Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway

The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a railway company authorized in 1836 to link Cheltenham, Gloucester and Swindon in England. Struggling to raise construction funds, it managed to open only the section between Swindon and Cirencester in 1841 before selling its business to the Great Western Railway, which completed the line through to Gloucester in 1845 and Cheltenham in 1847. From 1903 the route introduced small self powered railmotor coaches that allowed numerous low cost stopping places to open, and while the Cirencester branch closed in 1964, most of the 1845 network remains in use today as a main passenger line between Swindon and Gloucester.