Thomas the Tank Engine Territory
I'm in the armed forces, this means I meet a lot of new people. Whenever the conversation comes around to home towns, the standard response I get is "Oh, I know Westbury, I once spent an hour at the station, waiting for a connection". The impact that this little station has on long distance passengers can't be underestimated; and on a purely commercial note, I strongly suggest the the owner of the Railway Inn puts signs on each platform saying "Pub, this way, 400m"! I know very little about trains so most of what you see below has been gleaned from other sources.
This page is very wordy (especially the early years) This is unavoidable because of all the dates, places, and company names within the text. To try and help it scan better, I've highlighted some of the keywords.
Westbury, the early years
The enabling Act of Parliament which allowed the building of the line from Thingley Junction, near Chippenham (on the main Great Western Railway (GWR) Bristol to London line) to Weymouth was passed in June 1845. Construction was commenced very soon thereafter. The legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel of the GWR was appointed as engineer but initially, the construction was by the Wilts. Somerset & Weymouth Rly Co. (WSW) which was closely allied to GWR. The WSW system also included the line from Westbury to Salisbury via Warminster and a large number of local routes, largely, connecting at Westbury.
Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury stations were opened on 5th September 1848 after a long financial struggle to complete this 14 mile initial section. Financial difficulties caused several other areas of the WSW system to be stalled. In March 1850 WSW was taken over by GWR. The absorption was confirmed by parliament in July 1851. The original WSW system was eventually completed by the GWR in 1857.
The WSW system was built using Isambard Kingdom Brunels "GWR broad" gauge track. The GWR broad at 7' 0 1/4" was much wider than all the other lines in the UK (4' 8 1/2"). The Gauge Commission was set up in the 1840's to determine which track width should be adopted as the standard for all railways. The decision went against Brunel, so all his lines had to be progressively converted. The conversion of the WSW system to standard gauge was one of the most comprehensive schemes undertaken by the GWR. The whole 131 mile route was altered in one week of June 1874! An incredible feat, carried out by 1,800 workmen with very careful and detailed prior planning of the work schedules beforehand. The last broad gauge route was converted in May 1892 after the last trains ran between Paddington and Penzance.
In
order to operate the considerable network of routes that radiated from
Westbury, steam power ruled supreme until the late 1950's. A modern
steam shed was opened in 1915 to provide the required servicing
facilities. By the late 1950's however it was becoming increasingly less
economic to operate. The 1955 rail modernisation scheme proposals saw the
introduction of diesel trains in the hope that the costs of the passenger
services could be improved. Initially the new diesel trains achieved some
success, but ever increasing private car ownership was to spell the death
knell for the less remunerative services. In the Westbury area, the axe
finally fell in April 1966 on the local services to Newbury, both via
Devizes and via Lavington, to Chippenham and to the lesser used intermediate
stations to Weymouth and to Bath via Bradford on Avon. All stations on the
line to Salisbury, except Warminster and Dilton Marsh (as a request
stop), had already been closed as an earlier economy measure.
Westbury Today
Westbury is a Key Junction location on the Cardiff -
Portsmouth, Wessex main line, and a large Wessex Trains depot, accommodating 54
Drivers & 36 Conductors, Managed by a Service Delivery manager, Three Traincrew mangers, plus the Station Manager covering the area
from Dorchester West - Keynsham and down to Romsey. There is also 24
hour cover from 5 Duty managers, as well as a roster clerk and two
administrative staff.
Westbury is used for overnight stabling, cleaning and running repair of trains - up to 14 sets on any given night. Westbury is also the home of the Wessex Trains loco hauled fleet of rolling stock hired from Fragonset railways, until December 2004, used on Friday only for the 1252 Bristol - Brighton & 1700 Brighton - Cardiff services, plus daily trains to between Bristol & Weymouth, but now restricted to use on Special and additional services related to special events at locations such as the millennium Stadium in Cardiff. This additional stock consists of class 31 locomotives and MK2 coaches in Wessex livery. When not in use these can be found stabled adjacent to Westbury station.
To maintain and clean our Stations Westbury is also home to the two man cleaning team, who between them do a first class job, cleaning and repairing around the area.
Westbury is a ever growing, busy location with good
services to main locations including Reading and London, as well as being a busy
junction for Weymouth and the West of England - the 3 platforms are often
all in use at once and it is a shame that the 4th platform was taken out
of use when the station was re-signalled in 1984.
The station is operated
by 6 platform staff, dealing with Train despatch, customer assistance
and cleaning duties. The station buffet is privately run, and hopes
to expand in the near future. The station has recently been completely
resigned, with Wessex Trains branding, partly funded by the local council.
Westbury Station has a rather unusual accolade... It's gents urinal is featured on a dedicated, international website. You can read the bizarre entry in urinal.net HERE.
Thanks
I must thank David Butcher (ex station master for Westbury) for the huge amount of information he's given me. You can find details of his book (in two volumes) in the Bibliography. I would also like thank Richard Fuller from Wessex Trains for going above and beyond the call of duty by providing a great description of Westbury stations day to day working.