‘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"
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SMJ Forum
SMJ keys from the Towcester area
I have been contacted by someone who wishes to dispose of two sets of SMJ-related keys from the Towcester area, but does not want to put personal email or other details on this website. They have been given to him by the estate manager at Easton…Continue
Started by Barry Taylor Aug 21.
Bridge sign 3 Replies
An East and West Junction and Stratford-On-Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Railways bridge weight notice, cast iron, 16½"x11¾", the front repainted. As is usual, the company title has been altered to Stratford-On-Avon and Midland Junction…Continue
Started by Graham Ward. Last reply by Russ Firth Jun 1.
SMJ Postage stamps 1911 and 1924
A couple of items recently up for auction.GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY COMPANY AND STRATFORD-UPON-AVON & MIDLAND JUNCTION: 6…Continue
Started by Graham Ward May 21.
More building at Towcester 3 Replies
I hear there has been more building at the station site in Towcester.Anyone know what they've dug up?…Continue
Tags: Towcester
Started by Andy Thompson. Last reply by John Evans Apr 19.
SMJ photos
1964 train register book from Towcester.
I've uploaded a couple of pages from a 1964 train register book i have..
https://www.flickr.com/photos/32297024@N08/24706598791/
What was the status of the lines around Towcester at this time? How far did they go? There is atrain signalled by the code 2-2-3. This suggests it stopped at an intermediate siding. Where was this?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dick Bodily on
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Although official closure from Blisworth Ironstone to Woodford West was 3rd February 1964 it is believed that the Woodford West pickup and Byfield ironstone trains stopped running about a month earlier. 2-2-3 code might have involved collecting wagons stored on the former Olney branch. Is this the last page with entries?
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Permalink Reply by Richard Pike on
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The last entry is 8 November 1964. The later the entry the less detailed it is. Some entries have notes like 'materials' and the are other comments like Ravenstone Wood line.
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Richard,
Between the closure and 8th November the track was being progressively lifted westwards from the Blisworth end by PW trains accessing the closed line by reversal at Woodford West Junction. The trains were hauled by Woodford's 8Fs.Typically they would head off from Woodford early morning and return around teatime.
Picture shows one such train passing Blakesley wrong line returning to Woodford. Presumably there is a gap in the records after the official closure before these workings commenced and such workings would have continued after 8th November as track was lifted further west than Towcester.
Dick
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There is not much written about what happened to lines after closure. I'd always imagined Blisworth being the point rails retreated to but Woodford makes sense. It was almost dead itself and lots of spare capacity.
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