‘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
Binton Station
As I was in the vicinity this week I visited my old stamping ground of over sixty years ago, the former SMJ station at Binton. The former goods shed has been demolished, 24 upmarket dwellings have been constructed in the old yard and the former…Continue
Started by Paul Stratford Apr 23.
Would the GCR have gone via Towcester? 14 Replies
Looking through Mac Hawkins book on the GCR then and now, he mentions that the GCR were thinking of running a line connecting Brackley to Northampton and had provisionally made a mound ready for a platform to be later constructed but they dropped…Continue
Started by Gary. Last reply by Andrew Emmerson Apr 18.
EWJR Portland Cement Wagon 13 Replies
Hello All,I found this item on ebay, although it's a model, what I'd like to know is, was it actually based on the real thing? As you can see it has the initials EWJR and return empty to Ettington, which all fits in with the real world.It was listed…Continue
Started by Jim Goodman. Last reply by Jim Goodman Apr 18.
MORTON PINKNEY LEVEL CROSSING 14 Replies
There was a public level crossing between Blakesley and Morton Pinkney, complete with a gatehouse.Does anyone know how this was operated?Presumably the gates must have been manual and kept closed against road traffic.Early Working Timetables mention…Continue
Started by Barry Taylor. Last reply by Andrew Emmerson Apr 17.
SMJ photos
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
© 2021 Created by Andy Thompson.
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