Swindon played an important role in the railway industry from its Victorian roots up to the sound of the final works hooter in 1986. This was without doubt the end of an era; today the works site is a shadow of its former past – gone is the mighty ‘A’ shop, along with the carriage and wagon shops east of the Gloucester line. With electrification now through the town, the railway landscape has been totally transformed.

Covering two decades between the late 1960s to the late 1980s, the images in this book represent not just the works, station and yards during this period, but also the main line and local area to Stratton St Margaret in the east, Wootton Bassett to the west and Purton on the Gloucester line to the north. This was a period of transition when Western Region hydraulics were giving way to diesel electric power, with HSTs eventually arriving in the area.