LMS Route: Rugby to Leamington

The line to Leamington from Rugby's LNWR station was first opened on 1st March 1851 and was originally built as a single line throughout. Birdingbury and Marton were the initial intermediate stations opening with the line and provided both passenger and goods services from the outset. Dunchurch was opened for passenger services on 2nd October 1871 and its goods yard from 1st February 1872.

According to Colin Maggs in his book 'Branch Lines of Warwickshire' the timetables showed few significant changes over the years with the number of trains rising from seven down and eight up trains in August 1887, to nine trains in each direction in April 1910, whilst records for July 1922 saw eleven trains in each direction.

Colin also notes the time taken to complete the 15¾ mile journey increased over the years, from a 36 minute journey in 1887, to 40 minutes in 1910 and finally to 45 minutes in 1922. A Euston to Leamington service was provided between July 1908 and December 1912 by slipping a coach at Rugby and attaching it to a Leamington bound train.

It would be a mistake to believe the growth in passenger traffic justified the decision to double the line as this was more likely connected to the growth in goods traffic, particularly coal traffic from the North Warwickshire coal fields, and the need to divert this away from the Trent Valley, Birmingham to Rugby and Rugby to Euston routes.

Select a station or subheading to view associated images. Numbers in [brackets] specify the number of photos on each page.

		Rugby (LNWR):
		Station [248]
		Shed [138]
		Testing Station [1]
		Dunchurch [7]
		Birdingbury [12]
		Marton [14]
		Marton Junction [5]
		Offchurch lineside views [7]
		Leamington Avenue (LNWR) [67]
		Warwick (Milverton)
		Station [23]
		Shed [31]
		Goods Yard and Shed [15]

Route continues on to Nuneaton via Coventry