Swindon to Gloucester is an interesting line and Kemble a fascinating station. Are it (and Stonehouse) rare survivors of the Beeching era - still with us against all odds? Should the likes of Purton and Chalford have also survived, or should they be considered for a proper GBR▸ ▸ network in the much greener next decade?
I guess Kemble may have survived in a similar way to Kingham - people with influence using it - in the case of Kingham this was no less than Sir Peter Parker.
Of the other stations on the line, Stroud survives well, including the Brunel goods shed, and the town is large enough for the station to be a natural survivor. But alas poor Stonehouse (Great Western): Brunel's modest station building was demolished in the 1970s in exchange for
BR▸ not closing the station entirely; on the positive side, the platforms were extended a few years ago to take five-coach
IETs▸ , so I guess its future is safe for now.
Whenever I travel the line I'm glued to the window between Stroud and the summit at Sapperton Tunnel. Not for nothing is this valley called the Golden Valley, with its steep sides, twists and turns, plenitude of trees, remains of the Thames & Severn canal, and Cotswold stone buildings.
