Broom Junction railway station

Broom Junction was a railway station and interchange between the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway and the Barnt Green to Ashchurch line. Although initially only an exchange station, it was opened to the public from 1880 and remained in service until 1963. Other than passengers changing trains, passenger traffic was low as the station was situated in a sparsely populated area near Broom in Warwickshire. The line to Stratford was the first to close in 1960, followed by the Barnt Green line in 1962.

Broom Junction
Station in October 1960
Location
Place	Broom
Area	Stratford-on-Avon
Grid reference	SP085534
Operations
Original company	Evesham & Redditch Railway / East and West Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway / Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway London Midland Region of British Railways
Platforms	2
History
2 June 1879[1]	Opened as an exchange platform
1 November 1880	Became a public station
23 May 1949	End of SMJR passenger services
13 June 1960	End of SMJR goods services
5 July 1962	Closure of signal boxes
1 October 1962[2]	Closure of station
17 June 1963	Withdrawal of replacement bus services
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

History

In 1873, the East and West Junction Railway (E&WJ) received Parliamentary authorisation to construct a 7.75 miles (12.47 km) eastwards extension of its Stratford to Blisworth line to join with the Evesham & Redditch Railway's (E&R) Barnt Green to Ashchurch line which had opened six years previously. The new line joined at the Warwickshire village of Broom where it formed a northward facing junction with the E&R's line.[3]

In completing the line to Broom, the length of the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway (SMJR) was increased to 45 miles (72 km), rising to 55.5 miles (89.3 km) in 1882 with the completion of a further extension south to Olney railway station.[4] The completed line also provided a connection between two lines worked by the Midland Railway which absorbed the E&R in 1882.

The new line opened to traffic on 2 June 1879 and an island platform was provided at Broom to allow passengers to change trains en route. Trains from the E&WJ worked into a single north-facing platform by an awkward west to north movement, across the main lines. The return journey required a reversal south to the engine turntable situated at the end of a siding on the other side of the road bridge.[5] The Midland allowed the E&WJ to use the station subject to the sharing of costs,[6] and the E&WJ were given running rights over the Midland's line although it only ever exercised use of the 5 chains (330 ft; 100 m) into the station.[7]

Remains of Broom West box

Broom first appeared in public timetables in November 1880.[8] Meagre passenger facilities were provided in the shape of two old coach bodies and a small brick booking office; a sectional concrete shed was added later.[9] At first two north and south signal boxes were provided, but this arrangement was rationalised in 1934 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which concentrated the junction's workings into one box known as Broom Junction.[10] The advent of the Second World War led to the installation of a south-to-east curve between the SMJR and Barnt Green line to allow through running of Gloucester to London services.[11] This required two new signal boxes: one on the curve entrance from Stratford known as Broom West, and another on the original connecting line known as Broom East. All three later closed on 5 July 1962.[12]

Station site in 2005.

As a passenger station, Broom was not particularly successful: it served a small rural community and was very susceptible to road competition. Passenger services to Stratford were temporarily withdrawn on 16 June 1947 and permanently from 23 May 1949, at which point the station was only seeing two daily workings.[10] Its ghost lingered on in the Barnt Green to Ashchurch timetables until 1962, as the 1pm service from Birmingham New Street to Ashchurch continued to wait at Broom for 20 minutes for a connection which had long ceased.[13] Goods services between Stratford and Broom continued until 13 June 1960, the freight being diverted via a new south curve at Stratford between the SMJR and Honeybourne line. The Barnt Green line itself closed between Redditch and Evesham from 1 October 1962 due to the unsafe condition of the track; British Railways provided a replacement bus service using hired Midland Red buses, but this was found to be similarly uneconomical and was withdrawn from 17 June 1963.[14]

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		SMJR Evesham, Redditch and Stratford-upon-Avon Junction Railway		Bidford-on-Avon
Wixford		Midland Railway Evesham loop line		Salford Priors

Present day

Although the station buildings have been cleared away, remnants of the platform still remain.[15] The trackbed running through the site has been incorporated into a north-south footpath. The site was used for some time as a depot for Warwickshire County Council's Highways Department.[16] A replica of Broom's station building has been constructed at Swanwick Junction station.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations, Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford, ISBN 1-85260-508-1, p. 46.
2. Clinker, C.R. (October 1978). Clinker's Register of Closed Passenger Stations and Goods Depots in England, Scotland and Wales 1830-1977. Bristol: Avon-AngliA Publications & Services. p. 20. ISBN 0-905466-19-5.
3. Dunn, J.M. (1977). The Stratford & Midland Junction Railway. Blandford, Dorset: The Oakwood Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 0-85361-036-3.
4. Riley, R.C.; Simpson, B. (1999). A History of the Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction Railway. Witney, Oxon: Lamplight Publications. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-899246-20-5.
5. Boynton, John (1994). Shakespeare's Railways: The lines around Stratford-upon-Avon Then and Now. Kidderminster, Worcs: Mid England Books. p. 23. ISBN 0-9522248-1-X.
6. Jordan, Arthur (1982). The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway: the Shakespeare route. Headington, Oxford: Oxford Railway Pub. Co. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-86093-131-7.
7. Riley, R.C. and Simpson, B., p. 13.
8. Croughton, G.; Kidner, R.W.; Young, A. (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations. Trowbridge, Wilts: Oakwood Press. p. 52. ISBN 0-85361-281-1.
9. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (November 2008). Branch Lines Around Towcester. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. p. Plates 32 and 33. ISBN 978-1-906008-39-0.
10. Riley, R.C. and Simpson, B., p. 49.
11. Davies, R.; Grant, M.D. (1984). Forgotten Railways: Chilterns and Cotswolds. Newton Abbot, Devon: David St John Thomas. p. 138. ISBN 0-946537-07-0.
12. Mitchell, V. and Smith, K., Plate 32.
13. Boynton, J., p. 31.
14. Davies, R. and Grant, M.D., p. 154.
15. Subterranea Britannica, "Broom Junction", 24 February 2008.
16. Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2006). Cheltenham to Redditch. Middleton Press. figs. 68-73. ISBN 9781904474814. OCLC 851839542.