GWR Route: Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour

The Moreton-in-Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway was the first railway to be built in the County of Warwickshire preceding the arrival of the Grand Junction Railway and the London Birmingham Railway by some twelve years. However it was built as a horse drawn tramway although it adopted the 4'-8½" gauge adopted by Stephenson in the north east of England. It was promoted by the "Father of Railways", William James of Henley-in-Arden, as part of an ambitious scheme to link the Midlands with London via narrow boat to Stratford upon Avon, tramway to Oxford and finally by barge down the Thames to London. William James did anticipate that the tramway section would be worked by steam traction.

However this ambitious project was, as Colin Maggs states in his book, "before its time" and only the route to Stratford upon Avon and one of the three planned branches (to Shipston-on-Stour) was built. Goods traffic was conveyed by licenced traders in their own wagons and who were also allowed to convey passengers on payment of a further licence costing £12 per annum. The branch to Shipston-on-Stour was delayed because the original powers expired before it could be built meaning it was not opened until 11th February 1836. The arrival of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) severed the terminal buildings from the branch compelling the OW&WR to take out a perpetual lease from 1st May 1847. The line initially was still managed by the original officers of the Tramway until 1851 when to reduce this unnecessary expense the OW&WR paid them off.

Following this take over the OW&WR upgraded the whole length of the Tramway Stratford upon Avon to accommodate main line wagons albeit still horse drawn. This did not achieve the up lift in revenues anticipated and in fact losses were considerably greater than previous. Any possibility of the route to Stratford upon Avon becoming a financial success disappeared in 1859 with the opening of the the OW&WR's Honeybourne to Stratford upon Avon branch line. The tramway through service to Stratford upon Avon was infrequently used although some sections of the line saw some use but by 1904 it was no longer used. The track was lifted for scrap in 1918 as part of wartime economy measures although it was not until 4th August 1926, a month short of its centenary, that the line was officially abandoned by an Act of Parliament.

Following the GWR takeover of the OW&WR, in 1882 a short spur at Longdon Road was constructed to enable through running to Shipston-on-Stour to occur as prior to this date the junction for the branch to Shipston-on-Stour faced Stratford upon Avon. This was part of the GWR's strategy to bring the branch up to a standard sufficient to handle steam hauled traffic. Further powers were sought after it found that the original 1833 Act forbade the use of steam locomotives and it was not until 1st July 1889 that the line was officially reopened with a service of four trains per day in each direction. Passenger services ceased on 8th July 1929 whilst goods traffic continued until 2nd May 1960.

		Moreton-in-Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway[21]
		Moreton-in-Marsh [65] (Gloucestershire)
		Branchline Views [13]
		Stretton on Fosse [26]
		Longdon Road [27]
		Shipston-on-Stour [47]

Great Western & British Railways (Western Region) Service Timetables

Ref: gwrmb3110 GWR Publications A copy of the Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable for the month of October 1889

Ref: gwrmm3086 Great Western Railway The January 1907 Service Timetable for Shipston-on-Stour and Moreton-in-Marsh Locomotive Tramway

Ref: gwrmb3102 GWR Publication A Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable from the 12th July 1915 until further notice

Ref: gwrmb3107 GWR Publications A copy of the Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable for the month of July 1922

Ref: gwrmb3100 GWR Publication A Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable - 26th September 1927 until further notice

Ref: gwrmb3101 GWR Publication A Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable - 12th September 1932 to 16th July 1933

Ref: gwrmb3098 GWR Publication A Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable for the period 4th July to 25th September 1938

Ref: gwrmb3099 BR Publication A Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour Service Timetable for the period 30th June to 14th September 1952

Ref: gwrmb3108 Wild Swan Publications A copy of the engine working timetable for the Shipston-on-Stour branch for the month of July 1918

Ref: gwrmb3106 Wild Swan Publications A copy of the engine working timetable for the Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipston-on-Stour branch for July 1922

Ref: gwrmm1001 Great Western Railway GWR Appendix to the March 1950 STT detailing the local instructions to occupy the Shipston-on-Stour Branch

Ref: gwrmm3075 British Railways A copy of British Railways' November Timetable for week day services to London, Oxford, Worcester & Hereford

Miscellaneous

Ref: gwrmb3109 Wild Swan Publications Results of a passenger count for Shipston-on-Stour Branch for week ending Saturday, 20th September 1913

Ref: gwrmm3087 British Railways The number of wagons sent to Shipston from Moreton-in-Marsh between November 1958 and May 1960

Robert Ferris provided the following article about the Moreton-in-Marsh to Stratford upon Avon Tramway from a volume of the Railway Magazine published in February 1935. A number of photographs accompanied the article which we have already listed on their relevant station or location page. See images 'gwrss_bl968', 'gwrlr531', 'gwrlr814', 'gwrss_bl972', 'gwrlr532', 'gwrss539', and 'gwrsf541'.