Origins
Although Birmingham was served by an extensive canal network, indeed, it is suggested they were a factor in its growth as an engineering centre, there were technical problems since Birmigham was on rising ground.
As early as 1824, Birmingham businessmen had been looking at the possibilities of the railway. The London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway had obtained their Acts of Parliament in 1833 and a scheme for a line to Gloucester and Bristol was in the air. The North Midland had been floated in 1833 and a proposal was made to connect to its terminus at Derby
George Stephenson surveyed the route in 1835. The bill envisaged the line as running through Whitacre to meet the London and Birmingham Railway with a junction at Stechford to travel into the latter's terminus at Curzon Street. It would also run from Whitacre to Hampton-in-Arden, where it would join the L&B for connections to London.
The promoters came into conflict with those of the Midland Counties Railway even before the bills were presented to Parliament since the lines would compete with each other. In the end, the Birmingham and Derby line agreed to withdraw their branch to Hampton if it the Midland Counties withdrew their line along the Erewash valley.
With the active support of the Prime Minister Robert Peel, the member for Tamworth, the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway Bill passed through Parliament on 19 May 1836. The Hampton branch had been removed, but when the Midland Counties presented their bill, it still contained the Erewash line (although it was later dropped on the insistence of the North Midland Railway). The Birmingham and Derby people therefore presented a fresh bill in 1840 for the branch as a separate line which later became known as the Stonebridge Railway.
Read more about this topic: Birmingham And Derby Junction Railway
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