The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR) was a railway company in the southern Midlands of England, formed at the beginning of 1909 by the merger of three earlier companies: the East and West Junction Railway, the Evesham, Redditch, and Stratford-upon-Avon Junction Railway, and the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester, and Midland Junction Railway. In 1910 the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway was purchased and an east–west network was formed which linked routes to Bedford and Northampton in the east to lines leading towards Banbury and Gloucester in the west, by way of Towcester and Stratford-on-Avon.
The constituent lines had each been built with a view to carrying Northamptonshire iron ore to South Wales and the West Midlands, but they were all unable to finance their planned lines in full. The formation of the in 1909 was in effect a financial reconstruction, but the management of the combined company also showed a certain flair for generating tourist income, based on the connection with Shakespeare and also the family connections with George Washington. Additionally, the line developed as a shorter route for Midland Railway goods traffic from the Bristol area to London.
Some upgrading of the poor-quality infrastructure was undertaken, and some heavy mineral flows – continuing until as late as 1960 – passed along the line, but the severe operational constraints led to the diversion of traffic to other routes in 1964. By that time all of the passenger traffic had dwindled to nothing and the line was closed down piece by piece. A short section of the original network remains in use serving a Ministry of Defence depot at Kineton.
Origins The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR) was formed by the combination of four railway companies.Three merged in 1909 and one joined by purchase the following year. Those companies themselves had been formed with the intention of facilitating the transport of Northamptonshire iron ore to South Wales. The ironstone available to the South Wales iron-making industries had become scarce and was of poor quality, and there was huge demand. The Northamptonshire ore was not of the highest quality but it was abundantly available and conveying it to South Wales was worthwhile.
The Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway
The Northampton and Banbury Railway was authorised by the (10 & 11 Vict. c. clxxviii) on 9 July 1847, with the intention of connecting the ironstone fields of Northamptonshire with a market for iron ore in South Wales. In the first instance it was to do this by connecting from Gayton Wharf, near Northampton, to the Buckinghamshire Railway, at Cockley Brake, near Banbury, running via Towcester.The Buckinghamshire Railway was authorised later in the same parliamentary session, by the merging of two smaller schemes from 1846.
In fact the ambitious scheme failed to raise the capital it needed to carry out its plans, and it had to obtain powers for an extension of time when the original authorisation lapsed; the second act, the (26 & 27 Vict. c. ccxx), was passed on 28 July 1863; the name was changed to the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway (N&BJR). Even then it was forced to content itself with a short line from Blisworth, on the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) main line to Towcester, opened on 1 May 1866. It built its own station at Blisworth alongside the station.
The extended its line to Cockley Brake, approaching Banbury, on 1 June 1872, authorised by the (33 & 34 Vict. c. cxxii). Goods traffic had been carried as far as Helmdon since August 1871. The extension was in length, and was constructed using very light permanent way materials, which caused difficulties later. The junction at Cockley Brake was over from Banbury, and running powers over the Buckinghamshire Railway were necessary to reach that place. The company was able to operate a passenger service from Blisworth through Towcester, Wappenham, Helmdon and Cockley Brake to Banbury. It worked the line itself with second hand engines acquired from the until 1875, from which time they were hired from that company throughout the remaining lifetime of the .
Still intending to reach South Wales independently, the obtained authorisation in the (28 & 29 Vict. c. ccclxii) for a further extension to Blockley, Gloucestershire, (near Moreton-in-Marsh) in 1865 and to Ross-on-Wye in 1866. This line would have turned south-west on the approach to Banbury; the company signalled its intention by changing its name to the Midland Counties and South Wales Railway. However it quickly became obvious that these ambitious plans— of railway was contemplated at a cost of £1,250,000—were impossible to put into effect, and the company reverted to its former name. In fact the desired connecting line across the hills to Chipping Norton was built much later by the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway, which opened on 6 April 1887. The Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway did not generate much passenger traffic, and the train service was limited to three or four return trains daily, but cattle proved a very successful traffic as Banbury cattle market grew in importance.
The small scale ironstone workings around Blisworth and Gayton (just over south-west of Blisworth on the line) developed in the 1880s and with the advance of mechanisation so the workings expanded considerably; this later became an extensive site operated by Richard Thomas and Baldwins.
The East and West Junction Railway
The next line to be authorised was the East and West Junction Railway (E&WJR); it obtained its act of Parliament, the (27 & 28 Vict. c. lxxvi), on 23 June 1864. It was to build a line from the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway at Green's Norton Junction, a short distance west of Towcester, and to continue from there, crossing the Great Western Railway south of Fenny Compton, to join the Stratford on Avon Railway at Stratford-upon-Avon.The railways at Stratford were the Stratford on Avon Railway northwards and the former Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway southwards; both were worked by the Great Western Railway and effectively integrated with it. That was planned to give the access both to Birmingham northwards and via Honeybourne south-westwards; the authorised line included running powers over the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway between Towcester and Blisworth.
The huge authorised capital of £300,000 turned out to be not enough and in 1866 a further act, the (29 & 30 Vict. c. cxlii), for another £300,000 was passed. Also in the same year the company submitted a bill to extend from Towcester to join the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at Hitchin, on condition that the subscribed £200,000. The evident objective was to create a further London connection in which the would be a major partner. The declined to make the financial commitment; powers to extend westward to Worcester were also considered, but that scheme was abandoned. Obtaining parliamentary authority to raise capital was one thing, but it proved much more difficult actually to obtain the money from potential subscribers.
On 1 June 1871 the first section of the line, from Fenny Compton to Kineton, a distance of six miles, was opened and a passenger service started over that section. They hired a contractor's engine for the purpose and later bought it, at which stage the locomotive became no. 1.
A further time extension had to be sought in Parliament, the (34 & 35 Vict. c. lxxxi), and preference loans obtained to build further, but on 1 July 1873 the western (Stratford to Kineton) and eastern (Fenny Compton to Green's Norton Junction, Towcester) ends of the line were ready, and trains ran between Blisworth and Stratford. Between Blisworth and Green's Norton Junction this was by running powers over the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway.
At the Stratford end the company was to build its own station, but at first the Great Western Railway (GWR) station, accessed by a spur connection, was used. In June 1875 the had a temporary station of its own ready and trains were transferred to that, and they opened a permanent station in January 1876.
However, soon after the opening, a newspaper believed that the was using its own, separate station:
We hope to see the East and West Junction running into the Great Western line at this town. Every one is too familiar with the annoyances of a break in the line of communication, and travellers by the east and West Junction coming from the south and desirous of proceeding to Birmingham &c., have to land at one end of Stratford and journey by omnibus or car, or walk to the opposite extremity of the town, causing fatigue, anxiety, and delay... we hope some means will be used to effect a junction in the two lines, so that one station can be used, and the Great Western Company have a station in the Alcester-road, particularly accessible from the town.
From this time the London and North Western Railway ran through carriages from London Euston to Stratford via Blisworth.
Income on the was so poor that it fell into receivership from 29 January 1875 to 1902. The passenger service was withdrawn from 31 July 1877 and not resumed until 2 March 1885.
The East and West Junction Railway, which runs from Stratford-on-Avon to Blisworth, a distance of about , was opened for passenger traffic on Monday [2 March 1885]."
The Evesham, Redditch and Stratford-upon-Avon Junction Railway
The still saw its destiny in reaching further west, giving access ultimately to the iron industries of South Wales and the West Midlands, and if possible avoiding dependency on the powerful Great Western Railway (GWR) at Stratford. The Evesham and Redditch Railway (E&RR) had opened a north–south line in 1866, and was aligned to the Midland Railway.The Evesham and Redditch Railway was absorbed by the Midland Railway in 1882. Its line lay only eight miles west of Stratford, and the sponsored the promotion of the Evesham, Redditch and Stratford-upon-Avon Junction Railway (ER&SJR). This line was authorised by the (36 & 37 Vict. c. ccxlv) on 5 August 1873, and ran west from Stratford to a junction at Broom on the . The junction at Broom led towards Birmingham. The heavy mineral traffic was destined to move southwards, and the reversal in the restricted layout was to prove inconvenient.
It opened on 2 June 1879 and the seven mile line was worked by the . Running powers were obtained to Redditch, but they were only exercised from the junction at Broom to the station there.
This line was immediately unprofitable and it too went into receivership, but continuing to trade, from 2 January 1886.
The Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Railway
Continuing its quest to find a connecting line that would be successful, the now looked to the south-east. It observed that the Bedford and Northampton Railway opened its line in 1872; aligned to the Midland Railway it connected to the Midland main line to Bedford and London. Olney, on the , was only ten miles or so east of Towcester.
In 1879 the East and West Junction Railway sponsored this line; it would build from Towcester to a junction near Olney (Ravenstone Junction). The proposed railway was called the ; it was incorporated by the (42 & 43 Vict. c. ccxxiii) on 15 August 1879, with share capital of £230,000. Running powers for goods and mineral trains were granted to the Midland Railway. The ten mile line took some time to construct due to difficulty in raising money, and before it opened the company changed its name to the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Railway (ST&MJR), by the (45 & 46 Vict. c. ccix) of 10 August 1882.