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Comment by Andy Thompson on December 14, 2010 at 20:27

Well we got there n the end! A nice (combined) effort chaps!! Andy

Comment by Gary on December 14, 2010 at 17:27

Hi Geoff,

It is a good job but cannot help but think it is too new if you know what I mean.

Nice to see local history being remembered. There is an info board (not photographed) and a map too to help illustrate it all.

Where's the SMJ on this??

 

Andy

Comment by Geoff Howard on December 14, 2010 at 16:45

 

Gary - good picture and I must say they appear to have made a good job of the restoration and it’s nice to see some recognition of the history of the line.

Comment by Gary on December 14, 2010 at 15:13

Sorry to steal your thunder Geoff - I just happened to be passing today.

Comment by Gary on December 14, 2010 at 15:12

Taken today just an hour or so ago - I was in Stratford doing a little shopping and remembered the wagon as I went back to the car and toddled off to find it and here she is - "phones" today are handy aren't they?

Comment by Andy Thompson on December 11, 2010 at 20:36

Geoff

We look forward to the image! Andy

Comment by Geoff Howard on December 11, 2010 at 20:33

Just to let everyone know that the Stratfrod and Morton Tramway wagon which has been subject of some debate has been craned back into its orginal position outside Cox's yard on the Bancorft gardens in Stratford. There is a picture n this weeks Stratford Herald showing the wagon being lifted into position onto a short portion of track. I intend to go over next week to have a look and I will try and upload some photo's as from the picture in the Herald it looks really rather good.

 

Comment by Dick Bodily on December 9, 2010 at 16:54

Hello John
That's great news about the S&MT wagon going back on display at Stratford. Mind you I'm no longer convinced that the NRMs custody of anything guarantees its safety, the way they are farming out locos all over the place with no guarantee of the long term viability, let alone the safety from vandalism, of the sites that they are sending them to.
As for the report of the 'low loader wagon' on the Town Station site, I think the person who told me this must have been either mixing it up with the S&MT waggon or with somewhere else.

On another note have you seen the two most recently added photos that Ian Lyman has added to the website of a goods train dropping off water at Kineton? I was wondering if you could add anything to the discussion about the pictures. They show an 8F but I don't think it was ever a Woodford or Northampton loco and the photo was taken near to the line's closure.

Dick

Comment by John Jennings on December 9, 2010 at 12:35

I am pleased to be able to update my comments of 28th Oct regarding the former Stratford and Moreton Tramway wagon that for many years stood on the trackbed near the Tramway Avon bridge. It was removed together with the rare original fishbellt track during 2007 and taken into store. Thanks to the efforts of some of the original crew of restorers and some new faces on the Stratford scene the local council have arranged another restoration and this is now complete. I understand that very soon the wagon will be replaced on its original (pre 1971) site close to the town end of the Avon bridge. Apparantly there is a lot of local interest now in the Tramway and its builder, a visionary called William James. I can also report that the second wagon that stood for many years in a field was finally donated to the NRM by the farmer and is safe in their custody. Perhaps the good citizens of Stratford will now also turn their attention to giving the Railway that bore their name and crest the attention it deserves.

John J

Comment by John Jennings on October 28, 2010 at 9:05

I would comment on the points raised in this dicusion as follows.
1. The short length of track and buffer stop that is present on the land once occupied by the loco shed was an "embellishment" placed there with approval of tthe council. It was not the remains of anything left after demolition or final closure. Due to later earthmoving on the site it is slightly higher in elevation than the shed roads were.The materials were brought from outside by a contractor I believe it was done at the same time as the short length of track that has two carriages sitting on it on the nearby ex GWR formation alongside the racecourse.
2. The waggon that stood on a short length of original fishbelly track at the town end of the Tramway bridge was indeed an original Stratford and Moreton Tramway waggon. It had been on display there for very many years after being presented to the town by the GWR and carried a cast iron plate (Swindon pattern) placed on it by the GWR giving a brief history of the line. I was amongst a group of local enthusiasts who tried to get the council to "celebrate" the 150th aniversary of the Tramway in the mid 1960's. There was little support but we did succeed in having the waggon removed fron its plinth and restoration of its detiorating body carried out by some trainees at a locall college.While it was away from site I was part of a group that cleaned up the plinth and rebedded the original rails in new concrete. The waggon was placed back there just in time for the 150th aniversary of the line. It was there for many years after but has now gone and I do not know where it is now. Less well known is the fact that a second similar waggon survived on a farm near Ilmington just quietly rotting in a field some distance from the trackbed. The farmer was a beligerent old devil and although he knew it was a significant relic he would not sell, donate or countenance any action being taken to preserve it. I often wonder if it has survived?
3. The Royal Train was stabled overnight in Old Town station to allow the Queen Mother to sleep after a visit to the nearby theatre. There was a lot of "flack" in the local press that money had been spent resurfacing the platform area in case Her Majesty or one of her minions should wish to take an early morning walk! A number of phots exist the best known being the one taken by Tom William that has been published many times.This occasion was the very last time that the Royal Train was ever steam hauled in BR times. Another interesting fact for the ex SMJ line.

John

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