Transport Railways

Railways

THE COMING OF THE RAILWAY

An Act of Parliament in 1830 enabled a company to be formed to build and operate one of the world's earliest steam railways. A local man, William Stenson, who was exploiting the previously unworked, concealed coalfield to the southeast of the village, planned it. He persuaded George and Robert Stephenson to become involved and Robert was appointed engineer in charge of constructing the Leicester and Swannington Railway. The line ran on a lower level from Leicester to Thornton and was connected, by means of a self acting inclined plane, to the top level line which ran from Bagwoth to Long Lane (Coalville) and on to the outskirts of the village. From here the line descended down a rope-hauled inclined plane to its terminus at the centre of the village. From here three horse-drawn tramroads connected it to Calcutta Colliery, Califat Colliery and to the Coleorton Railway, which collected coal from the pits in Coleorton and Newbold.

Swannington station.

Phoenix, from the Leicester & Swannington railway.

The line reached Swannington in 1833 and coal had to be rope hauled a 1 in 17 slope from the village to continue on its journey to Leicester. An engine at the top provided the power to wind a tail-rope capable of either raising three loaded wagons or lowering six empties. The engine, made by the Horsely Iron and Coal Co. and with subsequent improvements, continued to operate until 1947. For the last 70 years of operation it lowered coal down from the mines in Coalville to feed the boilers of the Calcutta pumping engine, which drained the whole of the district's mines. The incline was dismantled by 1952 and the winding engine was removed to the National Railway Museum in York for conservation.

The Midland Railway Company took over the profitable Leicester and Swannington Railway Co. in 1846 and immediately set about constructing a deviation and extension from Coalville, through Ashby, to Burton on Trent. From Ashby a line was extended back to the north of the village partly in order to avoid the bottleneck of the incline. The village was then served by a station at the north of the village and the line was much used by passengers and freight from Swannington station. The passenger service ceased in 1951 and the station itself was demolished in the mid 1960s. Heavy freight continues to use the line infrequently but it is hoped it will again reopen as the Ivanhoe Line or the National Forest Line in the future.

The remaining cutting of Coleorton Tramway.