Road Vehicles

The GWR Horse Drawn Van on display at STEAM was built around 1900.

Wagons of this type were essential in getting to villages, towns and cities close to the railway network. They were used to carry goods and parcels from GWR stations to customers and businesses.

The GWR had a long running relationship with horses and relied on horse power for many of its operations. In 1904, the company owned 2,700 horses and by 1948 this had risen to 8,000 horses.

Although lorries had been introduced in 1905, horses were much cheaper than lorries for short runs where much time was spent waiting around.

The Dennis Fire Engine was purchased by the GWR for Swindon Works in 1912. The Works had its own fire station located in Swindon’s Railway Village. The small size of the engine allowed easy access into and around the site – vital for reacting quickly to any emergencies.

This fire engine was the brigade’s main appliance until a new Dennis engine was purchased in 1942.

*On loan from the National Railway Museum.

By the 1930s railway companies were replacing horse drawn vehicles with motorised ones. For short distances they used what were known as ‘mechanical horses’ like the Scammell Tractor and Tractor on display at STEAM. This vehicle is typical of those run by all of the ‘Big Four’ railway companies including the GWR.

The Diesel Auto-Truck on display at STEAM was made by R.A. Lister and Company.

Swindon Works used Lister Diesel Auto-Trucks to move equipment from one workshop to another. The trucks were simple, lightweight and therefore ideally suited to working around manufacturing sites like the Swindon Works.

This truck would often be seen carrying items such as tins of paint from the Paint Stores to the large locomotive Erecting Shops. The driver would have also used the tool cupboard and vice on the back of the truck to carry out simple repair jobs around the site.

The horse dray pictured was built in the Great Western Railway Carriage and Wagon Works in Swindon during the Second World War.

The GWR had a long running relationship with horses and relied on horse power for many of its operations. In 1904, the company owned 2,700 horses and by 1948 this had risen to 8,000 horses.

Although by this time lorries were in common use, wagons were built as a result of petrol shortages and to replace petrol and horse powered vehicles damaged during air raids.