LMS Route: Stratford Midland Junction - The Shakespeare Route

Stratford on Avon Station: smjsa350

Driver T Hine poses for the camera as he looks out from the footplate of ex-LMS 4F 0-6-0 No 43924. Driver Hine started his railway career with the SMJ just before the outbreak of the First World War. He wrote in the book by Dick Riley and Bill Simpson on the line's history the following:

'I passed as a driver in March 1924. after starting as a lad cleaner of sixteen In 1912. In my working turn on every third week I used to work from 6.00 pm until 9.00 pm on Sunday night. I never cared for this much especially In summer seeing people out enjoying the evening strolling by the river. In winter I was alone in the shed until another cleaner came on at 9.00 pm. Then the shed man would light up the stationary boiler which was at the bottom of the shed. It would then be the job of us two cleaners to carry shovelfuls of fire to the fire- boxes of each engine. The shovels became very hot before we had finished. Our staff was nine drivers, nine firemen, two fitters, with two apprentices. There was also a boilersmith and his mate. The original turntable at Stratford was moved to Towcester when the larger one was put in. I was told that it would be used to turn GCR engines at Stratford but I never saw this done.

The SMJ was busy line for horse boxes with the Stratford race meetings and local Hunts. By far the busiest time of the year was the Towcester Races on Easter Monday. Every available engine and man was in service that day with the concentration of traffic between Blisworth and Towcester. One horse box working that we regularly did was to pick up the box at Kineton. or more than one. and take them to Fenny Compton to join the GWR. which delayed us quite a bit as no time was allowed for this. All along the line we were shunting horse boxes and cattle wagons into passenger trains. Another grand occasion was the Stratford Mop Fair on October 12 and there were quite a number of passengers from all the stations on market days. Particularly heavy passenger traffic between Byfield and Northampton.

I remember too the Edge Hill light Railway engines coming to Stratford shed for boiler washouts. They were brought out of steam on one of the trains. When the Edge Hill Railway first started a set of men from Stratford would man the engines and I think would bring them back to Stratford. Later they were worked by men employed by that Company but only working on the EHLR. I do remember them once working on the SMJ during the strike of 1926 when they worked passenger trains between Kineton. Stratford and Broom Junction.'

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