Calne was an important market and industrial town not far away, and at the time it had 16 mills within three miles, and moreover housed the largest bacon factory in England.
This was supported with great enthusiasm; only James C. Hale, proprietor of the Calne branch of the Wilts & Berks Canal, was not happy.
It is likely that he had been given a particular task, for on 14 December 1859 he reported that he estimated the construction cost of the line to be £32,000; on presenting this information he withdrew from involvement with the scheme.
[1] The directors now had a serious problem in maintaining momentum; they wrote to Burke offering £1,950 as his fee if he could bring about construction of the line for £27,000, but only £1,000 if the sum was overrun.
Burke found a contractor, Richard Hattersley, who undertook to complete the construction of the line for £27,000, and he would accept £5,000 of the payment in shares in the company.
At this period a working arrangement with the GWR was finalised, on 29 May, for a cash sum based on operation by a single locomotive, for two years; after that time the charge would be for a rising percentage of receipts.
A number of extra items had been required, not allowed for in Burke's original contract arrangements; this included bridge works, an engine house and goods accommodation etc.
This shortfall at the margin dragged on and Hattersley's solicitor wrote to the company on 6 June 1863 demanding payment of moneys due to him.
On 17 June the chief engineer of the GWR, Michael Lane, inspected the works and found that many aspects were unsatisfactory; Burke had given assurances that certain matters would be put in hand and in many cases this seems not have been done.
[1] The immediate result was an opening to a goods train on 29 October 1863; live pigs for Harris's factory were a major part of the load.
Terms were agreed on 29 December 1877; naturally the GWR did not offer much to buy a railway that was losing money; the shareholders refused to ratify the provisional sale agreement.
During the Second World War there was heavy passenger traffic for the RAF establishments at Lyneham, Compton Bassett and Yatesbury, which continued into the early 1950s.