Swindon is a large town located in Wiltshire in the South West of England. The town is approximately midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles west) and Reading (64 km / 40 miles east) and about 130 km (81 miles) west of London. It is located on the main rail line between London and Bristol, and has one main train station which was refurbished in 2005. It was designated an 'Expanded' Town under the Town Development Act 1952, which led to an increase in the population of the town.[1] It is in the borough of Swindon, which has been a unitary authority independent of Wiltshire since 1998. In the 2001 census the population of the Swindon urban area was 155,432, whilst around 184,000 lived in the Borough, which includes the satellite towns of Highworth and Wroughton. A resident of Swindon is known as a Swindonian. Swindon's motto is "Salubritas et Industria" (Health and Industry).
During the first half of the 20th century the railway works was the town's largest employer – and one of the biggest in the country – employing more than 14,500 workers. The works' decline started in 1960, when it rolled out the Evening Star, the last steam engine to be built in the UK The works lost its loco building role and took on rolling stock maintenance for British Rail. In the late-1970s much of the works closed, and the rest followed in 1986. In 2001 construction commenced on Priory Vale, the third and final instalment in Swindon's 'Northern Expansion' project, which began with Abbey Meads and continued at St Andrew's Ridge. In 2002 the New Swindon Company was formed with the remit to regenerate the town centre, reflecting Swindon's regional status. More on Swindon 

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