Holt Junction railway station
Encyclopedia
|}
Holt Junction (formerly just Holt Station) was the railway station serving Holt
Holt, Wiltshire
Holt is a village and civil parish northeast of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, England.The village was served by Holt Junction railway station of GWR Devizes Branch Line, until its closure in 1966.-Parish church:...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England. The station was a stop on the Wessex Main Line
Wessex Main Line
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth.- Places served :The places served are listed below.*Bristol*Keynsham*Oldfield Park*Bath...
and primarily the first station on the west side of the Devizes Branch Line, going on to Semington Halt.
Holt station was a stop on the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Westbury
Westbury, Wiltshire
Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse.-Name:The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same...
line. But in the 1857 it was changed to Holt Junction after the formation of the Devizes Branch line, of which it was the first stop on the line. After the completion of the Devizes line, the junction at Holt allowed the fastest route from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
. However the Devizes line lost to competition and returned to a branch line in 1900.
Closure
Much like the Devizes station, Holt Junction suffered from reduced traffic after the completion of the ChirtonChirton
Chirton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The 2001 Census recorded a parish population of 393.-Local government:Chirton is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council and is represented at that level by Brigadier Robert Hall...
-Westbury line, that by-passed Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
to reduce the London to Bristol journey time by 5 miles.
Holt Junction station and the entire Devizes Branch Line were closed under the Beeching Act. Both Holt Junction and the Devizes Branch Line were destroyed in 1970.