The
Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S) was one of England's first railways, being opened on 17 July 1832 to bring coal from collieries in west
LeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
to
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
.
Overview
The construction of the railway was a pivotal moment in the transport history of East Midlands, which was characterised by fierce rivalry between the
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
masters of
LeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and
NottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. Through the latter half of the eighteenth century, the Leicestershire miners, using horses and carts, had been at a disadvantage compared to those in Nottinghamshire, who had access to the
Erewash CanalThe Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal.-Origins:...
and the
Soar NavigationThe River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
. In 1794 the latter was extended to Leicester. A branch – the
Charnwood Forest CanalThe Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794...
– opened up the Leicester trade but, in 1799, part of it collapsed, closing it.
In 1828
William StensonWilliam Stenson was a mining engineer born in Coleorton, Leicestershire.BackgroundLittle is currently known about Stenson's background. Detail of his parentage remains unknown and neither is it known where he would have received his training as an engineer...
observed the success of the
Stockton and Darlington RailwayThe Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
and, with
John EllisJohn Ellis , of Beaumont Leys in Leicester, was instrumental in interesting George Stephenson in the proposed Leicester and Swannington Railway....
, and his son Robert, travelled to see
George StephensonGeorge Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
where he was building the
Liverpool and Manchester RailwayThe Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
. Stephenson visited Leicester on their invitation and agreed to become involved. The first meeting to discuss the line was held at the Bell Inn in Leicester, where subscriptions amounting to £58,250 were raised. The remainder of the £90,000 was raised through Stephenson's financial contacts in
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. The line obtained the
Royal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
in 1830 and the first part opened in 1832.
The line was only the fifth such line to be authorised, opening six years before the
London and BirminghamThe London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
, and required techniques, particularly for the tunnel, that were then virtually untried. Its success led to the initial moves by the Nottinghamshire miners towards a rail connection from the
Mansfield and Pinxton RailwayThe Mansfield and Pinxton Railway was an early horse-drawn railway company in the United Kingdom, constructed in 1819 to transport coal between Mansfield and the head of the Pinxton branch of the Cromford Canal and thence by the Erewash Valley and the Trent to Leicester...
down the
Erewash ValleyThe Erewash Valley is the valley of the River Erewash on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as far as the River Trent. It runs along the boundary of the southern end of the Derbyshire hills and the more rolling Nottinghamshire country...
which eventually became the
Midland Counties RailwayThe Midland Counties Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, to London. The MCR system connected with the North Midland Railway and the...
.
Construction
The engineer for the railway was
Robert StephensonRobert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
, with the assistance of Thomas Miles, while his father raised much of the capital for the line from friends in Liverpool.
Like other early railways, it followed canal practice in that it consisted of essentially level sections linked by
inclinesA cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
(taking the place of the canal's locks), where the trains were drawn up and lowered down by rope. Even so, it featured some quite heavy earthworks. From a station and coal wharf alongside the
Soar NavigationThe River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
at West Bridge on the west side of the
Fosse WayThe Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
in Leicester, it headed northwards for about a mile, before passing through the 5316 yard long tunnel at
GlenfieldGlenfield is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It is part of the Blaby district, and has a population of about 10,000. Its location at the northwestern fringe of the city of Leicester effectively makes it a suburb, although it is politically and administratively separate...
, to the valley of the
Rothley BrookThe Rothley Brook is a minor waterway in Leicestershire, England. It first becomes noticeable after Thornton Reservoir, near the village of Thornton in the National Forest...
. It proceeded about five miles to
DesfordDesford is a village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district, west of the centre of Leicester. The parish includes the hamlets of Botcheston and Newtown Unthank and a scattered settlement at Lindridge.-Manors:...
, then swung north west towards
BagworthBagworth is a village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester.-History:There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton....
. The original Bagworth station was at the foot of a 1 in 29 self-acting
inclined planeA cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
to the summit at 565 feet (172.2 m). Then the line passed through a cutting at Battleflat before reaching
Bardon HillBardon Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Bardon near Coalville, Leicestershire. It the highest point in Leicestershire and the National Forest, above sea level. The hill has two very distinct faces – one half preserved as a site of special scientific interest , the other removed by Bardon Hill...
and on to Long Lane where new collieries were opened. Beyond Long Lane the railway descended by a further inclined plane of 1 in 17 to the existing coal mines at
SwanningtonSwannington is a former mining village in Leicestershire, England. It was a terminus of the early Leicester and Swannington Railway that was built to carry away its pits' output...
and an end on connection with the Coleorton Tramway, which linked to further coal mines and
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarries. The track was to be single throughout.
Construction began almost immediately, but soon ran into trouble, particularly with the tunnel. Initial boring had suggested that it would not need a lining. However, it turned out that some 500 yard would be through porous sandstone. During its construction in 1831 the contractor, Daniel Jowett fell down a working shaft and was killed.
The low power of contemporary steam engines meant that where the gradient was steepest, locomotive haulage gave way to other means. As was common in those days,
"There were two inclines on the line: one at Bagworth, rising at 1 in 29 towards Swannington and worked by gravity; and a much steeper though shorter one at the Swannington end, descending at 1 in 17 and worked by stationary engine ..." The latter was built by The Horsely Coal and Iron Company and was equipped with a very early example of a piston valve.
Early operation
The first part of the line opened on 17 July 1832 with a train hauled by
Comet, driven by George Stephenson himself, with driver Weatherburn, from Leicester to the first
BagworthBagworth is a village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester.-History:There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton....
station at the foot of Bagworth incline. The locomotive's 13 feet (4 m) high chimney was knocked down by Glenfield Tunnel, due to the track having been packed up too high. It is said that the train stopped so that the passengers could wash themselves in the nearby Rothley Brook.
Difficulties remained with the cutting at Battleflat and the remainder of the line to Swannington did not open until 1833.
By the end of 1833 the line was delivering coal from
WhitwickWhitwick is a village in Leicestershire, England and is an ancient parish which formerly included the equally historic villages of Thringstone and Swannington. It was an important manor in the Middle Ages, which once included Bardon and Markfield, parts of Hugglescote, Donington le Heath, Ratby,...
,
IbstockIbstock is a village and civil parish about south of Coalville in North West Leicestershire, England. The village is on the A447 road Between Coalville and Hinckley....
and
BagworthBagworth is a village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester.-History:There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton....
collieries far more cheaply than could be done from the Erewash Valley.
The expansion of the coal trade transformed the area, even giving rise to a new town at Long Lane -
CoalvilleCoalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
. George Stephenson himself settled at
RavenstoneRavenstone is a small rural cluster village with a population of 2149, situated just off the A511 road between Coalville and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in North West Leicestershire, and within the National Forest, England....
, near
Ashby-de-la-ZouchAshby-de-la-Zouch, — Zouch being pronounced "Zoosh" — often shortened to Ashby, is a small market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, within the National Forest. It is twinned with Pithiviers in north-central France....
and, with his son
RobertRobert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
, opened a colliery at
SnibstonSnibston is a former coal mining village in Coalville, north west Leicestershire, in the English Midlands, now part of the civil parish of Ravenstone with Snibston. Its 13th century church of St Mary is the smallest church still in use for regular worship in England...
in 1833. He was commemorated by the inclusion of the red
fleur de lysFleur de Lys is a superheroine from Quebec and an ally of Northguard, created in 1984 by Mark Shainblum and Gabriel Morrissette. The name of the character is inspired by the heraldic symbol of the fleur de lys. It is the official emblem of Quebec and a prominent part of the Flag of Quebec...
in the arms of the former Ashby de la Zouch Rural District Council.
The usual train consisted of twenty-four wagons of 32
cwtThe hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
each. The idea that there would be a demand from passengers came a something of a surprise to the directors, but a carriage was hastily built, and very soon the line was carrying about 60 passengers a day and their fares were repaying one per cent of the capital. In time, both first and second class was provided. On payment of the fare at the departure station, each passenger would receive a metal token marked with the destination. This would be given up on arrival and reused. Small four-wheeled wagons and coaches, painted plain blue, comprised the rolling stock.
[1]
For many years facilities for passengers remained primitive, with local inns and tiny cabins serving as booking offices and passenger carriages being attached to goods trains. There was no platform at
West BridgeLeicester West Bridge is a former railway station in Leicester, Leicestershire. It was the terminus of the Leicester and Swannington Railway until 1928...
until a new passenger station was opened there in 1839 to handle the passenger trains that had been introduced six years earlier.
Glenfield tunnel was only the second tunnel in the World on a passenger railway, having shortly followed the opening of one on the
Canterbury and Whitstable RailwayThe Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...
. It proved an attraction for the inquisitive and had to be fitted with gates.
Meanwhile, devastated by the loss of their Leicester trade, the Erewash coalmasters met at the George Inn at
AlfretonAlfreton is a town and civil parish in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, England, adjoining the Bolsover and North East Derbyshire districts. It was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton Ward was 7,928 at the 2001 Census...
and decided to build their own line to Leicester, down the
Erewash ValleyThe Erewash Valley is the valley of the River Erewash on the border of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire as far as the River Trent. It runs along the boundary of the southern end of the Derbyshire hills and the more rolling Nottinghamshire country...
from the
Mansfield and Pinxton RailwayThe Mansfield and Pinxton Railway was an early horse-drawn railway company in the United Kingdom, constructed in 1819 to transport coal between Mansfield and the head of the Pinxton branch of the Cromford Canal and thence by the Erewash Valley and the Trent to Leicester...
, a tramway which had been built in 1819. Though not completed along its full length until much later, this was the beginning of the
Midland Counties RailwayThe Midland Counties Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, to London. The MCR system connected with the North Midland Railway and the...
, which in turn, became a founding partner in the
Midland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
.
Locomotives
Five locomotives were built by
Robert Stephenson and CompanyRobert Stephenson and Company was a locomotive manufacturing company founded in 1823. It was the first company set up specifically to build railway engines.- Foundation and early success :...
for the line. The first was
Comet, shipped from the works by sea to
HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and thence by canal, its first trip being on the opening day in 1832, when its 13 foot high chimney was knocked down by Glenfield Tunnel. The second engine,
Phoenix was delivered in 1832. Both these had four-coupled wheels and were sold in 1836 to work in the construction of the
London and Birmingham RailwayThe London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
. The next were
Samson and
Goliath, delivered in 1833. They were initially four-coupled, but were extremely unstable and a pair of trailing wheels were added. This
0-4-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
formation was also used for
Hercules, the next engine to enter service. These were the first six-wheeled goods engines with inside cylinders and, after the flanges were taken off the centre pairs of wheels, were so satisfactory, that Stephenson decided never to build another four-wheeled engine.
Whistle
On almost its first run, at Thornton crossing,
Samson collided with a horse and cart on its way to Leicester Market with a load of butter and eggs. Although the engine had a
hornA horn is a tapered sound guide designed to provide an acoustic impedance match between a sound source and free air. This has the effect of maximizing the efficiency with which sound waves from the particular source are transferred to the air...
, it clearly was not loud enough, and at the suggestion of Mr. Bagster, the manager, the engines were provided with the first steam
whistlesA train whistle or air whistle, , is an audible signaling device on a steam locomotive used to warn that the train is approaching, and to communicate with rail workers....
.
0-6-0 Design
By 1834, traffic had increased to such an extent that more powerful engines were needed and the next to be delivered was
Atlas, the first ever six-coupled
0-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
inside cylinder design. Although inside cylinders were more difficult to build and maintain, and, in the early days, prone to breakage of the crank axles, the engines were more stable than their outside cylindered counterparts. The design was so successful that it was the basic pattern for many goods engines over the next hundred years. The cramped space between the wheels, was a factor in the choice of a wider gauge in some railways overseas.
So far all the engines had been provided by Stephenson, but the directors decided to try one of
Edward BuryBury, Curtis and Kennedy was a steam locomotive manufacturer in Liverpool, England.Edward Bury set up his works in 1826, under the name of Edward Bury and Company. He employed James Kennedy, who had gained experience of locomotive production under Robert Stephenson and Mather, Dixon and Company,...
's locomotives. Stephenson was, of course, extremely influential in the running of the line, but agreed provided the Bury engine was tested fairly. Accordingly the
Liverpool arrived in 1834. An
0-4-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
, it proved unequal to the loads hauled by
Atlas. The next engine bought for the line was
Vulcan, an
0-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
by
Tayleur and CompanyVulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...
. The last two were by the
Haigh FoundryThe Haigh Foundry was leased in 1835 by E.Evans and T.C.Ryley in Haigh, Lancashire. It had initially been established in the Douglas Valley, in Haigh, circa 1790 by Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres and his brother Robert as an ironworks and foundry...
,
Ajax,
0-4-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
and
Hector,
0-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
. This last engine was so powerful that it became the pattern for engines built for the
Manchester and Leeds RailwayThe Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton....
, the
North Midland RailwayThe North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
, the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and the
Liverpool and Manchester RailwayThe Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
.
Takeover
Coal and quarry traffic made the line profitable, but with increasing competition, various schemes were afoot, and a group of Leicester and Tamworth financiers expressed an interest in buying the line. In August 1845 the directors sold out to the
Midland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
, which lost no time in improving the line.
Safety concerns prevented passenger trains using the Bagworth Incline. The practice was to provide separate trains for each of the level stretches and passengers would walk between them. A deviation on an easier gradient was therefore built, necessitating the closure of the original Bagworth station at the bottom of the incline and the opening of the new Bagworth and Ellistown station beyond the summit.
Moreover the intention was to double the line and rather than widen the Glenfield Tunnel a deviation was built from
DesfordDesford is a village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district, west of the centre of Leicester. The parish includes the hamlets of Botcheston and Newtown Unthank and a scattered settlement at Lindridge.-Manors:...
to meet the main line south of
Leicester London Road stationLeicester railway station serves the City of Leicester in Leicestershire, England.As of late 2009 Leicester is a Penalty fare station, a valid ticket or Permit to travel must be shown when requested.-Background:...
. The old line to West Bridge would remain mainly as a goods line.
The line was also extended westwards to
Burton upon TrentBurton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
, so transforming the isolated venture into a through route.
This left the Swannington Incline as a branch at one end, and the last few miles to the L&S terminal in Leicester as another.
The Line in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Passenger trains on the stub to
Leicester (West Bridge)Leicester West Bridge is a former railway station in Leicester, Leicestershire. It was the terminus of the Leicester and Swannington Railway until 1928...
ended in September 1928, although coal and oil traffic continued until 29 April 1966. Since Glenfield tunnel had limited clearance the Midland Railway built a batch of 6-wheel coaches of lower height and 4 inches narrower than normal to work through. They also had bars over their windows so that passengers could not lean out when going through the tunnel. For enthusiast railtours in later years over the line to West Bridge passengers were carried in brake vans; trains with normal passenger stock had to stop and reverse at Glenfield tunnel. The tunnel also limited the size of locomotives that could work through to West Bridge. In the latter years only
Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0The Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0 were a class of locomotives serving Britain's Midland Railway system in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between 1875 and 1908 the Midland Railway, under the control of locomotive superintendents Samuel W...
tender locos worked the trains. The last three veterans of this class from the late 19th century were retained at Coalville until 1964 specifically for working this line. They were replaced for the last couple of years operation by two
BR standard class 2 2-6-0The BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive, one of the British Railways Standard classes of the 1950s. They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes; 65 were built....
locomotives which had to be specially adapted by having their cabs cut down to clear the tunnel. These were 78013 and 78028.
The pits at the Swannington end were worked out by as early as 1875, but the incline found a new lease of life lowering wagons of coal to a new pumping station at the foot that kept the old workings clear of water, so preventing flooding in the newer mines nearby. The incline closed in 1948 when electric pumps were installed in the pumping station, but the winding engine was dismantled and is now at the
National Railway MuseumThe National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
at
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The site of the incline now belongs to the Swannington Heritage Trust.
Passenger trains on the extended line from
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
London Road to Burton on Trent ceased in 1964. Despite the end of coal mining in west Leicestershire in the 1980s, which resulted in the end of the coal trains, the railway continues to serve two
graniteGranite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarries, at Stud Farm near
MarkfieldMarkfield is a commuter village sitting within both the National Forest and Charnwood Forest and in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The settlement dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest and is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name...
and
Bardon HillBardon Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Bardon near Coalville, Leicestershire. It the highest point in Leicestershire and the National Forest, above sea level. The hill has two very distinct faces – one half preserved as a site of special scientific interest , the other removed by Bardon Hill...
, which produce regular heavy trains. A plan to reopen the line to passenger traffic as a phase of the
Ivanhoe Line scheme has so far failed to secure the necessary funds. Some campaigners now refer to the route as the National Forest Line, after the
National ForestThe National Forest is one of England’s most ambitious environmental projects. Across parts of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, are being transformed, blending ancient woodland with new planting to create a new national forest...
planted in the area since 1990.
Remains
This is a list of some of the historical remains that can be seen, most of which are on the closed sections of the line.
A short length of platform has been rebuilt on the site of the second passenger station (of 1893) at
West BridgeLeicester West Bridge is a former railway station in Leicester, Leicestershire. It was the terminus of the Leicester and Swannington Railway until 1928...
in
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, and has track alongside it and a semaphore signal, . From here the trackbed is now a public footpath for about a mile towards Glenfield tunnel, to .
A wooden lifting bridge, based on a design by Robert Stephenson, originally carrying a short branch over the
Soar NavigationThe River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
at West Bridge in
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, has been reconstructed next to the entrance of Snibston Discovery Park in
CoalvilleCoalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
, after spending some years installed on a footpath outside the
Abbey Pumping StationThe Abbey Pumping Station is an industrial museum in Leicester, England, on Corporation Road, opposite the National Space Centre.-History:The museum was previously a pumping station used to pump sewage to treatment works at Beaumont Leys, and was opened in 1891...
in Leicester.
A public footpath in
GlenfieldGlenfield may refer to:*Glenfield, Leicestershire, the administrative base of Leicestershire County Council, Leicestershire in England.*Glenfield, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.*Glenfield, New South Wales, is a suburb of Sydney, Australia....
passes close to the western entrance to Glenfield tunnel, , which has been bricked up. The eastern entrance to the tunnel has been buried, while the tunnel as a whole was sold to
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
city council for a nominal sum, though the council has never decided what use to make of it. The tops of several brick ventilator shafts can be seen among the houses of the estate above the tunnel, for example beside the
A563 at ; some are in the back gardens of the houses. The tunnel itself underwent in 2008 a retrofit to install strengthening rings that are hoped to prevent a collapse of the extant tunnel shaft. The £500,000 reinforcement project was commissioned by the Leicester city council and was recorded by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and photographed by the Leicestershire Industrial History Society.
From the centre of
GlenfieldGlenfield may refer to:*Glenfield, Leicestershire, the administrative base of Leicestershire County Council, Leicestershire in England.*Glenfield, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.*Glenfield, New South Wales, is a suburb of Sydney, Australia....
, , the trackbed has been converted to a public footpath to
RatbyRatby is a commuter village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire. It is situated to the west of Leicester, and just south of the motorway. It has a population of about 4,000. The Roman name for Leicester was Ratae Corieltauvorum...
, , where there is a commemorative plaque next to a short length of rail.
Most of the incline at
BagworthBagworth is a village in Leicestershire, England, west of Leicester.-History:There are records of the manor of Bagworth from the early 14th and early 15th centuries, when it was held by the same feudal lords as the neighbouring manor of Thornton....
, now bypassed by a deviation line, is a public footpath, at top to near bottom. Near the top was the bow-fronted incline-keeper's house,, see photograph near the top of this page. Although this was probably the oldest surviving railway building in the
East MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
. and a grade-two
listed building it was allowed to fall down to become an overgrown pile of bricks.
At
CoalvilleCoalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
the original building for passengers to buy tickets is now a children's nursery beside the level crossing, .
The incline at Swannington is under the supervision of the Swannington Heritage Trust and the track bed down the incline has been opened as a footpath with information boards. The foundations of the engine house at the top of the incline, , have been uncovered and about 75 yards (75m) of track laid have been relaid. The historic winding engine was removed from here after the inclined closed to the
National Railway MuseumThe National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
at
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
The central part of the line from
DesfordDesford is a village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district, west of the centre of Leicester. The parish includes the hamlets of Botcheston and Newtown Unthank and a scattered settlement at Lindridge.-Manors:...
to
Bardon HillBardon Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Bardon near Coalville, Leicestershire. It the highest point in Leicestershire and the National Forest, above sea level. The hill has two very distinct faces – one half preserved as a site of special scientific interest , the other removed by Bardon Hill...
, on the outskirts of
CoalvilleCoalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
, is still used daily by the stone trains and can be observed from bridges, level crossings, and footpaths.
Motive power depot
British RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways closed Mantle Lane depot at
CoalvilleCoalville is a town in North West Leicestershire, England, with a population estimated in 2003 to be almost 33,000. It is situated on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Trent, close to junction 22 of the M1 motorway where the A511 meets the A50 between Ashby-de-la-Zouch and...
in 1990. Its "Category A" status was a clerical error, and was in fact a "Category C". This BR depot was unusual in having no fueling points, fitters or any other shed facilities. Locomotives would be taken in ferries to nearby Bardon or
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
for refueling, water and sandbox filling. This perhaps shows why it was a surprise to find it as an A listed depot. Little remains at the site which hints at its formerly busy railway past. Two tracks remain where once lay four 'on shed' as it were. The Mantle Lane Sidings are overgrown with saplings that are now more than 20 years old and only a short stretch is usable from the points on the main line before the trees encroach the track.
FM RailFM Rail Limited was a railway spot-hire and charter company based at Derby, United Kingdom. The company was formed in January 2005 following the merging of spot-hire company Fragonset Railways Limited with charter train operating company Merlin Rail Limited...
, shortly before its bankruptcy, leased the Mantle Lane Sidings to reduce costs. However, it had not properly assessed the state of the sidings or the work needed to bring them up to spec so only one line was ever used, up to the edge of the trees. Only one tree was ever felled, to allow a wagon to sit a yard or so further in. Following FM's demise, all of its stock at Mantle Lane was taken elsewhere for scrap or further use.
Network Rail recently replaced point mechanisms on the loop and relief lines near to the sidings, which had been out of use for 20 years until FM arrived, and
FreightlinerFreightliner can refer to* Freightliner Trucks, a heavy vehicle manufacturer in the United States* Freightliner Group Limited, a European rail-freight operator* Freight liner , describing a cargo ship operating to a repeating schedule...
now stables its stone wagons here between trips. The former Marcroft Wagon Repair yard is now a wood yard and currently for sale. Viewing on
Google EarthGoogle Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
shows some clear grooves in the site where rails once ran. All that remains at Mantle Lane is the signalbox, still in use.
Further reading
- Stevenson, P.S. ed, (1989) The Midland Counties Railway, Railway and Canal Historical Society.
- Twining, A. ed, (1982) An Early Railway: A Car Trail to the Leicester and Swannington Leicester: Leicestershire Museums
- Williams, R. (1988) The Midland Railway: A New History, Newton Abbot: David & Charles
David & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
- Whishaw, F. (1842) The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland London: John Wheale repub Clinker, C.R. ed, (1969) Whishaw's Railways of Great Britain and Ireland Newton Abbot: David & Charles
- Williams, F.S. (1874) The Midland Railway: Its Rise and Progress Derby: Bemrose and Son
Further listening
- Peter Handford (Dir), (1964) The Glenfield Goods: A journey from Leicester, West Bridge, on a goods train hauled by a Midland 2F class 0-6-0, EAF 78, London: Argo Record Company Limited. An Argo Transacord, 7 inch, 45 rpm, extended play, vinyl recording of 2F 0-6-0 58148, built in 1876, on a train in July 1963. Side 1: between Leicester and Glenfield. Side 2: Shunting at Groby Quarry Sidings, leaving Groby sidings and arriving at Ratby, and the return journey between Ratby and Glenfield.
External links