Little Somerford railway station served the village of

Little Somerford Little Somerford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, southeast of Malmesbury and northeast of Chippenham. The northern boundary of the parish follows approximately the B4040 Malmesbury–Swindon ro ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England from 1903 to 1963. It was on the

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line (), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the co ...

and served as the junction for the Malmesbury branch line from 1933.

History

When the Malmesbury branch line was opened in 1877, it left the

Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...

at and had one intermediate station just north of Great Somerford. In 1903 the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

opened the

which provided a more direct route to South Wales, passing close to the south of Little Somerford village and to the north of the earlier line. A small station at Little Somerford was opened on the day the line was opened to passengers, 1 July 1903. In 1933 the connection of the branch to the main line network was altered so that the branch began at Little Somerford, and the section south to Dauntsey was closed. Thus from 17 July 1933 Little Somerford became a junction, until the branch was closed (to passengers in September 1951 and completely in November 1962). Main line passenger service at the station was withdrawn in April 1961 and goods traffic in June 1963.

References

Disused railway stations in Wiltshire Former Great Western Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1903 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1961 1903 establishments in England 1961 disestablishments in England {{SouthWestEngland-railstation-stub