Leicester and Swannington Railway - The Line in The 20th and 21st Centuries

The Line in The 20th and 21st Centuries

Passenger trains on the stub to Leicester (West Bridge) 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 0-6-0 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 2-6-0 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 Museum at York. The site of the incline now belongs to the Swannington Heritage Trust.

Passenger trains on the extended line from Leicester 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 granite quarries, at Stud Farm near Markfield and 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 Forest planted in the area since 1990.