Carriage and Wagon Works Gallery

Motor landing craft built by the GWR at Swindon Works, 1942

In August 1941 the GWR began building the first of a large number of motor landing craft in the Carriage and Wagon shops at Swindon. No. 13, Wagon Frame Shop was where this work took place. Motor landing craft were made in readiness for the invasion of Europe. Their primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships onto occupied shores. This image of Motor Landing Craft (MLC) No. 153 shows the flat bottom construction that enabled the craft to run up onto a beach, and the lowerable ramp from which the troops could swiftly disembark. These GWR-built landing crafts, and many variations built by other manufacturing companies, were used during the Second World War for amphibious assaults on enemy occupied Europe, starting with the invasion of Sicily in June 1943 through to the D Day invasion of Normandy in June 1944

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

No 18 Stamping Shop at Swindon Works in 1915

A view of No. 18 Stamping Shop from March 1915, showing the reverse of a stationary boiler. At the bottom left of the image are sheets of metal ready to be heated in the gas furnaces just above. Once heated, the sheet metal is removed to the steam hammers (seen here on the right) and stamped into dies to create components. Incidentally, in July 1915, the book Life in a Railway Factory was first published. It was written by Alfred Williams and was his account of life inside Swindon Works. Alfred worked as head Drop-Stamper in this shop for 20 years, until ill health forced him to leave factory life in September 1914

© STEAM Museum of the GWR

Brake Third coach No. 3307 converted into a mobile cleansing unit, 1941

The fear of gas attack was of paramount concern during World War II, as demonstrated by the mass issuing of gas masks prior to the outbreak of war in 1939. One of the responsibilities of the ARP services was to lead the decontamination and cleansing process in the event of such an attack. Mobile cleansing units were made available to the ARP service to clean people who had been exposed to gas attack, and in July 1941 the GWR converted Brake Third coach No. 3307 into an ARP Cleansing Unit for this purpose. The van was equipped with an air lock leading to an undressing room, showers, and further along the vehicle, a dressing room stocked with fresh clothing. As can be seen in this photograph, the windows were completely blacked out and they were also made to be blast proof. This was one of 47 such units converted by the major railway companies, which were stationed at strategic locations for immediate dispatch to any station or rail depot where they were needed