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 GNR, and from 1874 until 1918 a halt at Welford Road was operated on the Leicester – London main line allowing access to the Cattle Market. At this halt passengers were allowed to leave the trains but not to board them. The contract for the first station on the present site was awarded by the Midland Counties Railway to Waterfield and Smith, and was just under £15,000 (). It was first used on 4 May 1840, when a train of four first and six second-class carriages, pulled by the "Leopard" steam engine, arrived from Nottingham. As was normal in those