Wolverton railway works

Wolverton railway works, known locally as Wolverton Works or just The Works, was established in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, by the London and Birmingham Railway Company in 1838 at the midpoint of the 112-mile-long (180-kilometre) route from London to Birmingham. The line was developed by Robert Stephenson following the great success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway line. The Victorian era new towns of Wolverton and New Bradwell were built to house the workers and service the works. The older towns of Stony Stratford and Newport Pagnell grew substantially too, being joined to it by the Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway and the Wolverton to Newport Pagnell Line (a branch line), respectively. The trams were also hauled by steam locomotives: the tram cars were certainly the largest ever in the UK and possibly the world. As of 2025, the facility is much reduced: a train maintenance, repairs and refurbishment works remains in operation at the western end of the site. Almost all of the Stratford Road frontage has been redeveloped as commercial premises (car sales, supermarkets, community centre) and there is a canal-side housing development at the extreme eastern end.