‘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 Sep 1.
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 Aug 30.
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
Banbury Merton Street approach from the air
I found this on flickr and thought folks would like to see...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/d1059/5670130373/in/photostream/
I noted from the train the other day you could see a slight embankment between the station site and the M40. I might have taken a photo, I cannot remember off hand as images are stored elsewhere.
Views: 237
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Si Donal on
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Gary,
The embankment of the LNWR line to Cockley Brake is clearly visible even today although the M40 bisects it. The point at which the M40 crossed the line is the site of the WW1 Shell Filling Plant. You can see some of the brick bunker walls in the fields either side of the motorway. There is little informatin about the site in existance but there is a brief description of it in the Buckinghamshire Railway by Bill Bedford.
Si
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Permalink Reply by Gary on
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Hi Si,
Yes I used to travel it daily and the Shell Filling site is indeed very clear and a fair size. I manage to post a picture a while back of the embankment from Southbound M40 thanks to traffic I just hadn't seen the view from the train for absolutely ages. Prone to flooding now though I noticed.
Will have to see if I can get a copy of the book so I can read more. Was it served by the line at all do we know?
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