Stonebridge Railway
This page was inspired by a single photo from the collection, a photo
labelled, 'B+DJR Stn, Hampton'. A quick Google introduced me to
the fascinating history of the Stonebridge Railway line from Whitacre
to Hampton. Owned by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway
company, this little line became a crucial part of the journey from
Derby to Birmingham and London in the late 1830's. At Hampton
passengers could join the London and Birmingham line to either Curzon
Street or Euston. This arrangement didn't work well and a new
line was constructed from Whitacre to Lawley Street in 1842 thus
beginning the fall into obscurity of the line to Hampton.
It quickly became clear that all this history was well know to my
father as many other pictures from the line are to be found throughout
the collection and I've tried to gather them here to show how much was
still left to see in the 1950's even though passenger services had
ceased in 1917 and freight in 1935.
Vince was kind enough to share his memories of the line:-
"I was around 6 y.o. when mother used to walk to what is now Maxstoke
Golf Club, to collect wood from the trees felled to make the course.
(Circa 1946). Our path crossed the line and it fascinated
me. The line may have been closed then, but I can remember couple
of years later visiting the line to look at the parked wagons and
carriages. This was done a number of times as I explored further,
even walking to the square water tower at Whitacre station.
Originally Maxstoke station was called Coleshill until the one at the
end of station road was built. The last station master was a Mr
Pratt and his daughter Dot, lived very close to us in Coleshill, at the
back of what is now Lloyd's Chemist. We lived next door, now a
dentists. The track was taken up I think around 1951 and by fate
or design the dismantlers lodged with Dot. Memory tells me they
used steam crane to lift track."
However, it seems that Vince's memories weren't quick correct...
Ian, who was Dot's son, also got in touch to say, "My grandfather
William Leary was the last stationmaster and "Dot" was William's
daughter".
There's lots more information on
Wikipedia
and many more fascinating pictures on
Warwickshire
Railways.
Maxstoke Branch Platform Whitacre Stn - 30/6/59
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This picture
is looking north-east towards Whitacre Station from the Hampton
branch. The station was rebuilt on the site seen above in 1864
when a line from Whitacre to Nuneaton was opened. It's hard to
miss the water tower to the left!
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Site of Branch - 24/7/55
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I'm pretty
sure this is looking towards Whitacre from just north of Maxstoke
station. If you look at the view below, it's easy to imagine my
father simply turning through 180 degrees between taking these two
pictures.
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Branch & Maxstoke Stn - 24/7/55
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This is my
favourite! Looking south towards Hampton the 1839 station
building looks splendid in the summer sunshine, surrounded by fields.
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Maxstoke Stn - 24/7/55
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A close up
view of the station building taken from Maxstoke Lane.
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Bridge nr Maxstoke - 24/7/55
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I think this
bridge was south of Maxstoke station and provided access to a property
known as Colesleys. This opinon is based on the associated
picture of the milepost, below, that is clearly marked on an 1890 map
of Warwickshire.
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Milepost 2, Hampton-in-Arden to Whitacre Branch - 24/7/55
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Presumably
located close to the bridge pictured above, this milepost indicates
that we are two miles from Whitacre junction.
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Hampton-in-Arden Whitacre line nr Maxstoke Stn - 11/6/50
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Now I'm
going to be a little contentious with this picture and its companion
below. There is a very
similar view on the Warwickshire Railways site and the caption says
that the bridge was located north of Maxstoke station with the
photographer looking towards Maxstoke. However, the 1890
Warwickshire map shows that the River Blythe passed under the railway
at right angles to the line. The view above clearly shows the
river turning at a sharp angle and running parallel to the line.
The only place it did this is just south of the bridge
seen above. My view, therefore, is that this picture is
looking towards Hampton with Maxstoke behind the photographer. As
always, I'm open to persuasion otherwise, especially as the line
crossed the river many times due to the way the Blythe meanders through
the area...
In response to the above, Penny was kind enough to get in touch and
said that she, "recognised the location of one of the photos. It
is located on a footpath off the Old stone bridge on Maxstoke Lane. OS
Explorer 221 grid ref 214882. It is located Northwest of Maxstoke and
the image is facing southwards. The site can be accessed today.
The brick plinths for the bridge are still visible on either side of
the river Blythe."
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Site of bridge over River Blythe - 24/5/55
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Nearly five
years after the picture above was taken, the bridge had gone...
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Branch Line nr Hampton-in-Arden - 10/7/55
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Here we are
close to Hampton Junction and it's clear that the lines are still in
use here as sidings. I think that the road passing under the line
at this point is Old Station Road.
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Branch nr Hampton-in-Arden - 10/7/55
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A little
blurred but an interesting companion shot to the one above and taken a
few yards closer to Hampton Junction. You can get a clear
impression of how the track layout changed when the line was
singled. Note the catchpoints in the foreground.
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B+DJR Stn, Hampton - 27/6/61
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The original
B&DJR Hampton station building dating back to 1839 survives to this
day! The branch to Whitacre would have headed off in the
direction of the photographer when it was still in place.
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Hampton - 27/6/61
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A nice view
looking towards Birmingham with the old station building on the right
and Hampton signal box on the left.
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