Editing Great Western Railway (section)

===Heritage===
{{Main|List of Great Western Railway heritage sites}}

[[File:Yatton Stn GWR seat.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A bench seen from low down and behind. Three brown-painted cast iron legs have "G W R" cast into them in a circular mofif and painted white, and support two pairs of widely spaced wooden planks that form the seat and back.|upright|A GWR seat at {{Stnlnk|Yatton}}]]

[[File:Cockwood Steps - 2017-04-09 - Andy Mabbett - 11.jpg|thumb|The pedestrian crossing at Cockwood Steps, on the South Devon Main Line, retains a gate with GWR spear-type railings]]

The GWR's memory is kept alive by several museums such as [[Swindon Steam Railway Museum|STEAM – the museum of the GWR]] (in the old [[Swindon railway works]]),<ref>{{cite web |title=Collection Highlights |url=https://www.steam-museum.org.uk/collections/collection-highlights/ |website=STEAM - Museum of the Great Western Railway |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref> and the [[Didcot Railway Centre]] where the collection includes replica broad-gauge trains.<ref>{{cite web |title=Explore |url=https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/article.php/4/our-historic-buildings-locomotives-rolling-stock-and-the-exciting-things-to-see-and-do |website=Didcot Railway Centre |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref> [[Heritage railways|Preserved]] GWR lines include those from [[South Devon Railway Trust|Totnes to Buckfastleigh]], [[Dartmouth Steam Railway|Paignton to Kingswear]], [[West Somerset Railway|Bishops Lydeard to Minehead]], [[Severn Valley Railway|Kidderminster to Bridgnorth]] and [[Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway|Cheltenham to Broadway]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Line |url=https://www.southdevonrailway.co.uk/about-us/our-line/ |website=South Devon Railway |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/history |website=Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stations |url=https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/stations |website=West Somerset Railway |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of the SVR |url=https://svr.co.uk/plan-your-visit/history-of-the-svr/ |website=Severn Valley Railway |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.gwsr.com/about-us/our-history |website=Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref> Many other heritage railways and museums also have GWR locomotives or rolling stock in use or on display.

Numerous stations owned by [[Network Rail]] also continue to display much of their GWR heritage. This is seen not only at the large stations such as [[London Paddington station|Paddington]] (built 1851,<ref>{{cite book| last = Brindle| first = Steven| title = Paddington Station: its history and architecture| publisher = [[English Heritage]]| year = 2004| location = Swindon| isbn = 1-873592-70-1| pages=26–49 }}</ref> extended 1915){{sfn|Brindle |2004|pages=120–121}} and [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Temple Meads]] (1840,<ref>{{cite book| last = Oakley| first = Mike| title = Bristol Railway Stations 1840–2005| publisher = The Dovecote Press| year = 2002| location = Wimbourne| isbn = 1-904349-09-9| pages=13–17}}</ref> 1875{{sfn|Oakley|2002|pages=18–23}} & 1935){{sfn|Oakley|2002|pages=24–25}} but other places such as [[Bath Spa railway station|Bath Spa]] (1840),<ref name="Oakley_Somerset">{{cite book| last = Oakley| first = Mike| title = Somerset Railway Stations| publisher = Redcliffe Press| year = 2006| location = Bristol| isbn = 1-904537-54-5}}</ref> {{Stnlnk|Torquay}} (1878),<ref>{{cite book| last = Potts| first = C R| title = The Newton Abbot to Kingswear Railway (1844–1988)| publisher = Oakwood Press| year = 1998| location = Oxford| isbn = 0-85361-387-7 | pages=74–77 }}</ref> {{Stnlnk|Penzance}} (1879),{{sfn|Bennett |1990a|pages=25–32}} {{Stnlnk|Truro}} (1897),{{sfn|Bennett |1990a|pages=19–30}} and {{Stnlnk|Newton Abbot}} (1927).<ref>{{cite book| last = Oakley| first = Mike| title = Devon Railway Stations| publisher = The Dovecote Press| year = 2007| location = Wimbourne| isbn = 978-1-904349-55-6| pages=143–144 }}</ref> Many small stations are little changed from when they were opened, as there has been no need to rebuild them to cope with heavier traffic; good examples can be found at {{Stnlnk|Yatton}} (1841), {{Stnlnk|Frome}} (1850, Network Rail's last surviving Brunel-style [[train shed]]),<ref name="Oakley_Somerset"/> {{Stnlnk|Bradford-on-Avon}} (1857), and {{Stnlnk|St Germans}} (1859).<ref>{{cite web| title =The BGS Millennium Project| publisher =Broad Gauge Society| year =2004| url =http://www.broadgauge.org.uk/oldsite/today/millennium.html| access-date =18 August 2008| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20061012191909/http://www.broadgauge.org.uk/oldsite/today/millennium.html| archive-date =12 October 2006| url-status =live}}</ref> Even where stations have been rebuilt, many fittings such as signs, [[manhole]] covers and seats can still be found with "GWR" cast into them.{{sfn|Lewis|2009|pages=160–163}}

The Great Western Main Line was considered as a potential [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 2006 but rejected in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=The United Kingdom's World Heritage|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78234/Review-WH-Tentative-List-Report_March2011.pdf|publisher=Department for Culture, Media and Sport|access-date=20 January 2015|date=March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107182147/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78234/Review-WH-Tentative-List-Report_March2011.pdf|archive-date=7 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The proposal comprised seven sites: [[Bristol Temple Meads railway station|Temple Meads]] (including Brunel's GWR offices, boardroom, train shed, the [[Bristol and Exeter Railway|B&ER]] offices, and the [[Avon Bridge|bridge over the River Avon]]); Bath (including the route from Twerton Tunnel to Sydney Gardens); Middlehill and [[Box Tunnel|Box]] Tunnels; the Swindon area including [[Swindon railway works]] and village; [[Maidenhead Railway Bridge]]; [[Wharncliffe Viaduct]]; and Paddington station.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web | title = The Great Western Railway: Paddington-Bristol (selected parts) | publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation | year = 1999 | url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1319/ | access-date = 22 May 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527212224/http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1319/ | archive-date = 27 May 2008 | url-status = live }}</ref>