Great Western Railway

From the archive: Swindon ‘Steam’ opens to the public

by

Mark Lancaster

–

30th July 2026

We take a verbatim look back at when JOHN STRETTON was given an insight into Swindon’s new £11m railway museum. WEDNESDAY June 14, 2000 will become an important day in the history of Swindon and its railways. After many years, alternative suggestions, trials and tribulations along the way, this date was due to mark the…
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Mark Hopwood becomes a Patron for TBF

by

Mark Lancaster

–

15th July 2026

It has been announced that Mark Hopwood CBE, Managing Director of GWR, has become a Patron of the Transport Benevolent Fund CIO, known as TBF. “I am delighted to be joining the team of TBF patrons. The railway is a family, and it is important that we come together to offer support when needed,” says…
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A New Great Western Standard: The Design and Significance of Locomotive No. 1000

by

Mark Lancaster

–

29th December 2025

There has long been a peculiar and enduring interest in new locomotive designs emerging from Swindon. For decades, the works of the Great Western Railway have set benchmarks for locomotive engineering in Britain, and it has become increasingly clear how deeply engineers across the industry have been influenced by Swindon practice. By the mid-1940s, it…
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New world record set for furthest distance travelled by battery train

by

Alex Bestwick

–

20th August 2025

A new world record has been set for the furthest distance travelled by a battery-electric train on a single charge.
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Betton Grange running at last!

by

Robin Jones

–

12th April 2024

New-build GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange ran for the first time when it was steamed in the yard at Tyseley locomotive Works on Thursday, April 11 – opening a new chapter in Great Western Railway history.
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Wedding ceremony performed on train journey from Paddington to Swansea

by

Alex Bestwick

–

11th March 2024

A couple who met on a train, commuted by train to date each other and shared their first kiss on a train decided to tie the knot aboard a Great Western Railway train.
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Safety recommendations made after train hits bricks from collapsed wall

by

Alex Bestwick

–

1st February 2024

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has made four safety recommendations to Network Rail after a train hit bricks from a collapsed wall.
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Paddington services disrupted for third day in a row

by

Alex Bestwick

–

9th January 2024

Infrastructure failure has disrupted services at the second busiest rail station in the UK for the third day in a row.
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The history of GWR’s ‘Castle’ Class, from design to preservation

by

Alex Bestwick

–

8th January 2024

Celebrating the GWR’s ‘Castle’ Class, which entered service over 100 years ago in August 1923.
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From the archive: The Glory Years of BR Steam

by

Alex Bestwick

–

4th July 2023

From The Railway Magazine, December 2005: At Nationalisation, the GWR feared it would lose its unique character, but as it turned out, those worries weren’t to be realised for more than a decade and the 1950s and early ‘60s thus proved to be the era of the ‘Great Western Region’!
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Great Western Railway

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