Lost Railways of Warwickshire

This illustrated and meticulously researched book takes you back to the golden age of railways in Warwickshire – to a time of thriving rural railways, bustling local stations and steam trains pulling liveried coaches across the countryside.

Using archive photography, maps and accounts from the time, the book brings to life the history of the area's railways, the reason for their construction and their closure.

Railway building came early to Warwickshire. But even before steam locomotion arrived, William James, one of the great railway visionaries of the time, built the first long-distance railway between Stratford-upon-Avon and Moreton-in-Marsh for horse-drawn traffic in 1826, which linked the Stratford and Oxford canals. He firmly believed that instead of just serving the canal network, railways could be linked together into a major system. The truth of this was proved as more and more lines were built.

But the prosperity was not to last and, unable to compete with motorised transport, lines were closed, first to passengers and then to freight. The process was accelerated in the 1960s as a result of the Beeching Report. 

Here Geoffrey Kingscott brings to life the lost railways of Warwickshire. There are also details of what remains of that lost era, enabling the enthusiast to explore the lines and stations that have survived. 

Geoffrey Kingscott is a member of the Midland Railway Society and the Railway and Canal Historical Society. He is the author of several other books on the subject, including Lost Railways of Northamptonshire, Lost Railways of Nottinghamshire, Lost Railways of Derbyshire and Lost Railways of Leicestershire & Rutland.

CONTENTS

• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Rugby, Railway Centre
• 2. MR Leicester to Rugby 
• 3. LNWR Market Harborough to Rugby 
• 4. LNWR Leamington Spa to Rugby
• 5. LNWR Daventry to Leamington Spa
• 6. The Great Central Railway in Warwickshire 
• 7. The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
• 8. The Stratford to Cheltenham Line 
• 9. From Horses to Steam
  The Stratford-upon-Avon to Moreton-in-Marsh Tramway, and the GWR Moreton to Shipston-on-Stour Railway
• 10. GWR Bearley to Alcester 
• 11. Redditch to Evesham (The Gloucester Loop) 
• 12. MR/LNWR Ashby & Nuneaton Joint Railway
• Conclusion 
• Bibliography
• Index

A5 (softcover) 160 pages

Author: Geoffrey Kingscott

ISBN 9781846741746