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 and Swannington Railway still in use. The first mention of the term "railway" in a newspaper was in "The Times" and the "Derby Mercury" in 1790. At a meeting held in Leicester Castle on 12 July 1790 to discuss making the River Soar navigable to Loughborough, it was also suggested that a cut or a railway from Swannington to Loughborough Basin should be built. Leicester and Swannington Railway The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&S) was one of England's first railways, being opened on 17 July 1832 to bring coal from collieries in west Leicestershire to Leicester. The construction of the railway was a