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 West Bridge railway station Leicester West Bridge railway station Leicester West Bridge is a former railway station in Leicester, Leicestershire. It was the terminus of the Leicester and Swannington Railway until 1928. Being one of the earliest public railways, and intended for the transport of coal, the idea of carrying passengers had not occurred to the line's promoters. Thus facilities for buying tickets were provided at local inns or from the keepers of various road crossings. Such was the case at West Bridge until 1893 when, belatedly, the Midland Railway built a new passenger station around 150 yards away, nearer to the houses on