Midland and South Western Junction Railway

The Midland and South Western Junction Railway was an independent English railway company built to form a north south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway, allowing Midland and other companies' trains to reach the port of Southampton. It was formed in 1884 from the amalgamation of the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway and the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway. The line was absorbed by the Great Western Railway in the 1923 grouping of the railways and became part of British Railways at nationalization in 1948. It closed to passengers in 1961 and to goods traffic between 1964 and 1970, though part of it has since reopened as the heritage Swindon and Cricklade Railway.