Midland and South Western Junction Railway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was, until the 1923 Grouping, a wholly independent railway built to form a link between the Midland (MidR) and London and South Western Railways (LSWR) allowing MidR and Great Western Railway (GWR) trains, inter alia, to reach the port of Southampton.
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[edit] Formation
The M&SWJR was formed in 1884 from the amalgamation of two local lines:
- the Swindon, Marlborough & Andover Railway (SMAR), incorporated 1873 and opened in stages:
- the Swindon & Cheltenham Extension Railway (S&CER): incorporated 1881. Line built from Swindon Old Town station to Cirencester, but financial difficulties halted further construction.
When the two railways amalgamated the original intention of the S&CER to reach Cheltenham was realised, albeit by obtaining running powers over the final 7.5 miles (12km) from a junction at Andoversford over GWR metals. In 1892 the MSWJR secured running powers over the LSWR between Andover and Southampton; from then onwards through workings were operated for trains from the Midlands and beyond: Bradford, Manchester and Liverpool were all connected via the line with Southampton at various times over the following years. The success of the line was partly hampered by the GWR's demand of high fees for connections using its own metals and platforms at Swindon, which meant M&SWJR passengers had to disembark at Swindon Old Town station and travel by road to the GWR station approximately one-and-a-half miles away.
[edit] Stations
There were stations, naming the places served from south to north, at:
- Andover Junction
- Weyhill
- Ludgershall: here was a branch line to Tidworth military camp
- Collingbourne
- Grafton
- Savernake: here were junctions with the GWR
- Marlborough: the town was also served by a short branch from the GWR
- Ogbourne
- Chiseldon
- Swindon: at its Town station; there was a junction with the GWR main line to Bristol
- Blunsdon
- Cricklade
- Cerney and Ashton Keynes
- Cirencester also served by a GWR branch line
- Foss Cross
- Chedworth
- Withington
- Andoversford and Dowdeswell
From the junction trains ran to Cheltenham Lansdown station.
[edit] Locomotives
Most locomotives were bought from Dübs and Company (and its successor the North British Locomotive Company) and from Beyer Peacock.
[edit] Grouping
At the Grouping in 1923 the railway became a part of the GWR. At this time the M&SWJR owned 29 locomotives, 134 coaching vehicles, and 379 goods and service vehicles.
[edit] Nationalisation
On nationalisation in 1948 the M&SWJR was split between the Western and Southern Regions of British Railways. The line closed on 10 September 1961.
[edit] The M&SWJR today
- A short length has been re-opened as the Swindon and Cricklade Railway
- the M4 motorway has been built over a short section of the route between Chiseldon and Swindon. Station Industrial Estate now occupies the site of the Old Town station.
- National Cycle Network route 45 uses a large proportion of the trackbed between Cricklade and Marlborough
- A short length, Andover-Red Post Junction-Ludgershall, remains open to serve the military depot at Tidworth
