Introduction
Around a mile to the east of the town of Stratford-upon-Avon the single line of the East & West Junction Railway (EWJR) once passed in very quick succession beneath two bridges of quite different character and purpose. The eastern-most bridge, a typical arched brick structure, carried the main road between Stratford and Banbury, but by contrast the other simple girder span provided a route for another railway, although one of much earlier origins than the EWJR. This was the northern extent of the erstwhile horse-operated Stratford-upon-Avon and Moreton-in-Marsh tramway, initially opened as far back as 1826.
The story of the tramway has already been recounted many times before in various books, journals and magazines, but to provide a general background, suffice it to say that it was very much…