‘The Stratford Upon Avon & Midland Junction Railway’ (or S.M.J.) was a small independent railway company which ran a line across the empty, untouched centre of England. It visited the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and a little of Buckinghamshire, only existing as the SMJ from 1909 to 1923. In 1923 the S.M.J.became a minor arm of the London Midland and Scottish (L.M.S.), then in 1948 'British Railways'
Gone but not forgotten: "the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth"
I took my grandson to the National Railway Museum on Dec. 30th and noticed two bench seats, of the type found on station platforms until traditional stations were replaced with bus-shelters. Both bear the title " STRATFORD " - I'll try and upload…Continue
Started by Paul Atherton. Last reply by Simon Dunkley Feb 22.
Broom History Group will be holding an event at Broom Village Hall 2-4pm on 9th November 2024 including a film on the railway and Broom Junction.…Continue
Of interest is the guard posing for the photo and the lack of hand rails on the bridge. The 20 ton Brake Van appears to be D1657 of 12' wheelbase, handbrake only. Note the large LMS company initials that go with grey livery, the small initials and bauxite livery not implemented until 1936. If it is Diagram 1657, then 950 vehicles were built between 1927-31. This narrows down the date somewhat that this photo was taken. Exact location unknown, but thought to be SMJ, as photo is with others of the area.
Barry, you could be right, the original girder was much deeper. What an interesting thought, that a series of photos of bridge replacement and abutment reconstruction has been recorded. A 3rd photo to follow soon !!
I wonder if this is a companion to your photo of April 5th "Somewhere on the SMJ", which I think was the SMJ bridge over the GW at Stratford Racecourse, and showed signs of demolished brickwork on the embankment next to the bridge.
This new photo could be just after installation of the new girder, which was much shallower than the original- shows the abutments being reconstructed afterwards?
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