Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2011-02-27 12:19:55 - Graham Ellis
I was struck by the contrast in a picture I took at Melksham station in the summer of 2005, and one taken 5 and a half years later from a simialar viewpoint.
In the summer of 2005, the train ran behind the derelict warehouses that used to be home to Spencer's / GEC Mechnical Handling. Apart from the single track, which was in good condition, the trackbed was overgrown. The train was a single carriage, and ran 5 times each way on Monday to Friday, 4 times on Saturday and 3 times on Sunday. By this time, the service in this form was already doomed as - hidden deep in the re-franchise specification - was a note that the service was to be withdrawn. Although there was a 'public' consultation, there was little response as the public hadn't been told - there was certainly no notice at the station, nor nothing said on the train which - from a very quiet start in 2001 - had grown rapidly in use. The Office of the Rail Regulator, when I asked him, told me that ticket sales at Melksham had grown compound by 35% per annum from 2001 to 2005 - which was in stark contrast to the 0.8% assumed - based on 2002/3 surveys - for the new franchise. In practise, both figures turned out to be either wrong or misleading, but that's a story for another day, as well as a caution to us to be careful of statistics in the future. The train service was run by National Express, under their Wessex Trains franchise, and had a reputation for being often-delayed and often-cancelled. And few people in Melksham even knew they had a railway station in the town
In the winter of 2010/11, the train runs behind newly redeveloped housing in Foundry close. The track has been renewed, and moved up from "Good" to "Excellent" condition. The train service has been slashed - there are just 2 trains each way when there used to be five, and they vary between 1 and 3 carriages in length. The services (from Swindon at 06:15 and 18:45!) have appeared reasonably safe, although underutilized due to the inappropriateness of their timing, but we're coming around full circle as the 7 or 10 year franchise will expire quite soon and we need to make sure that we're not outflanked again. Actually, I don't think we will be for various reasons / sea changes that have taken place. The office of the Rail Regulator now reports a 60% + drop in Melksham ticket sales; part of me says "nor surprised - what to you expect when you withdraw all the services that make round trip commutes practical, and leave a 12 hour gap in services", but part of me knows that the drop is mostly due to a ticketing anomolie. The train service is now runby the First group, under their Frist Great Western franchise, and (after some really shocking performances) is now reliable - rarely delayed by more than a few minutse, and rarely cancelled.
The coming of so much more housing, the provision of a reliable service, the general relove of rail travel in the UK, the setting up of a rail partnership to promote the line, local support, business support, political support, growth elsewhere along the line too, the lack of major road improvements along the parallel A350, the rise in petrol costs, the integration of Wilthire into a unitary authority which has key centres at Chippenham and Salisbury at the two ends of the line, and Trowbridge in between, all mean that - although we now have few services - we're in a better point to grow them, and with a far better case, than we had in 2005; the world has changed.
We have permission from the Historic Society to reuse their pictures as part of our campaign for an appropriate service, and as a matter of pure interest I looked for other pictures with similar views (looking north) from a long time ago. We can usefully draw comparisons back to 2005, but to go back to 1964 - the most recent of these pictures - probably won't tell us anything other than we were in a different era.
This picture, was taken around 1940 1910 (Update - June 2016: Photo identified from a postcard postmarked 1911 on back, and sent to recipient killed in First World War) from the same viewpoint as to 2011 picture. You can just see the Spencer's factory in the background - which will help you key in to the 2005 picture. And the platform you see in the foreground of the picture is the extension southwards of the current platform. The extreme edge of the platform actually still remains, but the station buildings are gone, the land sold, and a new building constructed on the site with just a very narrow lip to the track which is insufficient for passenger to leave or join trains.
This picture is undated, but probably comes from the late 1950s. It looks to be take from the station footbridge that's visible in the previous picture, and shows the Spencer's factory again to help you key the views. You'll note what a big good yard Melksham station had, and contrast that with what's shown in the same area on the 2011 and 2005 pictures.
Takes from the other side of the track, the "Flying Scotsman" - already a preserved loco in the early 1960s - passes through Melksham. Special trains still come through Melksham from time to time - indeed, it's a favourite line for specials and enthusiasts to "collect" as it's so hard to connect with our trains and travel the line if you don't live in the area; the morning train leaves Chippenham 6 minutes before the first London connection gets there ... but we should not (and are not) basing the future on such traffic. I would like to see a service that's sufficiently regular for it to be a line not worth specially "collecting" any more.
A final view, in 1964. By this time, railways across the British Isles were underutilised, and Dr Beeching came in and slashed them. Some were right for the cut - duplicated lines running up the same valley, stations that hardly saw a passenger from one week to the next. But other cuts went far too far; hindsight is marvelous, and half of the lines and stations that went should never have gone. Melksham station was closed - from 1966 to 1985 when it rejoined the select group that's been reopened. It's has a checkered history since then; the 2001 improvements were a ray of light, and I'm still unsure as to whether the 2006 cutbacks were a deliberate act of sabotage, an ill conceived attempt to save a few pounds, or the effects of a complex franchising system which puts profits ahead of passengers. But that's water under the bridge, and we should now be looking and moving forward, looking back simply to learn the lessons of history so that we don't repeat te mistakes, and we do gain from examples of best practise.
The original images illustrating this article are all larger (and of varied sizes). Click on any image to view, full size, in a picture window.
In the summer of 2005, the train ran behind the derelict warehouses that used to be home to Spencer's / GEC Mechnical Handling. Apart from the single track, which was in good condition, the trackbed was overgrown. The train was a single carriage, and ran 5 times each way on Monday to Friday, 4 times on Saturday and 3 times on Sunday. By this time, the service in this form was already doomed as - hidden deep in the re-franchise specification - was a note that the service was to be withdrawn. Although there was a 'public' consultation, there was little response as the public hadn't been told - there was certainly no notice at the station, nor nothing said on the train which - from a very quiet start in 2001 - had grown rapidly in use. The Office of the Rail Regulator, when I asked him, told me that ticket sales at Melksham had grown compound by 35% per annum from 2001 to 2005 - which was in stark contrast to the 0.8% assumed - based on 2002/3 surveys - for the new franchise. In practise, both figures turned out to be either wrong or misleading, but that's a story for another day, as well as a caution to us to be careful of statistics in the future. The train service was run by National Express, under their Wessex Trains franchise, and had a reputation for being often-delayed and often-cancelled. And few people in Melksham even knew they had a railway station in the town
In the winter of 2010/11, the train runs behind newly redeveloped housing in Foundry close. The track has been renewed, and moved up from "Good" to "Excellent" condition. The train service has been slashed - there are just 2 trains each way when there used to be five, and they vary between 1 and 3 carriages in length. The services (from Swindon at 06:15 and 18:45!) have appeared reasonably safe, although underutilized due to the inappropriateness of their timing, but we're coming around full circle as the 7 or 10 year franchise will expire quite soon and we need to make sure that we're not outflanked again. Actually, I don't think we will be for various reasons / sea changes that have taken place. The office of the Rail Regulator now reports a 60% + drop in Melksham ticket sales; part of me says "nor surprised - what to you expect when you withdraw all the services that make round trip commutes practical, and leave a 12 hour gap in services", but part of me knows that the drop is mostly due to a ticketing anomolie. The train service is now runby the First group, under their Frist Great Western franchise, and (after some really shocking performances) is now reliable - rarely delayed by more than a few minutse, and rarely cancelled.
This picture, was taken around 
This picture is undated, but probably comes from the late 1950s. It looks to be take from the station footbridge that's visible in the previous picture, and shows the Spencer's factory again to help you key the views. You'll note what a big good yard Melksham station had, and contrast that with what's shown in the same area on the 2011 and 2005 pictures.
Takes from the other side of the track, the "Flying Scotsman" - already a preserved loco in the early 1960s - passes through Melksham. Special trains still come through Melksham from time to time - indeed, it's a favourite line for specials and enthusiasts to "collect" as it's so hard to connect with our trains and travel the line if you don't live in the area; the morning train leaves Chippenham 6 minutes before the first London connection gets there ... but we should not (and are not) basing the future on such traffic. I would like to see a service that's sufficiently regular for it to be a line not worth specially "collecting" any more.
A final view, in 1964. By this time, railways across the British Isles were underutilised, and Dr Beeching came in and slashed them. Some were right for the cut - duplicated lines running up the same valley, stations that hardly saw a passenger from one week to the next. But other cuts went far too far; hindsight is marvelous, and half of the lines and stations that went should never have gone. Melksham station was closed - from 1966 to 1985 when it rejoined the select group that's been reopened. It's has a checkered history since then; the 2001 improvements were a ray of light, and I'm still unsure as to whether the 2006 cutbacks were a deliberate act of sabotage, an ill conceived attempt to save a few pounds, or the effects of a complex franchising system which puts profits ahead of passengers. But that's water under the bridge, and we should now be looking and moving forward, looking back simply to learn the lessons of history so that we don't repeat te mistakes, and we do gain from examples of best practise.