‘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
Malcolm Ranieri
Sad to report the untimely death last week of SMJ Society member Malcolm Ranieri. Malcolm was well known for his excellent steam train photographs that have appeared for many years in the rail preservation press. He was also one of the main…Continue
Started by Dick Bodily 19 hours ago.
Salvaged track bolts 1 Reply
Does any know if the bridges were numbered? Similar to how the canals number thier's. Because a few weeks ago I was magnet fishing under the if I bridge behind the bellebaulk housing estate in Towcester and pulled out a number of chair bolts and I…Continue
Started by John Godwin. Last reply by Dick Bodily Sep 28.
Planning Application for Binton Station Site 8 Replies
I've just been told by friends from Welford that there's a planning application to redevelop the Binton Station site:Binton Station Planning…Continue
Started by Simon Stevens. Last reply by Simon Stevens Sep 20.
Proposed conversion of numbers 5 and 6.
According to Dunn, the problems with the two BP tanks ns 5 and 6 running backwards were twice addressed with the idea of converting them to 2-4-2Ts, and that drawings were prepared on at least one occasion.Has anyone ever seen anything of these…Continue
Started by Simon Dunkley Jun 27.
Broom Junction station site for sale 1 Reply
Great opportunity for an SMJ enthusiast perhaps. I'm not sure what you could actually do with this site though!…Continue
Started by Simon Stevens. Last reply by Simon Stevens May 17.
Ravenstone Wood as three way junction? 1 Reply
A close analysis of the 1945 RAF aerial photographs available in the historical imagery resource on Google Earth has provided evidence that Ravenstone Wood was probably a three-way junction during the latter part of WW2 and for an unknown period of…Continue
Started by Dave Hayward. Last reply by Robin Cullup Apr 15.
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Index
Welcome to the SMJ index page.
From here you can find your way to all the pages on the website.
General Page Links
- Visit the image library - Click here
- Visit the Albums - Click here
- Visit the video library - Click here
- Get involved with the forum - Click here
- Get to grips with the layout - Click here
- Book me to speak on the SMJ - Click here
- The Last Days of SMJ Pick-up freight - Click here
- The SMJR in Books and Magazine Articles - a list - Click here
- Vists to Towcester Station in its last days - Graham Campion- Click here
- Rubio - from Towcester Station to Aintree Legend- Click here
- SMJR Model Railway Layouts- Click here
- Extracts from Blakesley Signalbox Register ( kindly supplied by Robin Cullup)- Click here
- Locos seen on the line - Click here
- I went on the Wandering 1500 Tour - Bob Hodson- Click here
- Gary's List of Surviving Locos - Click here
- The SMJ Remembered - various photographers' pictures of the railway when it was working - Click here
- Bridge detail download - Click here (excel spreadsheet)
- Maps and plans of the line - Click here
- SMJ nick-names - Click here
- East and West Junction and SMJ Liveries - Click here
- Firing the Steel Trains - Albert Fennell (ex Woodford fireman ) - Click here
- Clive Boardman remembers trips along the SMJ - Click here
- The Sad Demise of the Stratford Slip Coach - Click here
- How the SMJ was linked to Gayton and Blisworth Ironstone Quarries - Click here
- Blakesley Miniature Railway - Click here
- Tours along the line - Click here
- About the stock - Click here
- The Ro-Railer, A great experiment - Click here
- Your memories - Click here
- Memorabilia - Click here
- Documents from the line - Click here
- Towcester station model - Click here
- Bob Salmons; Signalman - Click here
- Memories of the final day - Click here
- Further reading - Click here
- Easton Neston Quarry - Click here
Mining Index Click here
Mining of the earth’s natural resources in the Blisworth area of Northamptonshire has been evident for many centuries. It was this mining that first sparked the idea of a new railway line to the blast furnaces of South Wales. A direct line, it was thought could be very profitable, independent of the other rail companies such as the London & North Western Railway (L & NWR) ...more
Station Pages - Each station along the line has its own page. Please feel free to sign up and add what you know.
The Northampton & Banbury Junction Railway opened a station on the new main line at Blisworth and on May 1st 1866 ran the first train to Towcester. The following years saw the
line push-on to Banbury, joining the L&NWR's Verney Junction line at Cockley Brake with two intermediate stations:
Blisworth
Towcester
Wappenham
Helmdon
Banbury
The East & West Junction railway (E&W) proposed a new line from a junction with the Northampton & Banbury Junction Railway at Greens Norton to Stratford Upon Avon.
The joint committee decided to build a single-track railway line between Towcester and the Midland main line near Olney in an attempt to save the two companies. The line to Ravenstone Junction branched off from just north of Towcester station and ran through Easton Neston to continue through Shutlanger and crossed over the L.N.W.R. at Roade where a connection was made. There were two intermediate stations:
To visit a list of all pages Click here
© 2018 Created by Andy Thompson.
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