The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&SR) was one of England's first railways, built to bring coal from West Leicestershire collieries to Leicester, where there was great industrial demand for coal. The line opened in 1832, and included a tunnel over a mile in length, and two rope-worked inclined planes; elsewhere it was locomotive-operated, and it carried passengers.

When it was built, the was the only railway in the area, but the Midland Railway (MR) was formed and had a main line through Leicester, opened in 1840 and its directors decided to acquire the . They made a generous offer and they took possession in 1847. At first the Midland Railway line and the were not connected, but the Midland Railway constructed a route from its main line to Burton, using part of the . The by-passed the inclines for its new route, but most of the other parts of the continued in use until 1966. The Burton line continues in use at the present day.

Prior history

The industry of Leicester was dominant in the county and the region generally, but it was limited by poor transport links. The developing industry brought about a huge demand for coal. During the closing years of the eighteenth century, the opening of turnpikes, and improvements to the River Soar – the Loughborough Navigation in 1778; the Leicester Navigation in 1791) and then in 1814 the completion of the Grand Union Canal towards Rugby – were all supportive of Leicester's development.

As early as 1790 a railway connection from Swannington was proposed:

thumb|John Ellis by John Lucas

In the 1820s the Leicester Navigation was carrying 56,000 tons of coal annually for Leicester and 59,000 tons for other markets. There was good quality coal nearby around Swannington but no usable transport link, so it was cheaper to bring coal thirty miles by canal from South Derbyshire. William Stenson was part-owner of Long Lane Pit near Whitwick (close to present-day Coalville). Frustrated by the situation, he visited the industrial north-east of England in 1827 and observed the success of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Seeing a railway as a solution to his local difficulty, he enlisted the support of the wealthy weaver John Ellis, and together they travelled to see George Stephenson, who was engaged on the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, then 25, visited Leicester by invitation in the Autumn of 1828.

Conception of the Leicester and Swannington Railway

thumb|The Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1833

George Stephenson agreed to become involved in making a railway line from Swannington to Leicester; the first formal meeting to project the line was held at the Bell Inn in Leicester on 12 February 1829. Authorised share capital was £90,000. The act prescribed that the company might carry goods, that is, operate as a carrier and not merely as a provider of the route for independent carriers.

Williams stresses the magnitude of the undertaking:

When completed it was the first locomotive railway in the Midland counties, and only the second south of Manchester, after the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway.

A second act for the company, the (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. lxix), was obtained on 10 June 1833 giving authority to increase the share capital by £10,000. There was a third act of 30 June 1837, the (7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. lxvi), which authorised £40,000 increase in share capital, making a total of £140,000.

There was to be one tunnel, at Glenfield, just over a mile in length. and was equipped with a very early example of a piston valve.

The line was standard gauge, with fish-bellied rails During its construction, on 5 April 1831, one of the contractors, Daniel Jowett, fell down a working shaft and was killed. Three separate contractors gave up their contracts and had to be replaced.

Opening and early operation

First formal journey

A formal opening of the first part of the line took place on 17 July 1832; a passenger journey for proprietors and directors and their friends only, ran from the West Bridge terminus in Leicester to the summit level at Staunton Road crossing, a distance of 11 miles 55 chains (19 km). The inaugural train was drawn by the locomotive Comet and consisted of an open wagon specially covered in for use of the directors, the company's only open second-class carriage and ten new coal wagons with improvised seats, conveying in all about 400 passengers. It left West Bridge at 10:00 and reached Bagworth at 11:00 "A slight delay was caused by the engine chimney striking the roof of the tunnel at a point where the platelayers had temporarily raised the track to pack a 'low' place. The train was halted specially at Glenfield Brook to enable the passengers, especially the ladies, to remove the effects of the enforced sojourn in the tunnel." The return journey conveyed two wagons of coal in addition.

Public opening

The general public were able to travel to Bagworth and back by a second special train at 16:30. On the next day, the ordinary train service started; this usually consisted of three empty wagon trains each weekday, leaving West Bridge at 08:00, 13:00 and 16:30; the passenger carriage was attached to these and the corresponding return loaded trips. Apparently, special passenger trips were run for a few weeks after opening, until the novelty of a train journey had worn off.

Permanent way problems

The cross-sleepers were found to cause difficulties, especially in cuttings, and some sections were replaced with stone blocks. However the stone blocks required constant packing to maintain line, level and gauge, and were considered to be harder riding than timber sleepers. Nevertheless, some of the stone blocks continued in use until at least 1885.

Further opening

The remainder of the line from Staunton Road to Ashby Road opened on 1 February 1833 or a few days before that. From Ashby Road to Long Lane, Coalville, was opened on 22 April 1833 for coal traffic and on 27 April 1833 for passengers, completing the intended extent of passenger operation, as from that point to Swannington would be used for mineral traffic only. The continuation to Swannington probably opened at the end of November 1833.

Soar Lane, Leicester

There had previously been plans to extend at Leicester across the Leicester Canal to Soar Lane. The decision was taken to revive the Soar Lane branch on 22 October 1832. On 10 June 1833 the necessary powers were secured in the Leicester and Swannington Railway Act 1833; an opening bridge was required over the Leicester Canal. The branch was brought into use on 4 October 1834.

Inclines

Bagworth incline operation

The Bagworth incline was 43 chains in length and the gradient 1 in 29. It was self-acting: the loaded wagons descended by gravity, pulling up the lighter, empty ones by means of a hemp rope. The rope passed around a large horizontal pulley at the top. When a train from Leicester arrived at the Bagworth station at the foot of the incline, the locomotive was detached and the empty wagons connected to the rope. The loaded waggons had been brought by another locomotive to the top, and they were attached to the other end of this rope. Their greater weight pulled the empty ones to the top. In the middle of the incline there was a passing place and from this loop to the top there were three rails, the centre rail being common to both up and down movements; the object of this was to account for the width of the wheel and the position of the rope. 10 or 12 loaded waggons of about 6 tonnes each were run down at one time the descent occupying eight or nine minutes.

Swannington Incline problems and later closure

The Swannington incline was 48 chains in length on a gradient of 1 in 17. It was operated by a stationary steam engine. The engine developed problems at the end of November 1833, and arrangements were had to be made to get horses to haul wagons up the incline. The working of the incline was entirely suspended on 7 March 1834, when the Breedon Hill lime and Peggs Green coal traffics stopped using the railways in protest against a rate increase. However the traffic resumed on 11 May.

Bagworth incline accident

250px|right|thumb|The Swannington incline winding engine preserved in the [[National Railway Museum, York.]]

In 1843 a serious accident took place on the Bagworth incline. A train of goods wagons and an empty passenger carriage was being lowered down the incline when it slipped from the incline rope, and ran at high speed down the incline and was wrecked. The company decided to discontinue the use of the incline for passenger traffic. Passengers had to disembark from their trains and walk up or down the incline to rejoin the train.

Connecting lines

The did not make any branch lines itself, although from the beginning, mine and quarry owners were encouraged to make their own connecting mineral lines from their workings.

Groby Granite Railway

This branch opened on the same day as the Leicester and Swannington Railway, joining the line about halfway between Glenfield and Ratby. The junction was made by a turntable into a loop siding off the main line. The branch closed around 1843. After the had been upgraded by the Midland Railway, the Groby branch was re-opened around 1866–1870. A proper running junction with sidings was put in place. The branch ran northward for over three miles, to the Old Groby Quarry, close to the centre of Groby village. Later extensions linked to other quarries in and near Groby: the Castle Hill Quarry (after 1870), the Bunney Hill Quarry, the Sheet Hedges Wood Quarry (1890s), and the Dowry Quarry (1907 to 1916).

The wagons were hauled by a stationary engine at the summit of the hill beside the Ratby Road. The loaded wagons were pulled there from the quarries and then they ran downhill to the junction with , speed being controlled by a brakesman. Two horses were aboard for the downhill journey; they drew empty wagons back up the incline.

Coleorton Railway

Sir George Beaumont owned lands and colliery workings at Coleorton, to the northwest of Swannington. He had anticipated that the Leicester and Swannington Railway would be extended to Coleorton, but the directors decided not to do so. On 28 September 1832 Beaumont wrote to the company saying that he would be willing to make a line from the Coleorton colliery area to the at Peggs Green if the would meet the parliamentary costs of obtaining an authorising act of Parliament. The agreed to this arrangement and the Coleorton Railway received its authorising act of Parliament, the (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. lxxi), on 10 June 1833.

It opened in 1834, using horse traction. It ran from a junction with the 4 ft 2in gauge Ticknall Tramway at Worthington to the foot of the Swannington incline. Leleux states that it never made a physical connection with the . However Hartley states that by November 1833 the first loads of coal from the Coleorton Railway were being worked up the Swannington incline, though by teams of horses due to problems with the winding engine., and Clinker states that traffic returns show 138 tons of coal from the Coleorton Railway were conveyed on the in November 1833 and assumes that this used the incline. The Coleorton Railway ceased working during 1860, and part of its course was operated as a siding from the Ashby to Derby line, which opened in 1874, following a similar alignment to the Ticknall Tramway. but could not attract the attention of the cart driver, and the engine struck it. Mr Baxter the line manager suggested the use of a steam trumpet or whistle and by Mr George Stephenson's instructions such an appliance was at once constructed by a local musical instrument maker and it worked satisfactorily.

If this is factual, it would appear to be the creation of the first steam whistle. However many factories used steam power supplied by stationary steam engines to drive mill machinery, and it seems remarkable that steam whistles had not been in use to indicate for example the start and end of the working day. Clinker is dismissive of this story for several reasons; in particular the board minutes recorded considerable detail of trivial events, yet this is not reported.

The Leicester Navigation immediately suffered from the competition and lowered its rates considerably. This put the cost of coal from those regions below that for which West Leicestershire products could be sold, forcing their owners to reduce their own prices.

The was in turmoil, looking for an alternative business, and in 1845 the Midland Railway, successor to the Midland Counties Railway, made an offer to purchase the . The motivation of the Midland Railway was partly to exclude competing railways that might take on the . The offer was excellent, and the shareholders agreed on 20 August 1845. The (9 & 10 Vict. c. ccxliii) ratified it as from 27 July 1846. The line was not physically connected to any other railway.

In July 1847 the Midland got authorisation in the (10 & 11 Vict. c. cxxii) to make a new railway from Leicester to Burton, incorporating part of the into the route. The was doubled between Desford Junction and Thornton, also between Bagworth and Mantle Lane, Coalville, and a new deviation line, two miles in length, was constructed, by-passing the Bagworth self-acting incline.

The old Bagworth incline was closed after cessation of traffic on 25 March and replaced on 27 March 1848 by the new double line, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 66.

It was soon discovered that the engines were inadequate to cope with the gradient, so that banking engines had to be used. Later the Midland used a more powerful "Buffalo" design, but as the system was still disconnected from the general railway network, the locomotive had to be moved through the streets of Leicester by road. The Leicester passenger terminal had always been of the most basic description, but it was not until 13 March 1893 that the Midland Railway opened a new station there, at West Bridge.

In 1969 Glenfield Tunnel, on the original, and now by-passed, route was purchased by Leicester Corporation for £5, and sealed.

The present Leicester to Burton line closed to passengers on 7 September 1964.

Remains

Some remains of the Leicester and Swannington Railway are visible and can be visited.

  • Much of the land at the Leicester terminus of the railway at West Bridge has been converted into a park called The Rally.
  • A distance along the track bed north-west from West Bridge has been paved to provide a footpath and is also part of National Cycle Network route 63.
  • Though some ventilation shafts of Glenfield tunnel are situated in private gardens some are visible by the side of public roads. Most are grade II listed buildings.
  • After the closure of the West Bridge branch, Leicester City Council acquired Glenfield tunnel which required strengthening in places. The tunnel itself underwent a retrofit in 2008 to install strengthening rings that are hoped to prevent a collapse of the extant tunnel shaft. The £500,000 reinforcement project was commissioned by the Leicester city council and was recorded by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and photographed by the Leicestershire Industrial History Society. Occasional "open days" are held for organised groups. The western portal of Glenfield tunnel can be viewed from a public footpath in Glenfield, . The portal, which is a grade II listed building, has been secured.
  • Most of the track bed from Station Road, Glenfield , to Station Road, Ratby , has been paved to provide a public footpath and is also part of National Cycle Network route.
  • At Coalville the original building for passengers to buy tickets is now a children's nursery beside the level crossing, , and is a Grade II Listed Building.
  • The incline at Swannington is under the supervision of the Swannington Heritage Trust and the track bed down the incline has been opened as a permissive path with information boards. The foundations of the engine house at the top of the incline, , have been uncovered and about of track have been re-laid. The historic winding engine, see photograph above, was removed from here after the incline closed to the National Railway Museum at York.
  • The railway lift bridge based on an 1834 design by Robert Stephenson which was over the Grand Union canal in Leicester has been reconstructed using a number of original components at the Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre and formally opened in April 2026.

<gallery>

Leicester & Swannington Rly ventilation shaft Stenson Road Leicester.jpg|Small ventilation shaft of Glenfield Tunnel built by the Leicester & Swannington Rly, by the side of Stenson Road, Leicester, in April 2023.

Leicester & Swannington Rly ventilation shaft New Parks Way Leicester.jpg|Large ventilation shaft of Glenfield Tunnel built by the Leicester and Swannington Railway, by the side of New Parks Way, Leicester, in April 2023.

Leicester & Swannington Rly Glenfield Tunnel portal.jpg|The secured west portal of the Leicester & Swannington Railway's Glenfield Tunnel, in April 2023.

Leicester & Swannington Rly Glenfield Tunnel tour.jpg|A guided tour of the Leicester & Swannington Railway's Glenfield Tunnel, organised by the Leicestershire Industrial History Society.

Freight_train_at_level_crossing_in_Coalville,_July_2016.jpg|Freight train at level crossing in centre of Coalville, July 2016. The building in the background was where passengers could buy tickets for the trains until the Midland Railway opened a proper station just beyond in 1848.

Leicester & Swannington Rly engine house remains.jpg|The foundations of the Leicester & Swannington's engine house at the top of Swannington Incline, in April 2023.

Leicester & Swannington Rly Swannington Incline.jpg|Looking up the abandoned Swannington Incline of the Leicester & Swannington Railway, in April 2023.

Stephenson railway lift bridge Mountsorrel Heritage Centre.jpg|Stephenson railway lift bridge reconstructed at the Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre

</gallery>

Notes

References

Further reading

Further listening

  • Peter Handford (director), The Glenfield Goods: A journey from Leicester, West Bridge, on a goods train hauled by a Midland 2F class 0-6-0, EAF 78, London: Argo Record Company Limited, 1964.
  • Clinker, C. R., "The Leicester and Swannington Railway", Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society Transactions, Volume 30, 1954. pp59-114 &#91;pdf&#93;
  • Stretton, Clement Edwin, The History of the Midland Railway, 1901.
  • Swannington Heritage Trust