House

Tall building in background is in Swindon centre

This device allowed a locomotive or other railway vehicle to be transferred laterally between parallel tracks; unlike a turntable that transferred between radial tracks. This is malingering near the museum called "Steam".

Three steam locomotives were moved in Swindon on 21 August 2018. Great Western 4-6-0 No. 7819 Hinton Manor was removed from the designer outlet shopping village, returning to the Severn Valley Railway; classmate No. 7821 Ditcheat Manor replaced it in the shopping village, moving around the corner from STEAM museum; and 2-8-0 No. 2818 arrived at the museum from the National Railway Museum at Shildon. Here we see the tender of No. 2818 being manoeuvred carefully around a tight corner on its arrival.

This is part of the former Great Western Railway locomotive works at Swindon that has now been converted to houses. This section has been retained in more or less original condition and this was seen through a window. I have no idea if there are any plans for occasional access to this site - for example on Heritage Open Days.

Three steam locomotives were moved in Swindon on 21 August 2018. Great Western 4-6-0 No. 7819 Hinton Manor was removed from the designer outlet shopping village, returning to the Severn Valley Railway; classmate No. 7821 Ditcheat Manor replaced it in the shopping village, moving around the corner from STEAM museum; and 2-8-0 No. 2818 arrived at the museum from the National Railway Museum at Shildon. Here we see No. 2818 on its arrival in the afternoon.

Another corner of the once vast Swindon Works is being converted to houses. I believe the former chain testing shop is in this area and I believe it is to be preserved, at least in part. See an earlier view from a slightly different angle - Image

On the former Swindon Railway Works site that now includes the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet. These fine gates came from the British Rail Western Region athletics Association sports ground and have been erected here as a reminder of Swindon's railway heritage. They are outside the former chain testing house that is now largely converted to apartments but does retain some preserved machinery.

This picked up electrical power from the over head rail at the back.