Нортгемптон-Банбери темір жолының тарихы

The Northampton and Banbury Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 9 July 1847, In the first instance it was to do this by connecting from Gayton Wharf, near Northampton, to the Buckinghamshire Railway, at Cockley Brake, near Banbury, running via Towcester. The N&BJR extended its line to Cockley Brake, approaching Banbury, on 1 June 1872 (authorised by a further bill in 1870). for another £300,000 was passed. Also in the same year the company submitted a bill to extend from Towcester to join the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at Hitchin, on condition that the GNR subscribed £200,000. The evident objective was to create a further London connection in which the E&WJR would be a major partner. The GNR declined to make the financial commitment; powers to extend westward to Worcester were also considered, but that scheme was abandoned. Obtaining Parliamentary authority to raise capital was one thing, but it proved much more difficult actually to obtain the money from potential subscribers. On 1 June 1871 the first section of the line, from Fenny Compton to Kineton, a distance of six miles, was opened and a passenger service started over that section. They hired a contractor's engine for the purpose and later bought it, at which stage the locomotive became E&WJR no. 1.</blockquote>

From this time the London and North Western Railway ran through carriages from London Euston to Stratford via Blisworth. and newspaper report. Riley gives 22 March 1885,</blockquote>

The E&WJR still saw its destiny in reaching further west, giving access ultimately to the iron industries of South Wales and the West Midlands, and if possible avoiding dependency on the powerful Great Western Railway (GWR) at Stratford. The Evesham and Redditch Railway had opened a north–south line in 1866, and was aligned to the Midland Railway. Its line lay only eight miles west of Stratford, and the E&WJR sponsored the promotion of the Evesham, Redditch and Stratford upon Avon Junction Railway. This line was authorised on 5 August 1873, and ran west from Stratford to a junction at Broom on the E&RR.</blockquote>

The demonstration was evidently a technical success; as well as showing that trains could be stopped remotely, von Kramer accidentally leant on the activation button and a movement shunting to the platform was instantly stopped. Nonetheless the cost of installing the system on a widespread basis seems to have deterred its general adoption. The vehicle was prone to failure and had difficulties on gradients; it was not able to run on a fast main line so passengers still needed to change at the main line junction. It ceased to run from 2 July 1932, being regarded as an unsuccessful experiment, and the journey was replaced by a steam train connecting with taxis in the ordinary way. Broom Junction was awkwardly laid out for the dominant mineral traffic heading from Northamptonshire towards South Wales, as it required reversal at the station. Engines working through required to turn on the turntable. On 28 September 1942 a south curve was opened by the LMS enabling direct running without entering Broom station. During 1964 and 1965 all the residual local traffic was closed down and through transits were diverted away. The only remaining operational part of the former SMJR system was the connection from Fenny Compton to Kineton Ministry of Defence Establishment. The branch stub was transferred to the Ministry of Defence on 19 July 1971, and is worked by them with their own locomotives.

Today the only part of the former SMJR network still open is the 5 mile (8 km) section between and the Ministry of Defence depot, Kineton.