83-548: The Stratford and Moreton Tramway was a 16-mile (25-km) long horse-drawn wagonway which ran from the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire to Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire , with a branch to Shipston-on-Stour . The main line opened in 1826, whilst the branch to Shipston opened in 1836. The tramway was used to carry Black Country coal to the rural districts of southern Warwickshire via
166-465: A further 21 years, but traffic was severely hit by the opening of a railway link from Ashchurch to Evesham in 1864. Receipts had dropped to £139 in 1872, and the canal company did not renew their lease again. Somehow the navigation remained open, and as the commercial traffic declined, there was a gradual increase in pleasure usage. By the end of the Second World War only one barge was plying
249-530: A new railway station , which severed the terminal buildings from the branch. This had compelled the OW&;WR to take over the tramway on a perpetual lease from 1 May 1847. The OW&WR itself became part of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1863. The OW&WR upgraded the line all the way to Stratford to carry main-line wagons, albeit still horse-drawn, as the original act of Parliament forbade
332-474: A new lock at Stratford in early 1966, and launched an appeal for £6,000 to fund it. Work began on 19 July 1966, once half the cost had been raised. The concept of building new locks and weirs, with most of the work being undertaken by volunteers, was new. Negotiation with the Severn River Authority led to an agreement that such works could be constructed, which was eventually formalised when
415-482: A private Bill was put before parliament, which became the Upper Avon Navigation Act 1972. Further funding came from an Inland Waterways Association national restoration fund, launched in 1969. Work continued, with phase one, covering the section from Evesham to Bidford Bridge, being declared open on 12 June 1971, during an IWA boat rally at Bidford. The estimated cost for the complete restoration
498-592: A railway, ran a high-pressure steam locomotive with smooth wheels on an 'L' section plateway near Merthyr Tydfil , but it was more expensive than horses. He made three trips from the iron mines at Penydarren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal and each time broke the rails that were designed for horse wagon loads. There was general doubt at the time that smooth wheels could obtain traction on smooth rails. This resulted in proposals using rack or other drive mechanisms. Mr Blenkinsop of Middleton Colliery patented
581-619: A result, in 1767, they began to make cast iron rails. These were probably 6 ft (1.829 m) long, with four projecting ears or lugs 3 in (75 mm) by 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 in (95 mm) to enable them to be fixed to the sleepers . The rails were 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 in (95 mm) wide and 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (30 mm) thick. Later, descriptions also refer to rails 3 ft (914 mm) long and only 2 in (50 mm) wide. A later system involved L-shaped iron rails or plates , each 3 ft (914 mm) long and 4 in (102 mm) wide, having on
664-410: A stretch of river that has never previously been navigable, but the proposal has not been universally welcomed. Landowners at Warwick Castle and Charlecote Park have attempted to claim the river as private property, although the 1636 Orders of Council state that the river was free to Coventry. Despite much local support, there is still some opposition to the scheme. Commercial traffic returned to
747-637: A vertical pin on the truck fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way. The miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs") from the noise they made on the tracks. Around 1568, German miners working in the Mines Royal near Keswick used such a system. Archaeological work at the Mines Royal site at Caldbeck in the English Lake District confirmed the use of " hunds ". In 1604, Huntingdon Beaumont completed
830-452: A wagonway to a fully steam-powered railway was gradual. Railways up to the 1830s that were steam-powered often made runs with horses when the steam locomotives were unavailable. Even in the steam age, it was convenient to use horses in station yards to shunt wagons from one place to another. Horses do not need lengthy times to raise steam in the boiler, and can take shortcuts from one siding to another. At Hamley Bridge tenders were called for
913-725: A wagonway was proposed to connect the mines at West Durham , Darlington and the River Tees at Stockton , George Stephenson successfully argued that horse-drawn wagonways were obsolete and a steam-powered railway could carry 50 times as much coal. In 1825 he built the locomotive Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England's northeast, which became the world's first public steam railway in 1825, via both horse power and steam power on different runs. Stationary steam engines for mining were generally available around
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#1732797313356996-483: A wetland reserve for wildlife, with 32 acres (13 ha) of wet grassland and 5 acres (2 ha) of open water and reed beds . Worcestershire Wildlife Trust worked with the landowner to create the reserve, which is called the John Bennett Reserve. The use of barges to transport the clay was estimated to save 3,000 lorry trips between the two sites. The Environment Agency measure the water quality of
1079-672: Is a major left-bank and easternmost tributary of the River Severn . It is also known as the Warwickshire Avon or Shakespeare's Avon , to distinguish it from several other rivers of the same name in the United Kingdom. Beginning in Northamptonshire , the river flows through or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire , Northamptonshire , Warwickshire , Worcestershire and Gloucestershire , near
1162-523: Is rated good or fail. The water quality of the River Avon was as follows in 2022. Reasons for the water quality being less than good include run off from agricultural land and discharge from sewage treatment plants, both private and public, while the lower river is also affected by physical modification of the channel. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to
1245-989: Is restricted to 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) and draught to 3 ft (0.9 m). The river is crossed by two manually operated pedestrian chain ferries , these being the Hampton Ferry in Evesham and the Stratford-upon-Avon Ferry in Stratford-upon-Avon . Traffic is now exclusively leisure-oriented. Overnight moorings are available at Stratford-upon-Avon , Luddington , Welford-on-Avon , Barton , Bidford-on-Avon , Harvington , Offenham , Evesham, Craycombe , Wyre , Pershore , Defford , Comberton , Birlingham , Eckington , Strensham and Tewkesbury. There are boatyards at Stratford-upon-Avon, Welford-on-Avon, Barton, Bidford-on-Avon, Evesham, and Tewkesbury. The river forms part of
1328-870: Is the tramway's brick arch bridge across the River Avon at Stratford, which remains in use as a public footbridge, and is still known as the Tramway Bridge . One of the horse-drawn wagons, which belonged to Thomas Hutchings of Newbold Lime Works, is preserved a short distance north of the Tramway Bridge, near the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon, which sits on a short stretch of preserved tramway track on stone blocks. Newbold Lime Works would have been at Newbold on Stour . Another old coal wagon from
1411-605: The Aire & Calder Navigation , running from Wakefield to Outwood , a distance of approximately 3 miles (4.8 km). Edge-rails (with a side rack) were used on the nearby Middleton-Leeds rack railway (a length of this rail is on display in Leeds City Museum ). The wheels of an edgeway have flanges, like modern railways and tramways. Causewaying is also done on modern level crossings and tramways. These two systems of constructing iron railways continued to exist until
1494-747: The Avon Ring , a circular cruising route which is 109 miles (175 km) long, and includes 129 locks. From Tewkesbury it follows the course of the River Severn , the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal to arrive back at the Avon at Stratford-upon-Avon. The navigation works on the Avon were originally authorised by an Order in Council and Letters Patent of Charles I in 1635, which named William Sandys as
1577-528: The British language abona , "river", which also survives as a number of other English and Scottish river names , and as modern Welsh afon [ˈavɔn] and Cornish avon , "river". This makes "River Avon" an example of a tautological place name . The source of the Avon is from a spring near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. For the first few miles of its length from
1660-735: The Cotswold Hills area. Notable towns it flows through include Rugby , Warwick , Stratford-upon-Avon , Evesham , Pershore and Tewkesbury , where it joins the Severn. It has traditionally been divided since 1719 into the Lower Avon, below Evesham , and the Upper Avon, from Evesham to above Stratford-upon-Avon. Improvements to aid navigation began in 1635, and a series of locks and weirs made it possible to reach Stratford, and to within 4 miles (6 km) of Warwick . The Upper Avon
1743-715: The National Trust and was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother exactly a month later, and her involvement caught the public's imagination. Although the Upper Avon was in a much worse condition than the Lower Avon, the Upper Avon Navigation Trust Ltd ( UANT ) was constituted in 1965 to rebuild it. The project was led by David Hutchings, fresh from completing the Stratford Canal restoration, who obtained permission to build
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#17327973133561826-463: The River Severn at Tewkesbury . The river has a total length of 85 miles (137 km) and a catchment size of 1,032 square miles (2,670 km ). The Avon's tributaries include the Rivers Swift , Leam , Stour , Sowe , Dene , Arrow , Isbourne and Swilgate as well as many minor streams and brooks. A long distance footpath has been created which follows the river from its source to
1909-646: The River Thames to London. However, only part of this route, to Moreton-in-Marsh, and one of the three planned branches was ever built. It was built with the 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) Stephenson gauge , adopted by George Stephenson in the north-east of England. The branch to Shipston-on-Stour, was authorised by the Stratford and Moreton Railway (Shipston-upon-Stour Branch) Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4 . c. lxx) on 10 June 1833, and opened on 11 February 1836. Goods traffic
1992-606: The Stratford-on-Avon Canal , and limestone and agricultural produce northwards. The northern part of the tramway had fallen into disuse by the early 1900s and was dismantled in 1918. The southern section between Moreton-in-Marsh and Shipston-on-Stour was converted into a steam railway in 1889 and continued in use as a minor branch line until 1960. The act of Parliament for the line, the Stratford and Moreton Railway Act 1821 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 4 . c. lxiii),
2075-737: The Wollaton Wagonway , built to transport coal from the mines at Strelley to Wollaton Lane End, just west of Nottingham , England . Wagonways have been discovered between Broseley and Jackfield in Shropshire from 1605, used by James Clifford to transport coal from his mines in Broseley to the Severn River. It has been suggested that these are somewhat older than that at Wollaton. The Middleton Railway in Leeds , which
2158-445: The lumberjacks moved on to other stands of timber as each area was cleared. At least one such pole road system reportedly extended some 20 miles (32 km). Typically the pole rails were logs of 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) diameter, laid parallel directly on the ground without cross-ties , and joined end-to-end with lap joints and wooden pegs . Rolling stock typically had wheels either with concave rims that hugged
2241-435: The 47.1 mile swim. The challenge was completed in 29 hours and 18 minutes. Bob Bain also rowed the entire course as lead kayak, in memory of his late wife Gail Bain. The swim captured the imagination of local communities along the river, with hundreds of spectators turning out to encourage the team. Craig finished the world first swim following an intensive 3 month long training programme and completed all of his training in
2324-460: The 7 locks from Tewkesbury to Evesham were restored to working order, re-opening the Lower Avon, and plans were already being made to rebuild Evesham Town Lock and press on towards Stratford. Mrs Barwell, the wife of Douglas Barwell, formally opened the waterway in June 1962. Mr. Barwell received an OBE for his work on the navigation. An anonymous benefactor was about to give £80,000 in 1963 towards
2407-639: The A3400 as an active transportation corridor towards Shipston. The company has already received support from several of the local councils, and in a presentation to the Stratford Society it was noted that there was a previous abandoned attempt to reopen the route in the mid 1980s that used Manpower Services Commission labour to clear some of the line. Notes Sources Wagonway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways ), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of
2490-460: The Avon in May 2010, as part of a scheme to build flood defences at the town of Pershore, following flooding in 2007, which caused damage to a number of properties. Clay banks were constructed, with most of the material coming from Birlingham , further downstream. Some 15,000 tonnes of clay was excavated and transported by barge to the construction works. At Birlingham, the excavation was managed to create
2573-572: The Midlands from the north, east and west blocking the flow of the Avon to its former confluence with the Trent. The waters were thus trapped: on the north, east and west by the glacier, and by the Cotswolds to the south, resulting in the formation of a large glacial lake, which has been called Lake Harrison . At its maximum, it is considered that this glacial lake covered the whole of Warwickshire and
Stratford and Moreton Tramway - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-652: The River Severn at Tewkesbury. The route is marketed as Shakespeare's Avon Way, and is 88 miles (142 km) long. It uses existing footpaths and tracks to stay as close to the river as is reasonably possible. Before the last Ice Age about 50,000 years ago, the Warwickshire Avon was a small river which drained northwards to the River Trent. During the Wolstonian glacial period, ice advanced into
2739-491: The Stratford Canal from 1842, but there was little traffic, and the lease was not renewed in 1847. The arrival of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway at Stratford sealed its fate, and when the company failed to sell the navigation to local landowners for £150, they effectively abandoned it in 1857. John Broughton, who was the railway manager at Stratford, was persuaded to buy the navigation for £300 by local traders, but
2822-691: The Upper and Lower Avon companies, with coal from the Worcester and Birmingham coming up-river to Evesham, and coal coming down-river from Stratford. As the tolls dropped, Perrott leased the Lower river to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal company from 1830 until 1851. Meanwhile, the Upper Avon Navigation between Stratford and Evesham was owned by relatives of Lord Windsor, who had died in 1758, and its condition gradually deteriorated. Because of
2905-583: The construction of locks and weirs . The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal links to the Avon through a lock in the park in front of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The River Avon can be used by boats with a maximum length of 70 ft (21 m), beam of 13 ft 6 in (4.1 m), height of 10 ft (3.0 m) and draught of 4 ft (1.2 m) from Tewkesbury to Evesham. Above Evesham, beam
2988-629: The construction of nine new locks and 17 miles (27 km) of river, using mainly volunteer labour, and was completed in 1974 when it was opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother . The Avon connects with the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal in the centre of Stratford, and is used primarily by leisure craft. Plans to extend the navigable river to provide a link with the Grand Union Canal at either Warwick or Leamington Spa have met with some opposition. "Avon" derives from
3071-622: The early 19th century. In most parts of England the plate-rail was preferred. Plate-rails were used on the Surrey Iron Railway (SIR), from Wandsworth to West Croydon . The SIR was sanctioned by Parliament in 1801 and finished in 1803. Like the Lake Lock Rail Road , the SIR was available to the public on payment of tolls; previous lines had all been private and reserved exclusively for the use of their owners. Since it
3154-562: The fully loaded wagons downhill to a canal or boat dock and then return the empty wagons back to the mine. Until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution , rails were made of wood, were a few inches wide and were fastened end to end, on logs of wood or "sleepers", placed crosswise at intervals of two or three feet. In time, it became common to cover them with a thin flat sheathing or "plating" of iron, in order to add to their life and reduce friction. This caused more wear on
3237-415: The gate. Once Yarranton's work was completed, barges of 30 tonnes could navigate to Stratford. Ownership of the navigation was formally divided into the Upper and Lower Avon in 1717, with Evesham being the dividing point. The Lower Avon Navigation between Evesham and the River Severn was leased by George Perrott in 1758, who spent over £4,000 upgrading the locks and weirs to enable 40-ton barges to navigate
3320-489: The grantee, with powers to improve both this river and the River Teme . He had already bought a number of mills on the river, but there were few objections from millers at those he did not own, for he built pound locks with two sets of gates, to enable vessels to pass by without the large loss of water associated with flash locks. The only objections were from Sir William Russell, who owned Strensham mill, and whose grievance
3403-646: The horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam-powered railways . The terms plateway , tramway , dramway , were used. The advantage of wagonways was that far bigger loads could be transported with the same power. The earliest evidence is of the 6 to 8.5 km (3.7 to 5.3 mi) long Diolkos paved trackway, which transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC. Wheeled vehicles pulled by men and animals ran in grooves in limestone , which provided
Stratford and Moreton Tramway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-548: The inner side an upright ledge or flange, 3 in (76 mm) high at the centre and tapering to 2 in (51 mm) at the ends, for the purpose of keeping the flat wheels on the track. Subsequently, to increase strength, a similar flange might be added below the rail. Wooden sleepers continued to be used—the rails were secured by spikes passing through the extremities—but, circa 1793, stone blocks began to be used, an innovation associated with Benjamin Outram , although he
3569-487: The level of the top of the flanges. In 1790, Jessop and his partner Outram began to manufacture edge-rails. Another example of the edge rail application was the Lake Lock Rail Road in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now West Yorkshire ) used primarily for coal transport. The railway charged a toll and opened for traffic in 1798, making it the world's oldest public railway. The route started at Lake Lock, Stanley , on
3652-405: The locks on the upper river, and became bankrupt. The navigation was taken over by seven men, all connected with the Stratford Canal, who turned Lucy's lock at Stratford into a two-rise staircase lock, constructed three new locks, and improved the river by dredging. Most of the subsequent traffic was local, competing with the Lower Avon for the delivery of coal to Evesham. The Upper Avon was leased to
3735-541: The middle of the 18th century. Wagonways and steam-powered railways had steep uphill sections and would employ a cable powered by a stationary steam engine to work the inclined sections. British troops in Lewiston, New York used a cable wagonway to move supplies to bases before the American Revolutionary War . The Stockton and Darlington had two inclined sections powered by cable. The transition from
3818-596: The patent for an improved method of rolling rails was granted in 1820 to John Birkinshaw , of the Bedlington Ironworks . His rails were wedge-shaped in section, much wider at the top than at the bottom, with the intermediate portion or web thinner still. He recommended that they be made 18 ft (5.49 m) long, suggesting that several might be welded together end to end to form considerable lengths. They were supported on sleepers by chairs at intervals of 3 ft (914 mm), and were fish-bellied between
3901-400: The presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment. At 01:18 on Sunday 18 July 2021, 41 year old Craig Openshaw from Tewkesbury became the first person in the world to swim the entire length of the 47.1 mile Navigable River Avon; known as the 'Swim The Avon' project. Craig
3984-792: The proposal could be managed, out of which the Lower Avon Navigation Trust Ltd ( LANT ) was constituted as a charity in 1950, and the BBC broadcast news of the proposals in April 1950. By May 1952, despite being in a period of great austerity, LANT had raised over £4,000 towards the work, and the involvement of the Royal Engineers, who helped with the reconstruction of Chadbury Lock as a training exercise, increased public awareness, and enabled further public appeals for funds to be made. By 1962, LANT had raised over £50,000,
4067-504: The restoration on the Upper Avon, while a donation of £5,000 enabled Evesham lock to be rebuilt and opened on 11 June 1964. Collins Brothers, who owned the lock site, with the main dam, sluice and weir, donated them to the Lower Avon Navigation Trust in 1966, extending the jurisdiction of the Lower Avon above its historical limits. The other waterway to Stratford, the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal , had been restored by
4150-426: The river systems in England. Each is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates , angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations,
4233-510: The river. The work was completed by 1768. Perrott then intended to sell the navigation, but when the Stratford Canal was being promoted, he had a clause inserted into the Bill to force the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to make payments to him in view of the expected drop in tolls that the Navigation would experience. Once the Stratford Canal was completed, there was fierce competition between
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#17327973133564316-439: The sinuous course of the upper river, it was never really considered as a through navigation, except for a brief period when William James thought it could become a through route. He bought all of the shares in the Upper Avon company in 1813, and persuaded the Stratford Canal shareholders that there should be a junction between their canal and the river at Stratford, which was opened on 24 June 1816. In 1822, he spent £6,000 repairing
4399-435: The sleepers by two iron spikes, half-round wooden cross sleepers employed on embankments and stone blocks 20 in (508 mm) square by 10 in (254 mm) deep in cuttings. The fish-bellied rails were found to break near the chairs and starting in 1834, they were gradually replaced with parallel rails weighing 50 lb/yd (24.8 kg/m). In 1804, Richard Trevithick , in the first recorded use of steam power on
4482-546: The stretch between Tewkesbury and Pershore, and the river above Pershore became unnavigable. The first moves to return the waterway to a navigable condition occurred in March 1949, when the Evesham Journal published an article on its history and decline. Robert Aickman started a correspondence with the editor of the article, suggesting that the river could be restored. C. Douglas Barwell sought legal advice on how best
4565-412: The supply of horses, in part because normal railway staff lacked horse handling skills. Wooden rails continued to be used for temporary railroads into the twentieth century. Some timber harvesting companies in the southeastern United States created pole roads using unmarketable logs, which were effectively free, to create tracks at a cost of between $ 100 and $ 500 per mile. Permanence was not an issue, as
4648-505: The support points. As used by George Stephenson on the Stockton & Darlington , and Canterbury & Whitstable lines, they weighed 28 lb/yd (13.9 kg/m). On the Liverpool and Manchester Railway they were usually 12 or 15 ft (3.66 or 4.57 m) long and weighed 35 lb/yd (17.4 kg/m) and were fastened by iron wedges to chairs weighing 15 or 17 lb (6.8 or 7.7 kg) each. The chairs were in turn fixed to
4731-631: The term "railway". As of 2024 , very few horse or cable freight railways are operating, notable examples being the cable-hauled St Michael's Mount Tramway and the Reisszug , which has been in continuous operation since around 1900. A few passenger lines continue to operate, including the horse-hauled Douglas Bay Horse Tramway and the cable-hauled San Francisco cable cars . River Avon (Warwickshire) The River Avon / ˈ eɪ v ən / ( AY -vən ), also / ˈ eɪ v ɒ n / ( AY -von ) in central England flows generally southwestwards and
4814-483: The top of the pole rails, or un-flanged wheels with separate guide wheels running against the side of each rail. Steam traction engines and some purpose-built locomotives were successfully used for hauling trains of logs. For example, Perdido was built by Adams & Price Locomotive and Machinery Works of Nashville, Tennessee in 1885 for the Wallace, Sanford and Company sawmill at Williams Station, Alabama , where it hauled up to seven cars of 3 or 4 logs each. This
4897-406: The track element, preventing the wagons from leaving the intended route. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD. Paved trackways were later built in Roman Egypt . Such an operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola (image left) in his work De re metallica . This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and
4980-419: The tramway is preserved at the National Railway Museum at York . This dates from c. 1840, and was formerly used by Thomas James, Coal Merchant, Shipston-on-Stour. In 2020, as a result of more people walking and cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Community Interest Company called Old Tramway Revived was set up with the aim to reopen more of the old tramway route south from Stratford-upon-Avon alongside
5063-469: The tramway to Stratford had become disused, and the tracks were lifted in 1918 as a wartime economy measure. The line was formally abandoned by an act of Parliament in 1926, exactly 100 years after it had been opened. The southern portion of the tramway between Moreton and Shipston-on-Stour however lasted longer: The GWR upgraded the line to allow it to be converted it into a conventional steam railway; to do this they had to obtain an act of Parliament to allow
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#17327973133565146-439: The use of cogged wheels in 1811 and in 1812, the Middleton Railway (edgeway, rack rail) successfully used twin cylinder steam locomotives made by Matthew Murray of Holbeck , Leeds . George Stephenson made his first steam locomotive in 1813 (patented 1815) for the Killingworth colliery, and found smooth wheels on smooth rails provided adequate grip. Although he later recounted that they called this locomotive 'My Lord' as it
5229-443: The use of steam locomotives. The line reopened in its new form on 1 July 1889 with locomotive operation, It therefore became the Shipston-on-Stour branch of the Great Western Railway. The sharp curves of the tramway alignment made it a slow journey. A passenger service of four trains each way per-day operated until 8 July 1929. Goods operation continued until closure on 2 May 1960. The most prominent remaining piece of infrastructure,
5312-414: The use of steam locomotives; although this enabled some through traffic to operate, it did not do much to improve the fortunes of the line, and in 1859 the OW&WR opened a branch to Stratford from Honeybourne which took most of the through traffic, and which ended any hopes of the tramway becoming a financial success. Although the tramway continued to carry some traffic, by 1904, the northern section of
5395-443: The venture was short-lived. Broughton was succeeded, and the railway, now called the West Midland Railway , became part of the Great Western Railway . In 1875, the GWR decided it would no longer maintain the river, and an appeal to the Railway Commissioners in 1877 ruled that they were not obliged to do so. The Lower Avon Navigation never quite fell into total disuse. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal renewed their lease in 1851 for
5478-493: The village of Welford it forms the border between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, on this section, it has been dammed to create Stanford Reservoir . Upon reaching Dow Bridge on Watling Street it enters Warwickshire. It then flows in a generally west-southwesterly direction, passing through the towns and villages of Rugby , Wolston , (bordering Leamington Spa ), Warwick , Stratford-upon-Avon , Welford-on-Avon , Bidford-on-Avon , Evesham and Pershore , before it joins
5561-443: The wooden rollers of the wagons and towards the middle of the 18th century, led to the introduction of iron wheels. However, the iron sheathing was not strong enough to resist buckling under the passage of the loaded wagons, so rails made wholly of iron were invented. In 1760, the Coalbrookdale Iron Works began to reinforce their wooden-railed tramway with iron bars, which were found to facilitate passage and diminish expenses. As
5644-399: Was a geared engine (4.5 to 1 gear ratio ), driving four individually-rotating concave-rim wheels on stationary axles via chain drives; powerful but running less than 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h). Still later, modified semitrailer tractors have been used. As steam power gradually replaced horse power throughout the 19th century, the term "wagonway" became obsolete and was superseded by
5727-435: Was about land purchase, rather than the navigation works. By 1641 it was reported that the river was navigable to within 4 miles (6 km) of Warwick. After a period of decline, navigation rights along the river were confirmed by a clause in the Rivers Stour and Salwarpe Navigation Act 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2 . c. 14 ). Further improvements were made to the river above Evesham from 1664 by a syndicate led by Andrew Yarranton . He
5810-470: Was built in 1758 as a wagonway, later became the world's first operational railway (other than funiculars), albeit in an upgraded form. In 1764, the first railway in America was built in Lewiston, New York as a wagonway. Wagonways improved coal transport by allowing one horse to deliver between 10 and 13 long tons (10.2 and 13.2 t ; 11.2 and 14.6 short tons ) of coal per run— an approximate fourfold increase. Wagonways were usually designed to carry
5893-426: Was conveyed by licensed carriers in their own wagons . They could also purchase a further licence costing £12 per annum, to carry passengers. By 1829, the tramway was making an operating profit, although the profits were not sufficient to pay off the considerable debts which the tramway had accrued. The steam hauled Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) opened in 1853 serving Moreton-in-Marsh with
5976-471: Was financed by Lord Ravensworth , it seems that it was known at the time as Blücher . In 1814 William Stewart was engaged by Parkend Coal Co in the Forest of Dean for the construction of a steam locomotive, which when trialled was reported to be successful. Stewart did not receive his expected reward and the two parties parted on bad terms. Stewart was 'obliged to abandon the engine to that Company'. In 1821,
6059-543: Was first used by William Jessop on a line that was opened as part of the Charnwood Forest Canal between Loughborough and Nanpantan in Leicestershire in 1789. This line was originally designed as a plateway on the Outram system, but objections were raised to laying rails with upstanding ledges or flanges on the turnpike . This difficulty was overcome by paving or "causewaying" the road up to
6142-444: Was generally established. Wheels tended to bind against the flange of the plate rail and mud and stones would build up. The manufacture of the rails themselves was gradually improved. By making them in longer lengths, the number of joints per mile was reduced. Joints were always the weakest part of the line. Another advance was the substitution of wrought iron for cast iron, though that material did not gain wide adoption until after
6225-399: Was not the originator. This type of rail was known as the plate-rail, tramway-plate or way-plate, names that are preserved in the modern term " platelayer " applied to the workers who lay and maintain the permanent way . The wheels of flangeway wagons were plain, but they could not operate on ordinary roads as the narrow rims would dig into the surface. Another form of rail, the edge rail ,
6308-408: Was over 200 feet (60 m) deep. After about 10,000 years, when the glacier finally retreated, the water was able to cut through the previous watershed and to escape to the southwest, so forming the present day route of the river. From Alveston weir, which is 2 miles (3.2 km) upstream of Stratford-upon-Avon, downstream to Tewkesbury and the River Severn, the river has been rendered navigable by
6391-580: Was passed in 1821 and construction was completed in 1826, the route having been surveyed by the railway promoter William James and engineered by John Urpeth Rastrick . The tramway was built as part of an early and ambitious scheme known as the Central Junction Railway promoted by William James, to link the Midlands with London via canal between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon, tramway to Oxford , and finally by river barge down
6474-498: Was supported by a four man land and boat crew consisting of Robert Stringer, Bob Bain, Joe Bawdon and Phil Leibrandt. Despite being an ex-competitive pool swimmer, Craig had never taken part in open water swimming previously and the crew had never embarked on any similar challenges. The team set off from Alveston Weir in Stratford-Upon-Avon at 20:00 on Friday 16 July 2021 and swam through the day and night to complete
6557-611: Was the largest project of its type to that date, and Hutchings was awarded an MBE for his leadership. There have been proposals to extend the navigation upstream from Alveston to a link with the Grand Union Canal at either Warwick or Leamington Spa. This was first considered by the Severn Trent Water Authority in 1974, who conducted a survey, the cost of which was partly funded by the Inland Waterways Association . This would open up
6640-413: Was tortuous and prone to flooding, and was abandoned as a means of navigation in 1877. The Lower Avon struggled on, and never really closed, although by 1945 it was only navigable below Pershore . Restoration of the lower river as a navigable waterway began in 1950, and was completed in 1962. The upper river was a more daunting task, as most of the locks and weirs were no longer extant. Work began in 1965 on
6723-554: Was used by individual operators, vehicles would vary greatly in wheel spacing ( gauge ) and the plate rail coped better. In South Wales again, where in 1811 the railways were connected with canals, collieries, ironworks, and copper works, and had a total length of nearly 150 miles (241 km), the plateway was almost universal. But in the North of England and in Scotland the edge-rail was held in greater favor, and soon its superiority
6806-403: Was working for Lord Windsor and others, and the work included the construction of three navigation weirs, which were a type of flash lock with a single barrier. These were used to enable boats to pass over shoals, and with the exception of the one at Pensham, were not built adjacent to mills. The Pensham watergate did at times hinder the proper operation of the mill, when the water levels rose above
6889-579: Was £250,000, all of which was raised by public subscriptions, with the exception of a grant for £25,000 from the Department of the Environment, which was made at the time of the phase 1 opening. The project, which involved the construction of nine new locks, reopening a 17-mile (27 km) navigation which had been derelict for over 100 years, was completed on 1 June 1974, when Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother returned to Stratford to declare it open. It
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