Midland and South Western Junction Railway
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The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was, until the 1923 Grouping, a wholly independent railway built to form a north-south link between the Midland and London and South Western Railways (LSWR) allowing the Midland and other companies' trains 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 and Andover Railway, and the Swindon and Cheltenham Extension Railway.
[edit] The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
The SM&AR was incorporated in 1873 and opened in three stages:
- Swindon to Marlborough 27 July 1881
- Grafton to Andover 1 May 1882
- the complete line from Swindon to Andover was opened on 5 February 1883, but only by the expedient of running trains over the Great Western Railway's Marlborough branch and a section of the GWR's Berks and Hants Extension Railway, as the SM&AR was unable to complete its own line between Marlborough and Grafton.
[edit] The Swindon & Cheltenham Extension Railway (S&CER)
The S&CER was incorporated in 1881 and its line was opened that year from Swindon to Cirencester, but financial difficulties halted further construction.
[edit] Completion of the line
After the two railways amalgamated, the original intention of the S&CER to reach Cheltenham was realised in 1891, albeit by obtaining running powers over the final 7.5 miles (12 km) from a junction at Andoversford over GWR metals.
In 1892 the M&SWJR secured running powers over the LSWR Sprat and Winkle Line 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 final section of the line to be built was the missing link between Marlborough and Grafton. The Marlborough and Grafton Railway was incorporated in 1893 and the line was opened in 1898; the M&SWJR took formal ownership of the Marlborough and Grafton Railway in 1899.
For a fuller description of the intricacies of the M&SWJR in the Marlborough and Savernake areas see Marlborough railway stations.
The success of the line was partly hampered by the GWR's demand of high fees for connections using its own metals, at Marlborough and at Swindon. The original plan to run shuttle services between the M&SWJR's Swindon Town railway station and the GWR's Swindon Junction station lasted only a couple of years before being abandoned as too expensive. This 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. At Marlborough, until the M&SWJR built its own line south of the town, the GWR insisted that any passengers wanting to change on to its other services at Savernake Low Level station had to travel south from Marlborough on the GWR's own branch line service.
[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 Ducis: station
- Collingbourne Kingston: railway halt
- 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) railway 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
[edit] Swindon
- 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.
[edit] Elsewhere
- 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.
- There have been talks in recent years of a reopening of the Andover to Ludgershall part of the line to serve the growing town and the expanding military base.
