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Stratford and Moreton Tramway

January 01, 1970

The Stratford and Moreton Tramway was a 16-mile (25-km) long horse-drawn wagonway which ran from the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, with a branch to Shipston-on-Stour. The main line opened in 1826, whilst the branch to Shipston opened in 1836.

Map of the tramway, from 1930s; the northern section having been dismantled by this stage, and the Moreton-Shipston section in use as a railway

The tramway was used to carry Black Country coal to the rural districts of southern Warwickshire via the Stratford-on-Avon Canal, and limestone and agricultural produce northwards.

The northern part of the tramway had fallen into disuse by the early 1900s and was dismantled in 1918. The southern section between Moreton-in-Marsh and Shipston-on-Stour was converted into a steam railway in 1889 and continued in use as a minor branch line until 1960.

Background edit

The act of Parliament for the line was passed in 1821 and construction was completed in 1826, the route having been surveyed by the railway promoter William James and engineered by John Urpeth Rastrick.[1]

The tramway was built as part of an early and ambitious scheme known as the Central Junction Railway promoted by William James,[1] to link the Midlands with London via canal between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon, tramway to Oxford, and finally by river barge down the River Thames to London. However, only part of this route, to Moreton-in-Marsh, and one of the three planned branches was ever built. It was built with the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Stephenson gauge, adopted by George Stephenson in the north-east of England.[2]

The branch to Shipston-on-Stour, was authorised on 10 June 1833, and opened on 11 February 1836. [2]

Operational history edit

 
Wagon of the former Stratford and Moreton Tramway, on display in Stratford-upon-Avon

Goods traffic was conveyed by licensed carriers in their own wagons. They could also purchase a further licence costing £12 per annum, to carry passengers.[2]

By 1829, the tramway was making an operating profit, although the profits were not sufficient to pay off the considerable debts which the tramway had accrued.[2]

The steam hauled Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) opened in 1853 serving Moreton-in-Marsh with a new railway station, which severed the terminal buildings from the branch. This had compelled the OW&WR to take over the tramway on a perpetual lease from 1 May 1847. The OW&WR itself became part of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1863. The OW&WR upgraded the line all the way to Stratford to carry main-line wagons, albeit still horse-drawn, as the original Act of Parliament forbade the use of steam locomotives; although this enabled some through traffic to operate, it did not do much to improve the fortunes of the line, and in 1859 the OW&WR opened a branch to Stratford from Honeybourne which took most of the through traffic, and which ended any hopes of the tramway becoming a financial success. Although the tramway continued to carry some traffic, by 1904, the northern section of the tramway to Stratford had become disused, and the tracks were lifted in 1918 as a wartime economy measure. The line was formally abandoned by an Act of Parliament in 1926, exactly 100 years after it had been opened.[2]

The southern portion of the tramway between Moreton and Shipston-on-Stour however lasted longer: The GWR upgraded the line to allow it to be converted it into a conventional steam railway; to do this they had to obtain an Act of Parliament to allow the use of steam locomotives. The line reopened in its new form on 1 July 1889 with locomotive operation, It therefore became the Shipston-on-Stour branch of the Great Western Railway.[3] The sharp curves of the tramway alignment made it a slow journey. A passenger service of four trains each way per-day operated until 8 July 1929. Goods operation continued until closure on 2 May 1960.[3][2]

Remains edit

 
The Tramway Bridge at Stratford-upon-Avon. The 'rail lines' seen are illuminated strips.
 
Old wagon, dating from c 1840 used by Thomas James, coal merchant, Shipston-on-Stour, at the National Railway Museum at York

The most prominent remaining piece of infrastructure, is the tramway's brick arch bridge across the River Avon at Stratford, which remains in use as a public footbridge, and is still known as the Tramway Bridge.

One of the horse-drawn wagons, which belonged to Thomas Hutchings of Newbold Lime Works, is preserved a short distance north of the Tramway Bridge, near the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon, which sits on a short stretch of preserved tramway track on stone blocks. Newbold Lime Works would have been at Newbold on Stour.[4][5]

Another old coal wagon from the tramway is preserved at the National Railway Museum at York. This dates from c. 1840, and was formerly used by Thomas James, Coal Merchant, Shipston-on-Stour.[6]

Uses since closure edit

In 2020, as a result of more people walking and cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Community Interest Company called Old Tramway Revived was set up with the aim to reopen more of the old tramway route south from Stratford-upon-Avon alongside the A3400 as an active transportation corridor towards Shipston.[7] The company has already received support from several of the local councils, and in a presentation to the Stratford Society it was noted that there was a previous abandoned attempt to reopen the route in the mid 1980s that used Manpower Services Commission labour to clear some of the line.[8]

References edit

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Moreton-in-Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway: gwrmt3136". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "GWR Route: Moreton-in-Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b E T MacDermot, History of the Great Western Railway: volume I: 1833 - 1863, part 1, published by the Great Western Railway, London, 1927
  4. ^ "Industrial Rail Record No.11". Industrial Railway Society. September 1966. p. 276.
  5. ^ "A Railway Relic at Stratford". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Horse drawn railway wagon Made: 1835-1845". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Project launched to re-open Stratford's Tramway line as cycle route". Stratford-upon-Avon Herald. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  8. ^ "The Old Tramway Revived". 19 April 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.

Sources

  • Macnair, Miles (2007). William James (1771-1837): the man who discovered George Stephenson. Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-54-4.
  • Norris, John (1968). "The Stratford and Moreton Tramway". In Hadfield, Charles (ed.). Waterways to Stratford. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 125–59. ISBN 0-7153-4231-2.
  • Slater, Terry (1981). A History of Warwickshire. London: Phillimore. ISBN 0-85033-416-0.
  • White, H.P. (1986). Forgotten Railways. Newton Abbot: David St John Thomas. ISBN 0-946537-13-5.
  • Jenkins, S.C.; Carpenter, R.S. (1997). The Shipston-on-Stour Branch. Didcot: Wild Swan. ISBN 1-874103-34-8.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stratford and Moreton Tramway.

January 01, 1970
stratford, moreton, tramway, mile, long, horse, drawn, wagonway, which, from, canal, basin, stratford, upon, avon, warwickshire, moreton, marsh, gloucestershire, with, branch, shipston, stour, main, line, opened, 1826, whilst, branch, shipston, opened, 1836, t. The Stratford and Moreton Tramway was a 16 mile 25 km long horse drawn wagonway which ran from the canal basin at Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire to Moreton in Marsh in Gloucestershire with a branch to Shipston on Stour The main line opened in 1826 whilst the branch to Shipston opened in 1836 Map of the tramway from 1930s the northern section having been dismantled by this stage and the Moreton Shipston section in use as a railway The tramway was used to carry Black Country coal to the rural districts of southern Warwickshire via the Stratford on Avon Canal and limestone and agricultural produce northwards The northern part of the tramway had fallen into disuse by the early 1900s and was dismantled in 1918 The southern section between Moreton in Marsh and Shipston on Stour was converted into a steam railway in 1889 and continued in use as a minor branch line until 1960 Contents 1 Background 2 Operational history 3 Remains 4 Uses since closure 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe act of Parliament for the line was passed in 1821 and construction was completed in 1826 the route having been surveyed by the railway promoter William James and engineered by John Urpeth Rastrick 1 The tramway was built as part of an early and ambitious scheme known as the Central Junction Railway promoted by William James 1 to link the Midlands with London via canal between Birmingham and Stratford upon Avon tramway to Oxford and finally by river barge down the River Thames to London However only part of this route to Moreton in Marsh and one of the three planned branches was ever built It was built with the 1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in Stephenson gauge adopted by George Stephenson in the north east of England 2 The branch to Shipston on Stour was authorised on 10 June 1833 and opened on 11 February 1836 2 Operational history edit nbsp Wagon of the former Stratford and Moreton Tramway on display in Stratford upon Avon Goods traffic was conveyed by licensed carriers in their own wagons They could also purchase a further licence costing 12 per annum to carry passengers 2 By 1829 the tramway was making an operating profit although the profits were not sufficient to pay off the considerable debts which the tramway had accrued 2 The steam hauled Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway OW amp WR opened in 1853 serving Moreton in Marsh with a new railway station which severed the terminal buildings from the branch This had compelled the OW amp WR to take over the tramway on a perpetual lease from 1 May 1847 The OW amp WR itself became part of the Great Western Railway GWR in 1863 The OW amp WR upgraded the line all the way to Stratford to carry main line wagons albeit still horse drawn as the original Act of Parliament forbade the use of steam locomotives although this enabled some through traffic to operate it did not do much to improve the fortunes of the line and in 1859 the OW amp WR opened a branch to Stratford from Honeybourne which took most of the through traffic and which ended any hopes of the tramway becoming a financial success Although the tramway continued to carry some traffic by 1904 the northern section of the tramway to Stratford had become disused and the tracks were lifted in 1918 as a wartime economy measure The line was formally abandoned by an Act of Parliament in 1926 exactly 100 years after it had been opened 2 The southern portion of the tramway between Moreton and Shipston on Stour however lasted longer The GWR upgraded the line to allow it to be converted it into a conventional steam railway to do this they had to obtain an Act of Parliament to allow the use of steam locomotives The line reopened in its new form on 1 July 1889 with locomotive operation It therefore became the Shipston on Stour branch of the Great Western Railway 3 The sharp curves of the tramway alignment made it a slow journey A passenger service of four trains each way per day operated until 8 July 1929 Goods operation continued until closure on 2 May 1960 3 2 Remains edit nbsp The Tramway Bridge at Stratford upon Avon The rail lines seen are illuminated strips nbsp Old wagon dating from c 1840 used by Thomas James coal merchant Shipston on Stour at the National Railway Museum at York The most prominent remaining piece of infrastructure is the tramway s brick arch bridge across the River Avon at Stratford which remains in use as a public footbridge and is still known as the Tramway Bridge One of the horse drawn wagons which belonged to Thomas Hutchings of Newbold Lime Works is preserved a short distance north of the Tramway Bridge near the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford on Avon which sits on a short stretch of preserved tramway track on stone blocks Newbold Lime Works would have been at Newbold on Stour 4 5 Another old coal wagon from the tramway is preserved at the National Railway Museum at York This dates from c 1840 and was formerly used by Thomas James Coal Merchant Shipston on Stour 6 Uses since closure editIn 2020 as a result of more people walking and cycling during the COVID 19 pandemic a Community Interest Company called Old Tramway Revived was set up with the aim to reopen more of the old tramway route south from Stratford upon Avon alongside the A3400 as an active transportation corridor towards Shipston 7 The company has already received support from several of the local councils and in a presentation to the Stratford Society it was noted that there was a previous abandoned attempt to reopen the route in the mid 1980s that used Manpower Services Commission labour to clear some of the line 8 References editNotes a b Moreton in Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway gwrmt3136 Warwickshire Railways Retrieved 22 February 2022 a b c d e f GWR Route Moreton in Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway Warwickshire Railways Retrieved 22 February 2022 a b E T MacDermot History of the Great Western Railway volume I 1833 1863 part 1 published by the Great Western Railway London 1927 Industrial Rail Record No 11 Industrial Railway Society September 1966 p 276 A Railway Relic at Stratford Warwickshire Railways Retrieved 23 February 2022 Horse drawn railway wagon Made 1835 1845 Science Museum Group Retrieved 23 February 2022 Project launched to re open Stratford s Tramway line as cycle route Stratford upon Avon Herald 15 September 2020 Retrieved 24 July 2021 The Old Tramway Revived 19 April 2021 Retrieved 24 July 2021 Sources Macnair Miles 2007 William James 1771 1837 the man who discovered George Stephenson Oxford Railway and Canal Historical Society ISBN 978 0 901461 54 4 Norris John 1968 The Stratford and Moreton Tramway In Hadfield Charles ed Waterways to Stratford Newton Abbot David amp Charles pp 125 59 ISBN 0 7153 4231 2 Slater Terry 1981 A History of Warwickshire London Phillimore ISBN 0 85033 416 0 White H P 1986 Forgotten Railways Newton Abbot David St John Thomas ISBN 0 946537 13 5 Jenkins S C Carpenter R S 1997 The Shipston on Stour Branch Didcot Wild Swan ISBN 1 874103 34 8 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stratford and Moreton Tramway Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stratford and Moreton Tramway amp oldid 1185576081, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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