Binton Station

The East & West Joint Railway (E&WJR) had intended to give itself access to Birmingham via Fenny Compton and to the south-west via Stratford upon Avon. Whilst the E&WJR had initially intended goods traffic from the Northampton area to be handed over to the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Stratford upon Avon the GWR refused to cooperate insisting that goods traffic be exchanged at Fenny Compton. This meant that for many years the railway failed to fulfil its potential and it wasn't until the extension to Broom was built in the guise of the Evesham, Redditch and Stratford-upon-Avon Junction Railway (ER&SJR) that the power of the GWR declined. The Evesham and Redditch Railway (E&RR) had opened a north-south line in 1866, and was aligned to the Midland Railway (MR). Its line lay only eight miles west of Stratford, and the E&WJR sponsored the promotion of the ER&SJR. This line was authorised on 5th August 1873, and ran west from Stratford to a junction at Broom on the E&RR. The junction at Broom led towards Birmingham. The heavy mineral traffic was destined to move southwards, and the reversal in the restricted layout was to prove inconvenient. It opened on 2nd June 1879 and the seven mile line was worked by the E&WJR; running powers were obtained to Redditch, but they were only exercised from the junction at Broom to the station there. This line was immediately unprofitable and it too went into receivership, but continuing to trade, from 2nd January 1886. The opening of this extension allowed, as planned, the E&WJR to pass its traffic on to the MR at Broom Junction thereby cutting out the GWR. The MR did initially use the line routing its Bristol and Gloucester to London traffic over the ER&SJR/E&WJR, and their successor the Stratford Midland Junction Railway (SMJ) (its Banana trains were of particular note) until 1912 when it re-routed it's traffic via Wigston Junction an action saving them, but costing the SMJ in lost revenue, some £1,100 per annum.

Binton station was a single storey building of simple stone construction with one platform for the single line. The station and goods yard lay adjacent to Evesham Road making access to both a very simple matter. The station building accommodated a Lamp Room (LR), a Booking Office (BO), a Booking Hall (BH), a Ladies Waiting Room, and for gentlemen, a WC & Urinal accessed directly off the platform. See image 'smjb190' for a schematic diagram of the station showing the layout post 1900. It should be noted that the diagram quotes the hand operated crane in the goods shed as having a 30 cwt capacity which is contrary to the information contained in the Railway Clearing House's 1894 and 1929 Handbook of Railway Stations both stating the capacity as being two ton.

A goods yard was attached to the station having two sidings, both running parallel to the main running line. From the outset a goods shed and cattle dock & pens were positioned on the head shunt which served the two sidings (see the 1884 Ordnance Survey map 'smjb169'). The head shunt proceeded through the goods shed thereby allowing wagons unloaded to be pushed clear of the shed without having to remove any laden wagons behind them. At the end of this short siding was a carriage dock for transferring road vehicles from the road to the railway truck. Adjacent to the carriage dock was a weighing machine and office for checking the weights of any bulk goods brought to or delivered from the yard. By the time the 1922 Ordnance Survey map was published, the two sidings had been relaid so that one became a passing loop.

The Railway Clearing House's 1929 Handbook of Railway Stations states Binton, unlike Bidford on Avon, provided the general public and businesses with a full range of service: Goods traffic; Passenger and Parcels traffic; Furniture Vans, Carriages, Portable Engines, and Machines on Wheels; Live Stock; Horse Boxes and Prize Cattle Vans and Carriages by Passenger Train (GPFL). A two ton hand-operated crane was provided provided in the goods shed. The 1894 edition of The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations did not provide information to the same detail e.g. the number of categories listed, and only recorded (GPFL), however its reasonable to assume that the same facilities recorded in 1929 were offered from the outset.

The line to the west of Stratford upon Avon was treated by the LMS as being separate to that running to the east of Stratford upon Avon. Passenger traffic was minimal, being limited, in 1905 for instance, to four trains daily in each direction. This continued until 1938, when the oncoming Second World War meant that the service was reduced to one day train daily in each direction. Even this service was discontinued on the 16th of June 1947. Both this station and the adjacent Bidford Station closed on the 23rd of May 1949. Freight traffic ceased in 1960 when the line was lifted.