Swindon: The Legacy Of A Railway Town

Product Description

In the pioneering days of early Victorian railway engineering the decision of Gooch & Brunel to locate an engine house & works just to the north of Swindon led to the creation of a sizeable engineering enterprise & a new settlement. The Great Western Railway became by far the largest employer in the region & for more than a century the fortunes of the town were inseparably linked with the development of the railway. In 1984 however many of the works buildings were under threat due to rationalisation within British Rail Engineering Ltd. Consequently many of the buildings were listed & a photographic record was begun. The quality of the buildings & their significance for railway history were such that a more detailed study was justified. The recording exercise was therefore expanded & this remarkable book is the result of that project. By looking at the buildings themselves it traces the architectural history of the railway engineering works & of the associated railway village. The former general offices house the National Monuments Record the public archive of English Heritage & a primary source of information on the architectural & archaeological heritage. This fascinating guide visits one of Britains finest monuments to the early days of the railway age. Publication Date: 2005
- Paperback 192pp