 1920 map of the railway | ||||||
| Technical | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||
| Length | 67 miles 46 chains (108.8 km) (1919)[1] | |||||
| Track length | 77 miles 52 chains (125.0 km) (1919)[1] | |||||
| ||||||
The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR) was a railway company in the southern Midlands of England, formed at the beginning of 1909 by the merger of three earlier 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.
The constituent lines had each been built with a view to carrying Northamptonshire iron ore to South Wales and the West Midlands, but they were all unable to finance their planned lines in full. The formation of the SMJR in 1909 was in effect a financial reconstruction, but the management of the combined company also showed a certain flair for generating tourist income, based on the connection with Shakespeare and also the family connections with George Washington. Additionally, the line developed as a shorter route for Midland Railway goods traffic from the Bristol area to London.
Some upgrading of the poor-quality infrastructure was undertaken, and some heavy mineral flows – continuing until as late as 1960 – passed along the line, but the severe operational constraints led to the diversion of traffic to other routes in 1964. By that time all of the passenger traffic had dwindled to nothing and the line was closed down piece by piece. A short section of the original network remains in use serving a Ministry of Defence depot at Kineton.