Great Western Coffee Shop

l'm doing some research on the village of Charlton (near Filton) and need some help. There was/is an aqueduct that crosses the line near to the old halt. What l want to know is what is/ was it's purpose? Thanks.

It appears, from the maps, to just be carrying a stream over a cutting - what a culvert does under an embankment. There is still a structure at that position, though the stream has quite likely been diverted elsewhere as its path upstream is now covered with houses.

Not unique - Sloane Square and (not so sure on this one) Fenny Compton perhaps. Still interesting.

That one was once a river but was already a sewer before the railway was built. 

Another example of a stream in an aqueduct is at Corsham.  IIRC its failure caused a big flood in the 1930's

Corsham station was flooded in both June and October 1935, but that was due to rainstorms. In such an event water may overflow from aqueducts, and even from road bridges.

Despite what you may have heard, flash flooding is not a recent invention. There were also floods at Corsham in September 1927, November 1894 (of course), January 1866 and March 1867 (snow thaw), and October 1891 (with landslip) - at least.