Leicester and Swannington Railway - Overview

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 coalmasters of Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. 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 Canal and the Soar Navigation. In 1794 the latter was extended to Leicester. A branch – the Charnwood Forest Canal – opened up the Leicester trade but, in 1799, part of it collapsed, closing it.

In 1828 William Stenson observed the success of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and, with John Ellis, and his son Robert, travelled to see George Stephenson where he was building the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. 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 Liverpool. The line obtained the Royal Assent 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 Birmingham, 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 Railway down the Erewash Valley which eventually became the Midland Counties Railway.