Further about Ravenstone Wood Junction

[Dave Hayward]

Firstly a belated thanks to Barry for his excellent research that has returned these signal lever plates to their rightful home! [Perhaps their place of residence on the website needs changing!] Apologies for starting s new Forum discussion on this topic but I have had a problem posting a reply to Barry's comments on my original topic. What am I doing wrong? I have included below, thanks to the Midland Railway Society, a copy of the signalling plan for Ravenstone Wood junction in 1942. This illustrates the southern entrance to the then M of Supply Depot Yardley Chase, later MOD, this connection only survived until late 1945, early 1946.

The article in the Midland Railway Society Journal 58 Summer 2015, which includes the signalling plan for Ravenstone, illustrates that at least some of the traffic from CAD Kineton came past this junction, en route to Bedford and beyond. On the 18th June 1952 three ammunition trains ran, conveying between them 114 wagons.

[Barry Taylor]

Comparatively little is known about the workings to and from Kineton CAD back in the days when the SMJ was fully open, and I have yet to see anything in Working Timetables in the way of scheduled workings - they must have been 'ones-offs' and run as and when required, and as such would have been covered by Special Traffic Notices. There were certainly no 'Q' paths in the WTTs such as those provided for the 'banana trains' between the wars, or the Humberside to South Wales steel trains of the 1950s.

The photo below of 44242 at Towcester on 30/6/56 - described as an 'Up ammunition train' - is one of the few that can definitely be identified as a MOD working. It is just a short train - the brake van is just in view - and appears to have 'barrier wagons' between the vans which presumably contained the explosives!

This train would probably have originated at Kineton CAD and could then have travelled via Ravenstone Wood rather than Blisworth, but the destination is unknown with many more military depots then in operation compared with now. I have seen wagon labels consigned to such places as Chorley & Euxton ROD (Royal Ordnance Depot) and there must have been many others like that. Trains like those shown in the Ravenstone Wood signalbox register in 1952 would have varied in number and size according to international circumstances, ie; whether we were at war anywhere - and those were probably a result of the Korean conflict of the early 1950s. Today Kineton still has quite regular workings but these seem to be on prearranged circular trips involving places like Marchwood (Southampton), Longtown (Carlisle), etc.