Devizes branch line
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The Devizes Branch Line was a railway line from Holt Junction, Wiltshire to Patney and Chirton, Wiltshire, and named after Devizes, the largest town on the line. It was built by the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, and was later bought up by the Great Western Railway. At one point the Devizes line provided a direct link from London to the West Country.
History
The idea of having a railway line going through Devizes was first conceived in 1830 before the Great Western Railway (GWR) had begun to construct their main lines. Devizes was regularly considered by the GWR as a main stop on its London to Bristol Line but lost out to Swindon due to lack of potential traffic from Devizes.
Although included in several plans for railway lines including the Thingley Junction to Westbury line and the Starvarton and Bathampton line, the financial backing required wasn't available and the fact that Devizes is so high above sea level made it impossible and so as a result Devizes was left without a station. In 1846 it was decided the Devizes line would run from Holt Junction to Devizes. In 1854 work finally commenced on the Devizes Branch. It was built in 1857 by the Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, an independent company, though they were heavily backed by the Great Western Railway. The Devizes Branch Line opened in 1857, 21 years after its initial conception.
The GWR later extended their Reading-Hungerford line via Pewsey in 1862 to meet at Devizes creating a direct link from London to Bristol which was quicker than any other line.[citation needed] This was the busiest period for the Devizes line but it returned to being a branch line in 1900 when the Patney and Chirton-Westbury link was built to reduce journey time by avoiding the steep inclines in Devizes.
Closure
The Devizes Branch line and all of its stations closed in 1966 under British Rail's modernisation plans. The closure of the line can be accounted for by the awkward geography of the Devizes line and the falling amount of traffic since the rival railway line opened and the increasing popularity of modern transport.
Apart from a few remaining bridges and tunnels there is little evidence of the railway on the landscape, and after the closure of the line, all stations and halts were destroyed in 1970.
