During the ongoing lockdown invite all, presumably bored, pre-school & primary school children to use the pictured resource - NB other brands of crayons are available - to design a new series of TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) rolling stock liveries.

After my rail tunnel link to a proposed Steepholm International Airport scheme bombed, I decided to return the crayons to my good lady's granddaughter and look more seriously at other peoples proposals. The one that keeps on suggesting itself to me is the one that started as an April Fool joke a couple of years back but actually seems to stand up to scrutiny.  Does anyone here know just where the SEWWEB proposals are these days in terms of ownership and backing?

Perhaps an example of the sort of individual idea that George Bathhurst is talking about (see our discussions ((here))) - except that there's nothing really new here beyond perhaps some of the combination of elements; I have noted a couple of sources at the end.

The Wiltshire Electric Railway

Management overview

From Holt Junction on the Swindon to Southampton line, the railway runs via the town of Devizes to Patney and Chirton on the main line from London to Taunton, Exeter and Plymouth.  Thirteen miles in length and with five intermediate stations, it provides:
* Rail connectivity for the town of Devizes, population around 20,000 (30,000 in area)
* Rail linkage for other communities
* Access to and between significant and established leisure destinations
* Heritage electric railway operation in a practical way
* A lovely day out / trip in its own right
* Rail access to rail industry companies
* Potential (some already projected) leisure, residential and business development


Description of the line

The line runs from a bay/side platform at the re-opened Holt Junction station (1 on the map) across the valley of the River Avon, crossing the river near to the 17th Century Pack Horse Bridge and crossing over the restored Wilts and Berks Canal just to the north of its junction with the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington.  This is the previous site of Semington Halt, and although the re-opening of this station is not in the initial base proposal, if the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust's plans for a major visitor attraction here abouts come towards fruition, such halt should be reopened.

Crossing the old and new A350 trunk roads, the line passes close to the Bowerhill industrial and residential areas. A four road, six carriage shed with engineering annexe is located adjacent to the major railway industry supplier who are based there, with private access into that supplier.  Bowerhill Station, 4km from Holt, is situated at Brabazon Way on the edge of the residential area, and a walk of a few hundred metred to the Kennet and Avon Canal. Bowerhill has a population of around 3,000, and it's estimated that a similar number work there - however, that's not the same 3,000 people.

From Bowerhill, the line runs through open countryside passing the site of the old Seend station. The base proposal does not include re-opening of this station - however, with the industrial archeology of the Seend Ironworks, Seend Cleeve village, and the leisure magnet of "The Barge" and "The Brewery", the case for a halt should not be totally ruled out.   The line carries on to the station at Sells Green.  Until March 2020, Sells Green had a direct National Express coach to London each day, and this was said to be one of the busiest stops along the way, eclipsing even the neighbouring towns.   That's because this small hamlet supports a major camping and caravan park and is a holiday destination in its own right. It's on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and a walk of about half a mile to the village of Seend - actually much closer than the old Seend station was.   Sells Green station is about 8km from Holt.

The section from Sells Green to Foxhangers Station is the final section along the valley of Semington Brook; the station here (10.5km from Holt) is located where the railway crosses the canal at the base of the Devizes / Caen Hill lock flight - one of the seven wonders of the waterway, and a very popular spot that atracts visitors from far and wide.   A large marina here hosts hunfreds of boats - there is always something to see both at Foxhangers itself and along the canal.

Crossing the A365 road at the "Fish Bridge", the railway rises steeply to the town of Devizes - the rise from Foxhangers to Devizes Station some 13.5km from Holt is around 250 feet. Devizes station is close to the town centre and Market Place, and trains can pass one another here.  The station layout is modelled on Penryn, Cornwall to that a single platform provides access for all in both directions without ramps or lifts that would be out of place in this heritage enviromnent.  Devizes hosts the Wiltshire Museum of Archaelogy, Wadworth's Brewers, Canal trips on the Kennet and Avon, and hourly bus services to both the Avebury stone circle (route 49 on to Swindon) and Stonehenge (route 2 on to Wilton and Salisbury).  It's also a popular spot for visitor to start their walk down the locks to Foxhangers.

Monument Hill Station - at 15.5km - is just beyond the outskirts of Devizes.  Devizes has expanded asymetrically, with a great deal of housing and business on this side of the town.  This station on the outskirts provides park and ride space with good road access from the A342, and from the A361 via Windsor Drive as well as serving th local residents and businesses.  The area also hosts the golf driving range and the Devizes treatment centre, though they will probably contribute little traffic.  There is also potential for further residential development, aided by good public transport links provided by the Wiltshire Electric Railway.

Why "Monument Hill"? At the top of the hill on the road from Devizes to Upavon, by the turning to Etchilhampton, there is a stone column with a lion on the top.  The monument commemorates James Long, of Urchfont, who, in 1768, promoted a new road from Nursteed, in Devizes, to Lydeway, in Urchfont. The gradient on the then existing road, turnpiked under the first Wiltshire Turnpike Act in 1707 for the Devizes to Upavon Road, had proved too steep, being on the higher slopes of Etchilhampton Hill.

The final 4.5km to Patney and Chirton Station (20km from Holt) runs through the countryside of the Vale of Pewsey - wide open fields and glorious views towards the flank of Salisbury Plain to the South. As we get close to Patney and Chirton, we loose some height and the main London to the West Country line rises to meet us. Once our elevations are balanced, we pull into the bay/side platform at Patney and Chirton Station, closed in 1966 but now re-opened and served by the hourly semi-fast IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) service from London to Exeter.

Why electric?

Rumour has it that there's a good supply of electricity at the Melksham SubStation and that can be channeled along or near the line to Holt Junction just as it has been to the more distant Thingley Junction.  And electric traction makes sense for other reasons too:
* The skill base with electric and diesel electric train bits on Bowerhill
* New pool of skills available (electrical engineers) rather than diluting the steam buff pool
* The relatively close stations helped by electric accelation curves
* The steep incline between Foxhangers and Devizes stations - ideal for electic
* The lack of other running locations for heritage electric units
* Around 90 miles from London on direct trains - ideal for visitors for a day out from "Southern Territory"
* No busy level crossings / no public road level crossings

Service and operation

Clockface ... hourly each way, two trains in service, passing at Devizes. Timed to arrive at Patney and Chriton 8 minutes before the London train leaves, and to leave Patney and Chirton 8 minutes after the arrival of the train from London.  It is as yet unclear as to how that timing objective fits in with the passing of services at Devizes, nor of what it does for connections at Holt.

At both Patney and Chirton and at Holt, a connection with the main line to be provided. This would allow access to and from the private siding at Bowerhill, to allow stock to be moved on and off the line, and potentially to allow some through services.  This latter should be considered in the design, although not forming a required part of the business case.  Speculative possibilities would include through services from Devizes (and east thereof - even from Newbury) to Bath and Bristol via a restored Bradford north curve.

Out of season, early morning, commuter and evening services would logically be provided by class 230 (electric varient) trains - modernised trains suitable for the relatively short line.  Leisure traffic (daytime in season) would be run using heritage units 2BIL, 2HAP, 2EPB, 4CEP, 4CIG, 4SUB, 4COR, 4EPB, 4VEP and 5BEL still exist in various states. Platform length to be decided; there is some attraction in being able to run 2 + 4 (6 carriage trains) and allow 5 carriage through operation with IETs.

Anytime tickets valid on any trains. Commuter tickets valid on services scheduled to be operated by class 230 trains, and on all trains for holders of residents railcards (SN10 and SN12 postcodes). Goodness know what will happen to the fare system in the next 2 or 3 years, but it would be anticipated that normal railcards, groupsaves, etc, could be applied to commuter tickets.

With some ideas lifted from Rolf Brindle, Matthew James Clark (see youTube video), Richard Wiltshire, Melksham TIC^▸ (Tourist Information Centre) staff, and others.

And finally

Another use for those crayons.

https://www.gwr.com/about-us/media-centre/entertrainment

A new livery for an 80x, for the NHS, plus a colouring book to download. should pass a few hours.