Swindon, on the main line of the Great Western Railway between Bristol and London, was the location of the company’s principal locomotive and carriage works, which at its peak in the early 20th century employed 14,000 people. Alongside the railway is the village for works employees designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, with its church of St Mark, designed by George Gilbert Scott, and an imposing Mechanics’ Institute of 1853-4. The works has been put to several new uses, part having been adapted as offices for English Heritage. Another part is occupied by the Steam museum whose collection includes several locomotives, among them the replica of the broad gauge North Star. It also shows something of many aspects of railway operation, particular the experience of working in the locomotive and carriage works.
STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway | Railway Village
Kemble Drive
SN2 2TA Swindon
Wiltshire
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 1793 - 466646
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