The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1844 to 1922 when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. London Midland for the new (2007 railway company The London Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS) was a British Railway company

Initially, the MR's main line, now known as the Midland Main Line, connected the East Midlands to London and to Leeds. The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Leeds railway station (often known by its official name Leeds City) is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, Eventually the Midland (head office in Derby) owned a large network of railway lines centred on the East Midlands, and the main lines connecting the East Midlands to Birmingham and Bristol, and another to Manchester. Derby (pronounced "dar-bee" /dˈɑːbɪ/ is a city in the East Midlands of England. The East Midlands is one of the Regions of England and consists of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London In the end, they were the only railway of the time to own or share lines in all of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world

Midland Railway coat of arms at Derby Station. The wyvern which surmounts it had been used by the Leicester and Swannington Railway. A wyvern or wivern (derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for serpent and ˈwɪvən is a legendary winged reptilian creature often found in Mediaeval The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S was one of England's first railways being opened on July 17 1832 to bring Coal from pits in west Leicestershire It was the emblem of the rulers of Mercia and was used extensively as an emblem by the Midland. An emblem is a pictorial Image, abstract or representational that epitomizes a Concept — e Mercia (ˈmɝsiə was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy.

Origin

The Midland Railway Consolidation Bill was placed before Parliament and was passed in 1844 by the merger of the Midland Counties Railway, the North Midland Railway, and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway. Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Midland Counties Railway (MCR was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844 connecting Nottingham, Leicester The North Midland Railway was a British Railway company which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham (Masborough and Leeds in 1840 The Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British Railway company

Leading it was the dynamic but unscrupulous George Hudson from the North Midland, and John Ellis, from the Midland Counties, a careful businessman of impeccable integrity. George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 - 14 December 1871) English railway financier known as the "Railway King" was born John Ellis (1789 – 1862 of Beaumont Leys in Leicestershire was instrumental in interesting George Stephenson in the proposed Leicester and Swannington From the Birmingham line, James Allport found a place elsewhere in Hudson's empire, with the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, though he was later to return. Sir James Joseph Allport (1811-1892 English Railway manager born in February 1811 was a son of William Allport, of Birmingham and was associated with

The line was in a commanding position having its Derby headquarters at the junctions of the two main routes from London to Scotland. This by virtue of its connections to the London and Birmingham Railway in the south, and, in the north, the lines from York. This is about the 19th century railway company For the 21st century train operating company see London Midland The London and Birmingham Railway York ( is an historic Walled city sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England.

Consolidation

Almost immediately, it took over the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway and the Erewash Valley Line in 1845, the latter giving access to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coalfields. The Sheffield and Rotherham Railway was a short railway between Sheffield and Rotherham and the first in the two towns The Erewash Valley Line runs from south of Chesterfield along the Erewash Valley to Trent Junction at Long Eaton, joining the Midland Main Line Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle It also absorbed the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway in 1847 building a connection of the latter between Chesterfield and Trent Junction at Long Eaton, finally completed to Chesterfield in 1862 giving access to the coalfields that would become its major source of income. The 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 Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Chesterfield is a historic Market town and local government district in Derbyshire, a County in England. Trent railway station was situated near Long Eaton in Derbyshire at the junction of the Midland Railway line from London to Derby Long Eaton is a Town in Derbyshire, England. It lies just North of the River Trent about 7 miles Southwest of Passengers from Sheffield continued to meet the train at Masborough until a through route was completed in 1870. Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England Rotherham Masborough railway station was Rotherham 's main Railway station from the 1840s until most of its trains were rerouted via Rotherham Central Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Meanwhile it extended its influence in the Leicestershire coalfields, firstly by buying the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1846 , then extending it to Burton in 1849. Leicestershire (ˈlɛstəʃə(r or ˈlɛstəʃɪə(r abbreviation Leics The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S was one of England's first railways being opened on July 17 1832 to bring Coal from pits in west Leicestershire For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

The South-West

After the merger, London trains were carried on the shorter Midland Counties route, leaving the former B&DJR with the traffic to Birmingham and for Bristol at that time still an important seaport. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London The original 1839 line from Derby had run to Hampton-in-Arden railway station, but the B&DJR built a terminus at Lawley Street in 1842. Hampton-in-Arden railway station serves the village of Hampton-in-Arden in the West Midlands of England. Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Passengers for Bristol would change trains at Camp Hill station, until 1851 when the Midland started to run into Curzon Street. 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Curzon Street is located within the exclusive Mayfair district of London.

The line south was the Birmingham and Bristol Railway, which had been formed by the merger of the standard gauge Birmingham and Gloucester Railway and the broad gauge Bristol and Gloucester Railway. The Birmingham and Bristol Railway was a short-lived Railway company formed in 1845 by the merger of the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway and the Bristol and The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway is a Railway route linking Birmingham to Gloucester in England. Broad gauge Railways use a Rail gauge (distance between the rails greater than the Standard gauge of. The Bristol and Gloucester Railway opened in 1844 between Bristol and Gloucester, meeting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway.

These met at Gloucester via a short loop of the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway. The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a Broad gauge railway that linked the Great Western Railway at Swindon, Wiltshire, with The change of gauge at Gloucester meant that everything - goods, passengers and their luggage - had to be transferred between trains, creating chaos. Morever, the C&GWU was owned by the Great Western Railway who wished to extend their network by taking over the Bristol to Birmingham route. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West In 1845, while the two parties were bickering over the price, the Midland's John Ellis, while travelling on a London train, it is said, overheard two directors of the B&B discussing the business and took it on himself to pledge the Midland would match anything the Great Western would offer. Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Since it would have brought broad gauge into Curzon Street, with the possibility of extending it to the Mersey, it was something that the other standard gauge lines wished to avoid, and they pledged to assist the Midland with any losses it might incur. Curzon Street Station was a Railway station in Birmingham in the 19th century and is the world's oldest surviving piece of monumental railway architecture In the event all that was necessary was for the later LNWR to share New Street with the Midland when it was opened in 1854. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR L&NWR was a Railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922 Birmingham New Street is a major railway station located in the centre of the city of Birmingham, England. Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year At this time Lawley Street became a goods depot.

Eastern Competition

As has been noted, the Midland controlled all the traffic to the North East and Scotland from London. The LNWR was progressing slowly through the Lake District. Meanwhile there was pressure for a direct line from London to York. Permission had been gained for the Northern and Eastern Railway to run through Peterborough and Lincoln but it had barely reached Cambridge. The Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER operated one of the two main lines which eventually became the Great Eastern Railway: the other being the Eastern Counties Railway History Early history Present-day Peterborough is the latest in a series of settlements which have at one time or other benefited from its situation where the Nene Lincoln (ˈlɪŋkən is a Cathedral city and County town of Lincolnshire, England. The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England

Two obvious extensions of the Midland Counties line were from Nottingham to Lincoln and from Leicester to Peterborough. Nottingham ( is a city in the Ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. Leicester (ˈlɛstə is the largest city and Unitary authority area in the East Midlands of England, and is the traditional They had not been proceeded with, but Hudson saw that that they would make ideal "stoppers. " In other words, if the cities concerned were provided with a rail service, it would make it more difficult to justify another line. They were approved while the bill for the direct line was still before Parliament, forming the present day Lincoln Branch and the Syston to Peterborough Line.

One other investment should be mentioned. The Leeds and Bradford Railway had been approved in 1844. The Leeds and Bradford Railway (L&BR was formed in 1843 to bring the railway to Bradford: the line opened on 1 July, 1846. Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year By 1850 it was losing money but a number of railways offered to buy it out. For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link Hudson made an offer more or less on his own account and the line gave the Midland an exit to the north which later became the Settle and Carlisle line. In addition it gave the Midland a much more convenient station at Leeds Wellington.

Hudson's defection

In spite of the objections of Hudson, for the Midland, and others, the new "London and York Railway", (later to become known as the Great Northern Railway) led by Edmund Denison persisted, and the bill passed through Parliament in 1846. Leeds railway station (often known by its official name Leeds City) is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, The Great Northern Railway (GNR was a British railway company established by the London & York Railway Act of 1846 For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display

Hudson changed his allegiance and promoted a short line from his York and North Midland Railway, ostensibly as a quarry line, that would give the Great Northern an easy entry into York. The York and North Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting York, with the Leeds and Selby Railway

Apart, perhaps, from the canals, until the beginning of the century there had simply been no companies with the size and capitalisation of the railways. Company law was still in its infancy, something which many took advantage of. There is no doubt that Hudson had greatly encouraged railway development, but his financial practices had often been dubious. His defection had incensed the Midland's directors. Their rejection of him attracted the attention others and questions were asked. In the end he was discredited and retired to Paris in poverty.

After Hudson's departure, the Midland was in financial difficulties. Opposition to the Great Northern bill had cost a fortune, a great deal of maintenance was overdue, and the Lincoln and Peterborough lines were still to be paid for. Added to this, the Great Northern was taking much of the traffic from the North-East, particularly as the Midland was dependent on the LNWR from Rugby into London. Rugby is a Market town in Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England, on the River Avon.

Thanks to the control that had been exercised by John Ellis, there was no impropriety in the company's accounts, and it was due to his business acumen that the Midland survived and prospered.

Rather than compete on the passenger front, he first set out to concentrate on the coal trade, for in this he had an advantage over both the GNR and the M&SLR. The Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR was formed by amalgamation in 1847 While a number of lines had access to the Yorkshire fields and resisted encroachment by others, the Midland had virtually sole access to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire mines, which were thirty miles or more nearer London.

The Battle of Nottingham

In 1851 the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway completed its line from Grantham as far as Colwick from which a branch led to the Midland's Nottingham station. Grantham is a Market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Colwick is a suburb in the east of Greater Nottingham in England. The Great Northern by then passed through Grantham and both railway companies paid court to the fledgling line. Meanwhile Nottingham had woken up to its branch line status and was keen to expand. The Midland made a takeover offer only to discover that a shareholder of the GN had already gathered a quantity of Ambergate shares. An attempt to amalgamate the line with the GN was foiled by Ellis who managed to obtain an Order in Chancery preventing the GN from running into Nottingham. However in 1881 it opened a new service to the north which, regardless of this, included Nottingham. The first of its trains to run into Nottingham in 1852 was preceded and followed by Midland locomotives which shepherded its loco into an old shed and the lines were pulled up.

The Euston Square Confederacy

The London and Birmingham Railway and its successor the London and North Western Railway had been under pressure from two directions. This is about the 19th century railway company For the 21st century train operating company see London Midland The London and Birmingham Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR L&NWR was a Railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922 Firstly the Great Western Railway had been foiled in its attempt to enter Birmingham by the Midland, but it still had designs on Manchester. At the same time the LNWR was under threat from the Great Northern's attempts to enter Manchester by means of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. The Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR was formed by amalgamation in 1847

The LNWR was led by the brilliant but totally unscrupulous Mark Huish. At first, observing the poor state of the Midland finances, he had proposed at amalgamation which Ellis opposed seeking better terms. He then formed an alliance with the MS&LR and the Midland against the Great Northern, which became known as the Euston Square Confederacy.

An agreement was reached whereby passenger traffic was shared and the Midland would be compensated for passengers taken by the GN. Another problem which arose in 1851 coincided with the Great Exhibition. 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year The Great Exhibition, also known as Crystal Palace, was an international exhibition that was held in Hyde Park, London, England, from 1 The GN had just opened and took most of the Midland's traffic. The Midland retaliated by cutting its fares, resulting in a price war in which journeys were virtually being given away. Gladstone, who was the minister responsible for railways at that time, imposed a traffic sharing scheme between the two lines for journeys from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. In time the Midland grew stronger and, when relationships were soured between Huish and the MS&LR, the Confederacy was virtually at an end.

To London

In 1850 the Midland, though much more secure, was still a provincial line. Ellis realised that if it were to fend off its competitors it must expand outwards. The first step was to appoint James Allport as Chief Engineer and the next was to shake off the dependence on the LNWR from Rugby into Euston. Euston station (official name London Euston) is a major Railway station to the north of central London in the London Borough of Camden

Although a bill for running the line from Hitchin into Kings Cross, jointly with the Great Northern Railway, was passed in 1847 it had not been proceeded with. Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, and has an estimated population of 30360 King's Cross station is a major railway terminus opened in 1852 The Great Northern Railway (GNR was a British railway company established by the London & York Railway Act of 1846 Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

The bill was resubmitted in 1853 with the support of the people of Bedford, whose branch to the LNWR was slow and unreliable, and with the knowledge of the Northamptonshire iron deposits. Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common

The new line ran from Wigston toward Market Harborough, through Desborough, Kettering, Wellingborough and Bedford, joining the GNR at Hitchin to run into King's Cross. South Wigston railway station serves the suburb of South Wigston near Leicester, England The station is located on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line Market Harborough Railway station serves the town of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, England. Desborough railway station was built by the Midland Railway in 1857 on its extension from Leicester to Bedford and Hitchin. Kettering railway station is to the south-west of the Kettering town centre in Northamptonshire, England. Wellingborough railway station serves the town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, England. History The previous Bedford Midland station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 originally on its line to join the Great Northern at Hitchin Hitchin railway station serves the town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire.

While this took some of the pressure off the route through Rugby, the GN would not allow passengers into London on Midland trains. It insisted that they should alight at Hitchin, buying tickets in the short time available, to catch a GNR train to finish their journey. In the end Allport managed to arrange a seven-year deal with the GN to run into King's Cross for a guaranteed £20,000 a year

By 1860 Midland was in a much better position and was able to approach new ventures aggressively. Its carriage of coal and iron - and beer from Burton-on-Trent - had increased by three times and passenger numbers were rising, as they were on the GN. Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a large town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, Since the GN trains took precedence on its own lines, Midland passengers were becoming more and more delayed. Finally in 1862 the decision was taken for the line have its own terminus in the Capital as befitted a national railway.

The new line would deviate at Bedford and would pass through a gap in the Chiltern Hills at Luton reaching London by curving around Hampstead Heath to a point between King's Cross and Euston. Luton railway station is located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Hampstead Heath (locally known as "the Heath" is London 's largest ancient parkland covering 3

The new station at St Pancras completed in 1868 has remained as a marvel of "Victorian Gothic" architecture, in the form of the enormous hotel by Gilbert Scott which faces Euston Road, and the massive wrought iron train shed designed by William Barlow. St Pancras railway station is a major railway station situated in the St Pancras area of Central London between the British Library and King's Cross Year 1868 ( MDCCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Sir George Gilbert Scott ( 13 July 1811 &ndash 27 March, 1878) was an English Architect of the Victorian Age William Henry Barlow (1812-1902 was an English Civil engineer of the 19th century particularly associated with Railway engineering projects Its construction was not simple since it had to approach over an ancient abandoned graveyard. Below it would be the Fleet Sewer, while a branch from the main line was to be built, running underground with a steep gradient beneath the station to join the Metropolitan Railway which ran parallel to what is now called Euston Road. The Metropolitan Railway (MetR and the Metropolitan District Railway (District were the first two underground railways to be built in London, creating the world's

To Manchester

From the 1820s proposals for lines from London and the East Midlands had been proposed, and that they had considered using the Cromford and High Peak Railway to reach Manchester. The Cromford and High Peak Railway (C&HPR in Derbyshire, England, was completed in 1831 to carry Minerals and goods between the Cromford Canal The ideas had never reached fruition since the practicality of using cable haulage for passenger trains was always in doubt.

Finally the Midland joined with the London and Birmingham Railway, which was also looking for its own access to Manchester, in a proposal for a line from Ambergate. Ambergate railway station is a Railway station serving the village of Ambergate in Derbyshire. To be known as The Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway it received the Royal Assent in 1846, in spite of opposition from the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. The Manchester Buxton Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway initially served neither Manchester nor the Midlands since its connection with the North Midland Railway For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display The Sheffield Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and It opened had been built in 1849 as far as Rowsley a few miles north of Matlock. Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Rowsley is a village on the A6 road in the English county of Derbyshire. Matlock railway station is a Railway station serving the town of Matlock in Derbyshire, England. However the London and Birmingham had become part of the LNWR in 1846, thus having an interest in thwarting the Midland.

In 1863 the Midland built its line into Buxton, just as the LNWR arrived from the other direction. Year 1863 ( MDCCCLXIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In 1867 began an alternative line through Wirksworth (now known as the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway), to avoid the problem of the Ambergate line. Year 1867 ( MDCCCLXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The Ecclesbourne Valley Railway is a Heritage railway in Derbyshire, with operations based at Wirksworth station It was not completed because the Midland gained control of the latter in 1871. It was still, however, blocked at Buxton. At length an agreement was made with the MS&LR to share lines, built from a branch at Millers Dale and almost alongside the LNWR, in what became known as the Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee. Millers Dale is a valley on the River Wye in Derbyshire. It is a popular beauty spot in the Peak District of England, much of the area being Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1869 as a joint venture between the Midland Railway and the Manchester Sheffield

Continuing friction with the LNWR caused the Midland to join the MS&LR and the GN in the Cheshire Lines Committee, which also gave scope for wider expansion into Lancashire and Cheshire, and finally a new station at Manchester Central. The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC was the second largest Joint railway in Great Britain Manchester Central (Formerly known as the GMEX centre and Manchester International Conference Centre (MICC is an exhibition and conference centre housed in a former

In the meantime Sheffield had at last gained main line station. Following representations by the council in 1867 the Midland promised to build a through line within two years. To the Midland's surprise, the Sheffield councillors then backed an improbable speculation called the Sheffield Chesterfield Bakewell Ashbourne Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway. This was unsurprisingly rejected by Parliament and the Midland built its "New Road" into a station at Pond Street. Loathed by all who used it, it was rebuilt in 1905 as the present Sheffield Midland.

Among last of the major lines built by the Midland was a connection between Sheffield and Manchester, by means of a branch on this line at Dore to Chinley, opened in 1894, involving the construction of the Totley and Cowburn Tunnels, now known as the Hope Valley Line. Sheffield Station, formerly Pond Street and later Sheffield Midland, is a Railway station and tram stop in central Sheffield, in Yorkshire Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Totley Tunnel is a 6230 yard (35 mile / 57 km Tunnel on the former Midland Railway Manchester-Sheffield line between Totley on the outskirts The Cowburn Tunnel is a railway tunnel at the western end of the Vale of Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District in the English Midlands The Hope Valley Line is a Railway line in England linking Sheffield with Manchester.

Competition for coal

The Great Western Railway seemed oblivious to the massive expansion in coal and mineral production that was occurring in South Wales during the second half of the 19th century. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West The LNWR had already penetrated the area by taking over various small local lines. The Midland followed suit and in 1867 took over the Swansea Vale Railway, followed by the Hereford Hay and Brecon Railway in 1886. History Built in 1815 as a tramroad the route was expanded as a feeder railway for several Swansea mines and by 1874 was carrying passengers between Swansea St Thomas station (now

Meanwhile in the East Midlands, dominance along the Erewash Valley was being challenged by the Great Northern and the Great Central. The Great Central Railway ( GCR) was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed In 1878 the GNR's "Derbyshire Extension" line through Derby Friargate opened. Derby Friargate Station was the main station in Derby on the Great Northen Railway Derbyshire Extension popularly known as the (Derby Friargate Line The This cut directly through the coalfields north of the Midland line which ran along the Trent Valley, and in extending to Egginton, had access to Burton-on-Trent and its lucrative beer traffic. Egginton is a Village in the local government district of South Derbyshire, England. Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a large town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire,

Thus the Midland retaliated with lines from Ambergate to Pye Bridge, from Basford to Bennerley Junction, and Radford to Trowell. Basford can refer to a number of locations in England Basford Cheshire Basford Nottingham Basford Shropshire Trowell is a Village and Civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. Later when mining became possible under the limestone to the east, more lines appeared around Mansfield

To Scotland

In the 1870s a dispute with the London and North Western Railway over access rights to the LNWR line to Scotland caused the MR to construct the Settle and Carlisle (S&C) line, the highest main line in England, in order to secure the company's access to Scotland; ironically the dispute with the LNWR was settled before the S&C was built, but Parliament refused to allow the MR to withdraw from the project, which was completed in 1876. Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the County, lying on the River Maun, from which the name of the town Events and Trends Technology The invention of the prototype telephone by Alexander G The London and North Western Railway (LNWR L&NWR was a Railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922 History The S&C had its origins in railway politics the expansion-minded Midland Railway company was locked in dispute with the rival London and North Western Railway The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Year 1876 ( MDCCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year

Later history

By 1870 the Midland straddled the country, lines from London and the South West meeting at Derby to travel to Scotland via the North West and the North-East. Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common There were now four tracks from London as far as Trent Junction. In 1879 these were complemented by the Melton Line via Corby, which also carried the Northern trains via Nottingham through Old Dalby. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Corby is an industrial town and a local government district located 13km north of Kettering in Northamptonshire, England. Old Dalby is a village in the English county of Leicestershire.

By the middle of the decade investment had been paid for, passenger travel was increasing with new comfortable trains, and goods traffic, the mainstay of the line, was increasing dramatically. In fact goods, particularly menial minerals, were its main business.

Allport retired in 1880, to be succeeded by John Noble and then by George Turner. By the new century the quantity of goods, particularly coal, was clogging the network. The Midland passenger service was acquiring a reputation for lateness. Lord Farrar reorganised, at least, the expresses but by 1905 the whole system was so overloaded that no one able to predict when many of the trains would reach their destinations and there were crews spending as much as a whole shift standing at a signal. Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting

At this point Sir Guy Granet took over as General Manager. Sir William Guy Granet, GBE ( 1867-10-13 - 1943-10-11) trained as a barrister but became a noted railway administrator first as general manager of the He introduced a centralised traffic control system, and the locomotive power classifications, which became the model for that used by British Rail to this day.

The Midland also acquired a number of other lines, including the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway in 1903 and the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway in 1912. The Northern Counties Committee (NCC was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting In common with other railways, they shared running rights on some lines, but they also developed lines in partnership with other railways, and were involved in more such 'Joint' lines than any other railway. In partnership with the Great Northern Railway it owned the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway to provide connections from the Midlands to East Anglia; the M&GN was the UK's biggest joint railway system. The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN was a Joint railway owned by the Midland Railway (MR and the Great Northern Railway (GNR in eastern The MR also provided motive power for the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and

Grouping

In 1914 came the Great War. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All All the railways in the country were taken under the control of the Railway Executive Committee and were paid an amount based on their receipts during 1913. All excursion traffic was cancelled. Passenger service and the steamers across the Irish Sea were limited in order to cater for munitions and troops trains, which at times overwhelmed the system. By the end of the war overcrowded trains were running at only half the prewar mileage. The overworked locomotives had not had the benefit of the prewar standard of maintenance, while many of the staff had never returned from the battlefront.

The Midland had not recovered from this when in 1921 the Government passed the Railways Act, with those uncomfortable bedfellows the Midland and the LNWR joining the Lancashire and Yorkshire, the Caledonian and the Glasgow and South Western Railway, along with such lines as the Furness and the North Staffordshire to form the London Midland and Scottish Railway. London Midland for the new (2007 railway company The London Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS) was a British Railway company

Innovation

The Midland pioneered the use of gas lighting for trains in Britain, put third-class carriages on all its trains in 1872, and abolished second class in 1875, giving third class passengers the level of comfort formerly afforded to second class passengers (elsewhere some third class passengers travelled in open wagons). Gas lighting refers to a technology used to produce light from gas usually methane but also including hydrogen and ethylene A train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a track ( Permanent way) to transport freight or passengers from one place to another Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This was an entirely pragmatic move - the second class seats were not well patronised - but controversial. Interestingly, there had been considerable resentment, on the part of the third class passengers, at the 'toffs' using it, at least for short journeys. Others saw it as promoting the working class above their social station. The railway also introduced the first British Pullman supplementary-fare cars. Pullman Porter redirects here For the 1919 film starring Fatty Arbuckle, see The Pullman Porter The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded The non-contiguous numbering of classes, with 1st and 3rd class only, continued until 1956, when third class was renamed second. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The company was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) on January 1, 1923 and was the most influential of the pre-grouping companies that formed the LMS. The Railways Act of 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being London Midland for the new (2007 railway company The London Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS) was a British Railway company New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

See also

• Locomotives of the Midland Railway. The Midland Railway 's Locomotives (which it always referred to as engines followed its small engine policy

References

• Truman, P. and Hunt, D. (1989) Midland Railway Portrait, Sheffield : Platform 5, ISBN 0-906579-72-4

Further reading

• Williams, Frederick Smeeton (1876) The Midland railway: its rise and progress, Strahan & Co. Frederick Smeeton Williams (1829-1886 was a minister in the Congregational Church, but is best known for his books on the early history of the Railway.
• Stretton, Clement Edwin (1901) The History of the Midland Railway available from Microsoft Live Search Books

External links

• Midland Railway Society
• Midland Railway Study Centre at Derby