Devizes Branch Line
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 Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, and was later purchased 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 a railway line through Devizes was first conceived in 1830, before the Great Western Railway (GWR) had begun to construct its main lines. Devizes was regularly considered by the GWR as a major 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 Staverton and Bathampton line—the financial backing required was not available. Also, because Devizes is so high above sea level, construction would have been impractical and expensive, so the town was left without a station. In 1846 it was decided that the Devizes line would run from Holt Junction eastward to Devizes, and in 1854 work finally began on the branch. It was completed in 1857 by the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway, an independent company, albeit heavily backed by the GWR.
In 1862 the GWR extended its Reading-Hungerford} line westward via Pewsey to Devizes, creating a direct link from London Paddington to Bristol which was quicker than any other line. This was the busiest period for the Devizes line, but it returned to being a branch line in 1900 when the Stert-Westbury link was built to reduce journey time by avoiding the steep inclines into Devizes.
Closure
The line and all its stations closed in 1966 under British Rail's Beeching cuts. The closure of the line can be accounted for by the awkward geography of the Devizes line, and the declining amounts of traffic due to alternative railway lines and the increasing popularity of road transport.
Apart from a few remaining bridges and tunnels, there is little evidence of the railway on the landscape, and all stations and halts were demolished in 1970.