The Great Western Railway in Warwickshire

The history of the Great Western Railway in Warwickshire was, like the London Midland Railway, a story of competing independent railway companies which over time became the GWR. Robert Ferris traces the origins of the company from the early days of railways in the county to its last days of independence when on 31st December 1947 it became the Western Division of British Railways.

To navigate within the history of the Great Western Railway in Warwickshire click the following links.

The First World War and After

At the start of hostilities in 1914 the Government took over all the British Railways, but despite the huge number of ‘specials’ required for mobilisation, initially ordinary services remained unchanged and only excursions were suspended. Gradually demands for more troop trains, ambulance trains, military supplies and in particular coal for the navy (now based in Scotland) started to effect services. Maintenance schedules were also affected as locomotive works were required to manufacture military equipment and staff shortages occurred as men joined up to fight.

By 1917 conditions had deteriorated, express services were decelerated and the frequency of other services reduced to save coal. Passenger fares were raised by 50% is discourage travel. Many small stations were closed or unstaffed and whole branch lines were closed to optimise the use of the available resources. In Warwickshire both the Rowington to Henley in Arden branch (see 'gwrrj260') and the Alcester branch (see gwrac464) were closed on 1st January 1917 and the rails from these lines were removed to help the war effort. The rails were also removed from the disused section of the Stratford to Moreton tramway. After the war only the Alcester branch would be relaid in 1922.

The demand for steel and a lack of imported iron ore forced the ministry of munitions to identify alternative home sources and this lead to the start of open strip quarrying by the Oxfordshire Ironstone Company (OIC) at Wroxham, northwest of Banbury. This site is just across the county border from Warwickshire’s Edge Hill Quarries which were also developed at the same time (see 'ehlr7a'). Steel producers Baldwins Ltd and Brymbo Steel Co Ltd were granted leases on 1st January 1917 and on 29th June 1917 formed the jointly owned OIC. In August a rail connection was made with the Great Western Railway at a point north of Banbury and a private standard gauge railway constructed to the quarries with the help of German POWs. Iron ore production commenced two months after the war ended in January 1919, but demand had disappeared.

By 1923 the market had recovered and the quarry dispatched 60,000 tons, production peaked at nearly 600,000 tons in 1929 before the depression. In August 1924 Alfred Hickman Ltd (a subsidiary of Stewart and Lloyds) purchased 50% of the OIC shares and during 1931 and 1932 Hickman was the only customer. For many years regular trains of 20 ton iron ore hoppers travelled on Great Western Railway metals through Warwickshire from the OIC to the Hickman Steelworks at Bilston, near Wolverhampton, while other trains were routed up to Hatton Junction across to Stratford upon Avon and then via Honeybourne to the Baldwins Steelworks in South Wales. These heavy freight trains were often pulled by 2-8-0 locomotives, either the 28XX class or the ROD engines purchased from government stocks after the war (see 'gwrbj776') and 2-6-0 locomotives of the 43XX and Aberdare class could be seen hauling trains of empty ore hoppers back to Banbury (see 'gwrls902' and gwrsrh276).

At the end of the war the Government decided to retain control of the railways until 1921 and this allowed the unrestricted free movement of government traffic to be extended to include a lengthy demobilisation period. 1919 was an election year and following negotiations in February and strikes in September, the Government agreed to Union demands for a maximum eight hour working day and staff wage increases that more than tripled the pre-war salary bill. In June 1921 compensation for usage of the railways was eventually agreed, but payment was delayed until December 1922. It was estimated that the value of the railway companies had fallen by 30% in this period of government control and with many railway companies in financial crisis, the stage was set for the Grouping.

Daily ‘Jellicoe Specials’ Coal Trains passing through Warwickshire.

From G.W.R. Service Time Table - 1918

* For L&NWR line. To be extended to Banbury when carrying coal for GC line.

While the majority of the trains carrying Welsh smokeless ‘Dry Steam’ Coal for the Navy originated in Pontypool Road and were destined for Grangemouth in Scotland via Hereford, Shrewsbury and Chester. This was not the only destinations of the Jellicoe Specials and the five trains listed left South Wales each night for Banbury, where they transferred to the Great Central Railway to continue to Immingham and other East Coast Ports.

Robert Ferris