LOCOMOTIVES OF THE STRATFORD-UPON-AVON & MIDLAND JUNCTION RAILWAY

The Stratford-Upon-Avon & Midland Junction Railway was formed in 1909 by the amalgamation of three smaller companies: the East and West Junction Railway, the Evesham, Redditch, and Stratford-upon-Avon Junction Railway, and the Stratford-upon-Avon, Towcester, and Midland Junction Railway. In 1910 the Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway was purchased and an east-west network was formed which linked routes to Bedford and Northampton in the east to lines leading towards Banbury and Gloucester in the west, by way of Towcester and Stratford-on-Avon. Even so, at its zenith it still only boasted a route mileage of about 60 miles and ran from nowhere to nowhere. The LMS, in competition with the GWR for traffic on this east-west axis, spent a lot of money on the line and used it as a major freight route but after nationalisation it soon became redundant. From 1951, passengers services were gradually withdrawn, although the route remained heavily used by freight trains but all of these were diverted away during the early 1960's and most of the system closed from 1965. These pictures are published for pleasure/information/research purposes only and are not for sale or copy under any circumstances. Information in captions has been researched as thoroughly as possible but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.