A Midland Railway chronology>London extension". The Midland Railway Society. 1998. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. The new line deviated at Bedford, 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. The line from Bedford to Moorgate opened for passenger services on 13 July 1868 [19] with services into St Pancras station starting on 1 October 1868. [20] Red carriages with gold lettering still formed the Midland expresses. On some occasions, an L.N.W.R. locomotive hauling Midland coaches could be seen, a sight unheard of before 1923 and one that would have virtually caused civil war. The amalgamation meant that competing routes could be rationalised. The two Buxton stations were placed under one stationmaster; the former L.N.W.R. platforms were numbered 1. 2. and 3. And the Midland ones relegated to 4. 5 and 6. Departures for Manchester could be arranged alternately instead of simultaneously, but the longer journey time via Millers Dale resulted in alternate departures from Buxton becoming simultaneous arrivals in Manchester. By 1860 the MR 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. Since GN trains took precedence on its own lines, MR passengers were becoming more and more delayed. Finally in 1862 the decision was taken for the MR to have its own terminus in the Capital, as befitted a national railway. Derby Midland Station is a short walk from Derby City Centre. We area 30 minute bus ride away using the 9.1 bus. For further information about bus services from Derby please see below.

Before the line closures of the Beeching era, the lines to Buxton and via Millers Dale during most years presented an alternate (and competing) main line from London to Manchester, carrying named expresses such as The Palatine and the " Blue Pullman" diesel powered Manchester – London service (the Midland Pullman). Express trains to Leeds and Scotland such as the Thames–Clyde Express mainly used the Midland's corollary Erewash Valley line, returned to it, and then used the Settle–Carlisle line. Expresses to Edinburgh Waverley, such as The Waverley travelled through Corby and Nottingham. Davies, R.; Grant, M.D. (1984). Forgotten Railways: Chilterns and Cotswolds. Newton Abbot, Devon: David St John Thomas. pp.110–111. ISBN 0-946537-07-0. In November 2021 the Government announced its Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands which made a number of proposals for the Midland Main Line. These included a commitment to complete the stalled electrification work, an upgrade to digital signalling, and a connection to High Speed 2. The latter would see a junction built south of East Midlands Parkway station rather than the previous plan of an East Midlands Hub further north on the Toton sidings. This will allow HS2 services to connect to both Derby and Nottingham city centres directly using the MML for access, which was a criticism of the previous HS2 eastern leg proposal. [4] Route definition [ edit ] The coat of arms combines the symbols of Birmingham, Derby, Bristol, Leicester, Lincoln and Leeds. The wyvern, a legendary bipedal dragon, was used extensively as an emblem by the Midland, having inherited it from the Leicester and Swannington Railway. The MR, which used a wyvern sans legs (legless) above its crest, asserted that the "wyvern was the standard of the Kingdom of Mercia", and that it was "a quartering in the town arms of Leicester". [40] The symbol appeared on everything from station buildings and bridges down to china, cutlery and chamber pots in its hotels, and was worn as a silver badge by all uniformed employees. However, in 1897 the Railway Magazine noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia". [41] It has been associated with Leicester since the time of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester ( c. 1278–1322), the most powerful lord in the Midlands, who used it as his personal crest, and was recorded in a heraldic visitation of the town in 1619. [42] Accidents and incidents [ edit ]Midland Railway. Removal of the Passenger Station at Birmingham". Aris’s Birmingham Gazette. 28 April 1851 . Retrieved 12 July 2016– via British Newspaper Archive. Rail industry welcomes progress on Midland Mainline electrification". www.riagb.org.uk . Retrieved 21 December 2021. Continuing friction with the LNWR caused the MR 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. [22]

Route 19 Midland Main Line and East Midlands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2016 . Retrieved 10 August 2016. Ambergate Junction to Manchester [ edit ] The complex network of road and rail around Ambergate Junction, formerly where Manchester expresses left the mainline a b c d e Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. pp.26, 50–52, 66. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0. Re-doubling the Kettering to Oakham Line between Kettering North Junction and Corby as well as re-signalling to Syston Junction via Oakham, allowing a half hourly London to Corby passenger service (from an infrastructure perspective) from December 2017 and creating additional paths for rail freight. [32] [33]At Hawes station, on the branch to the east of the main line, there was an end-on junction with the North Eastern Railway (NER) line across the Pennines to Northallerton Davies, R.; Grant, M.D. (1984). Forgotten Railways: Chilterns and Cotswolds. Newton Abbot, Devon: David St John Thomas. ISBN 0-946537-07-0, p. 110–111. Freight traffic was also of great importance throughout its history. Following the demise of the Lancashire coalfields during the inter-war years, much of the coal to power the industry of the north-west had to be transferred across the Peak District from the East Midlands. The increased volume of freight resulted in large numbers of Stanier 2-8-0’s, the large Beyer-Garratts and in later years 9F’s could be seen blasting their way up the inclines with their seemingly endless coal trains. Because of the severe gradients encountered on this line, particularly from Rowsley northwards, banking engines were often required, supplied from Rowsley engine shed, to ensure a clear flow of traffic over the main line. Except for a few short downward stretches, the line from Rowsley climbs at an average of 1 in 100 over its entire length, making life for the engine crews particularly difficult, especially in wintertime when the weather can be extremely severe. From Rowsley the line climbs almost 600 feet on its journey to Buxton. In 1870, the Midland Railway opened a new route from Chesterfield to Rotherham which went through Sheffield via the Bradway Tunnel.