The GWR, uniting the coats of arms of Bristol and London since 1835

There is a level of fascination, passion and unexplainable love that many people have for the old Great Western Railway. It is 62 years since the GWR was gobbled up to become a part of Bristish Railways and the various institutional permutations that followed it but the Great Western is still everywhere to be seen.

Where we live, in Bristol, the very heart of the GWR, the sacred words ‘Great Western’ can be seen everywhere. It’s not just that GWR steam engines still visit the cathedral that is Temple Meads station, nor the fact that we have so many heritage organisations dedicated to preserving the GWR.

The GWR seems to have permeated local culture.  Just on the front page of Google, there is the Great Western Ambulance Service, Great Western Research, the Great Western Brewing Company and elsewhere there is Great Western Van hire, skip here and all sorts if other ways in which the name is kept alive.

Lastly, of course, there is First Great western, a pale shadow of former glories, perhaps, but even they must understand that there is something grand and great in the name and everything it stands for. Pity about the colour scheme…

LMS folk love to scoff at the lack of innovation in GWR locomotive design but the pride in perfecting something inspiring and designed to be beautiful as well as functional – the sheer aesthetics of almost everything that came out of Swindon Works  is, perhaps one of the keys to understanding the special appeal of the GWR .

So, welcome to the website that aspires to celebrate absolutely everything it can find that perpetuates and enhances the memory and enduring legacy of the GWR.  It is early days yet, but our aim is to become The Portal for all things GWR from 1835 to today.  There are already some wonderful websites out there and we will be linking to them as we go.  We discover new ones every day and you must know many that we don’t so please send us all and any links you have.  If you do anything that is connected with the GWR, in any shape or form, we want to know about it.  And we want to put you in touch with the areas of interest that matter to you.