Midland Counties Railway
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The Midland Counties Railway (MCR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844. The MCR was the forerunner to the Midland Railway.
The MCR grew up out of competition to supply coal to Leicester in the English East Midlands, a town which was rapidly industrialising and was a valuable market for coal. The competition was between the Coalville area of Leicestershire, and the Erewash Valley area of Nottinghamshire.
The former had built the Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S) in 1832 to connect the Leicestershire coalfields with the city. This railway had brought down the price of coal in Leicester, and thus became a consequence of the MCR.
Not to be outdone, the Nottinghamshire colliery owners planned to build their own line from the Erewash Valley to Leicester to compete with the L&S. In the event it was realised that a larger market for the coal could be obtained by transporting it to London, the incorporated line, called the "Midland Counties Railway, was to have a main line from Derby to Rugby on the London and Birmingham Railway ... the Erewash Valley line was dropped from the project."(1) The change was entirely due to the fact that the financial backers insisted upon it. The line received parliamentary consent in 1836, and was opened in three stages (1):
- Derby to Nottingham 4 June 1839
- Trent Junction to Leicester 4 May 1840
- Leicester to Rugby 1 July 1840
To the north, the MCR system linked with the North Midland Railway which linked their system to Sheffield and beyond.
Initially the MCR did not prosper due to competition from the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway which also transported coal from the East Midlands to London, via Hampton-in-Arden. An ensuing price war between the two companies almost drove both of them out of business.
One event which must go down in railway annals was however, the first large organised excursion by rail, "got up by the Nottingham Mechanics' Institute. A week later the Leicester Mechanics' Institute returned the compliment to Nottingham (1)". After Thomas Cook began the tourist business, the MCR " began organising excursions on its own account, on one occasion conveying some 2,400 people in a single train of 65 four-wheeled carriages and wagons." (1).The fact that MCR's locomotives were all either single driving-wheeled or 0-4-0s, and small at that meant that "the heavier the train, the more were added ... that ... excursion must have been a sight to behold!" (1)
In 1844, the Midland Counties, the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the North Midland Railway merged to form the new Midland Railway. The following year the Leicester and Swannington was also merged with the Midland Railway.
Most of the original Midland Counties line between Nottingham, Derby and Leicester is still operating today as part of the Midland Main Line. However the exit from Derby, through what later became the site of Chaddesden Sidings, closed in 1969. Also the original route was abandoned when track alterations were put in with the opening of Trent Station in the 1860s. The stretch between Leicester and Rugby was closed in 1961.
Reference used
- The Midland Railway C Hamilton Ellis (Ian Allan Ltd, 1953)