Who were the people to come up with the idea of the Swindon and Cricklade Railway?

Whoever they were I take my hat off to them. They launched an ambitious plan to open a railway from Sparcells to Cricklade High Street, with all the work to be done by volunteer help.

In 1980 they were bringing in track and points to create a short line and a sidings.

By 1985 – incidentally the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway – the S&CR celebrated this great occasion with a milestone all of its own: It launched its first steam-hauled passenger train service to run throughout the summer season.

This was a major first step for this fledgling heritage railway, since starting the restoration of the line several years previously; it had never been able to achieve this dream until then.

Wiltshire’s only heritage railway had other opportunities presented to it in 1985; it had been reaping some small benefits from the old Manpower Services Commission Scheme to help unemployed people, especially young people, to learn skills and experience by working on projects such as the S&CR.

So 1985 was a busy year for the S&CR as it had six steam locomotives, two awaiting restoration and three being restored.

In those far off days it had a small 0-4-0 industrial tank locomotive named after Richard Trevithick, the farsighted inventor of the steam locomotive.

But there were also four diesels at the Blunsdon station base as well.

If you visit the S&CR take a few seconds to reflect that volunteers have achieved everything you see, touch and ride on.

Apart from doing all this work, they have raised all the funds required to do it. No other help or grants have been poured in – how many organisations can say that?

All the money spent by visitors to the railway, on rides, in the shop, or just having a cup of tea is ploughed back into expanding and improving this hidden gem, which is set in a rural backwater just north of the Abbey Meads sprawl. I still marvel at what this small band of stalwarts has accomplished, rebuilding stations, a carriage shed and laying track.

They must have sold an awful lot of cups of tea to raise the money to do all this work.

One S&CR project was to restore 5637, a member of the 200-strong 56 class 0-6-2 tank locos built by Collett at Swindon and designed to be a sturdy freight loco that could doggedly haul goods and coal up and down the Welsh Valleys.

Number 5637 found its way to Wales in 1925 and stayed there until it was withdrawn in 1964.

It was sold to Woodhams scrap yard in Barry, where it was rescued by Birmingham Railway Museum in 1974 and moved to Tyseley.

It was then purchased in its scrap condition by none other than Thamesdown Borough Council.

It was leased to the S&CR, who carried out an impressive achievement in totally restoring it to working condition in the open air.

Some of the restoration work carried out on 5637 was undertaken by engineering trainees from the Swindon Skills Centre, who worked on restoring the coalbunker and side tanks.

It took dedicated volunteers almost 18 years to restore 5637 and today this locomotive is operating on the East Somerset Railway.

The Swindon And Cricklade Railway is open all over the Bank Holiday Weekend.