Leicester railway station Sir Robert McAlpine in 1978. The station clock is the only hand-wound station clock in the UK. A commemorative statue of Thomas Cook was placed on the pavement outside the present station in 1991 to mark the first excursions arranged by the travel agency magnate. It was sculpted by James Butler. Until the line from Matlock to Chinley through Millers Dale was closed in the Beeching era, the 'main lines' were those from London to Manchester, carrying named expresses such as "The Palatine". Express trains to Leeds and Scotland such as the "Thames-Clyde Express" tended to use the Erewash Valley
Leicester railway station In total Leicester had seven railway stations (eight if the two sites at West Bridge are treated separately). In addition to the current Leicester station three other main railway stations existed. The original station at West Bridge closed to passengers in 1928. "Leicester Belgrave Road" (on the Great Northern Railway) closed to passengers in 1962 and "Leicester Central" (on the Great Central Railway) closed in May 1969. Up until this time the current Leicester station was known as "Leicester London Road". In addition there were smaller stations within the city boundary at Humberstone Road on the LMS, Humberstone on the