In 1966 the local authority purchased the railway village cottages from British Rail. The properties were in a state of disrepair and in a flashback to Victorian times were found to be insanitary and not up to modern expectations. Most of the cottages lacked indoor toilets and bathrooms and the rear extensions were dilapidated and infested with vermin. For some considerable time the fate of the cottages hung in the balance while residents led a crusade to save these historic properties. Eventually Thamesdown Council began a long running refurbishment programme, completed in the 1980s. Today the stone built former railway workers homes are central to the town's Railway Village Conservation Area designated in 1975. The 300 Grade II listed cottages constitute an almost complete planned railway settlement of the 1840s and 50s. In 2016 the Railway Village Museum was transferred from Swindon Borough Council to the Mechanics' Institution Trust and it is now open on selected wee...