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proposals had been dropped and the railway moved around half a mile further to the west. Local opinion appears to have shifted fairly rapidly thereafter, as in the decades which followed, occasional petitions were submitted to the GWR requesting that a station serving Lacock be opened on the amended route. Such appeals were rejected, on the grounds that the likely income generated would be too low to justify the capital expenditure involvoved. This situation changed with the advent of the rail-motor service.
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The enthusiasm shown for the eventual coming of the railways to Lacock contrasted sharply with the attitude of the local community half a century earlier, when plans to route the WSWR though the village and provide a station there met with fierce opposition. So it was that when the line opened, these
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within the space of a year. This was despite an inauspicious start to the service when the inaugural train to Lacock and
Staverton broke down and a steam engine had to be sent from Chippenham in order to push the stricken rail-motor to Trowbridge, although the ensemble was only half an hour late
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of the same year recommended the branch's closure on economic grounds and its fate was sealed when a survey conducted from 4–10 October 1964 showed that the average passenger train carried only 13 passengers. Lacock Halt officially closed on 16 April 1966 along with the 3 other stations between
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Although reduced subsequently to a single track, special and diverted passenger services, as well as freight trains, continued to use the line intermittently until regular passenger services were reinstated on 13 May 1985. However, of the former stations which the route served, only
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In 2014 after much of the undergrowth was cut back, the remains of platforms at Lacock Halt were still clearly visible and in a remarkably good state of preservation, particularly on the northbound side.
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278:, and the rail-motors were replaced with coaches hauled by steam locomotives in the mid-1920s. The halts were unstaffed, and therefore tickets were issued by train guards.
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used as edging on the track side. About 100 feet (30 m) in length, each provided waiting passengers with a small rudimentary shelter, fashioned in the GWR
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This brought to an end the practice of drivers stopping to allow passengers to board or alight from trains between stations, which was a common occurrence.
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arriving at Lacock. It was reported that "a numerous company" were present to witness the occasion, with 5 passengers alighting and 13 boarding the train.
270:. Since the rail-motors were equipped with retractable steps, the platforms were initially less than the usual height. However, by the outbreak of the
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were opened just over two weeks later on Monday 16 October – a strategy which proved so successful that two more halts were added at
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Chippenham and
Trowbridge then still extant, the halts at Beanacre and Broughton Gifford having been closed on 2 February 1955.
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in order to reduce operational costs. With the aim of increasing passenger traffic, halts at Lacock and
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On 1 October 1905 the running of local services between
Chippenham and Trowbridge was taken over by
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410:. Vol. 127, no. 959. Sutton: IPC Transport Press. pp. 109–13.
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at
Thingley Junction (southwest of Chippenham) and was incorporated into the
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Like the other halts, the short platforms at Lacock were created from
444:. 16 September 1905. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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The
Warminster and Westbury Journal, and Wilts County Advertiser
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In addition to
Staverton Halt these comprised the stations at
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in March 1850 after the WSWR ran into financial difficulties.
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Most steam-operated services on the line were taken over by
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in 1958 and freight services withdrawn in 1963. The
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577:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1966
572:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1905
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404:Quayle, H. I. (March 1981). "Open or Shut?".
373:The Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser
274:they had been raised to accommodate standard
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209:on 2 September 1848. This connected to the
499:: Pendragon Publishing. pp. 712–718.
367:"Opening of the Lacock Halt: A Break Down"
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531:"Lacock Halt – Former TransWilts Station"
380:. 21 October 1905. p. 8 – via
464:. Stroud: Alan Sutton. pp. 75–76.
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431:"Extension of the G.W.R. Motor Service"
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587:Former Great Western Railway stations
567:Disused railway stations in Wiltshire
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203:Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway
495:. Vol. 25, no. 12 (796).
193:was a minor railway station on the
16:British railway station (1905–1966)
541:from the original on 31 March 2017
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376:. Vol. 51, no. 2, 789.
529:Ellis, Graham (23 March 2014).
205:(WSWR), which opened as far as
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582:Beeching closures in England
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250:Construction and Operation
485:Roberts, Stephen (2015).
462:Branch Lines of Wiltshire
382:British Newspaper Archive
184:
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124:16 October 1905
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460:Maggs, Colin G. (1992).
211:Great Western Main Line
139:16 April 1966
487:"Wiltshire's Railways"
268:corrugated iron sheets
221:Opening and Opposition
201:section of the former
288:diesel multiple units
215:Great Western Railway
172:Great Western Railway
164:Great Western Railway
155:Great Western Railway
407:The Railway Magazine
82:51.42276°N 2.13726°W
258:, with old railway
78: /
44:General information
87:51.42276; -2.13726
440:. No. 1263.
239:Broughton Gifford
227:steam rail-motors
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53:Lacock, Wiltshire
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543:. Retrieved
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508:. Retrieved
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161:Pre-grouping
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191:Lacock Halt
85: /
61:Coordinates
27:Lacock Halt
561:Categories
545:15 January
497:Easingwold
471:0750900768
442:Warminster
378:Trowbridge
347:References
199:Trowbridge
195:Chippenham
143:1966-04-16
128:1905-10-16
70:51°25′22″N
510:7 January
505:0955-5382
492:Backtrack
416:0033-8923
338:Melksham.
231:Staverton
108:Platforms
73:2°08′14″W
539:Archived
301:Melksham
260:sleepers
235:Beanacre
207:Westbury
49:Location
282:Closure
256:ballast
141: (
126: (
116:History
56:England
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468:
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264:pagoda
136:Closed
121:Opened
311:Notes
547:2021
512:2023
501:ISSN
466:ISBN
412:ISSN
336:and
237:and
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450:^
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197:–
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111:2
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