‘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
magnet fishing
Hi everyone, yesterday I did some magnet fishing with the grandchildren from the SMJ bridge over the river Tove in Towester, to great excitement of the children (and myself) we pulled out three chair screws and a rivet which looked similar in style…Continue
Started by Steve Camm yesterday.
One of the best preserved SMJ bridges? 1 Reply
I was at Ettington the other day and apart from the good shed, which has had a lot of money spent on it including full glazing, the station building is still there. But my attention went to the station bridge (No. 73?) which is in very good…Continue
Started by John Evans. Last reply by Andy Thompson on Sunday.
Passenger Trains connected to the SMJ
Following on from the previous discussion about WD passenger trains on the SMJ during the 1940s; it must be said that passenger trains ran on metals connected to the SMJ until the mid 1960s. There was a passenger service from the nearest point to…Continue
Started by Dave Hayward Jun 16.
Wartime passenger trains from Burton Dassett 3 Replies
Arthur Jordan in his book, The Stratford Upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway - The Shakespeare Route at pp 82 mentions a WW2 late night special from Stratford on Avon to Burton Dassett for soldiers at the CAD. I would envisage that this did not…Continue
Started by Dave Hayward. Last reply by Dave Hayward Jun 16.
SMJ photos
WD on SMJ
A WD 2-8-0 from Newport shed on what appears to be a loaded freight somewhere on the SMJ.
The bridge should be a clue to someone - there is a small stunted telegraph pole right under the arch which must be significant? The line curves to the left behind the train. It MIGHT be Aston le Walls,taken from the west but I am not convinced, and the telegraph pole is not apparent in pics taken from the other side of the bridge
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Comment by Barry Taylor on March 29, 2013 at 12:18
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I'm tempted to plump for Aston le Walls for this one, although not totaly convinced yet. There are not too many photos about of this location from this era, although I do have one of another WD coming under the other side of the bridge. On that one I can't make out the stunted telegraph pole that looks to be under the bridge on the mystery shot, and I think that it should be visible. Also on the mystery shot I cannot see the small loading platform that was just beyond the bridge on the right and that ought to be more visible too. Apart from that Aston fits - the bridge looks right, the curve of the line is OK - and even the two SMJ bridge restriction signs are in the right places (but then they always were on other bridges too) Any other thoughts?
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Comment by Dick Bodily on March 27, 2013 at 11:30
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It was allocated to Ebbw Junction from Dec 54 to June 57 so that narrows the date down a bit. The headcode is for Class H Through Freight and it looks like a steel train with the loco returning from Woodford to Wales. Around those years the first evening steel train left Woodford yard at about 7.30pm and I don't think that there were any afternoon ones so presumably this picture was taken quite late in the evening on a sunny summers day.
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Some further thoughts on this one. I think that the train is probably one of the afternoon / evening freights heading to South Wales, which would account for the sun being on the front of the loco - so possibly heading west rather than east. Also on closer examination, the sleepers are concrete. Does anyone know where these sleepers were laid on the SMJ, presumably as part of the 1950's upgrading of the line west of Woodford. I have pics of them variously at Byfield station, Burton Dassett and Aston le Walls - but not at Ettington, Kineton, or Fenny Compton - or were they installed as a rolling programme on most of the line eventually?
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