Under the new regime, the canal was put back into good order in 1848, after many years where regular maintenance had been neglected. The benefits were immediate, with traffic increasing as a result. Over 200,000 tons were carried in 1848, the highest recorded total. The railway company started to operate as a carrier on the canal, and to maintain water levels, the reservoirs at Chesterfield were enlarged in 1856. Traffic levels were holding up in 1858, despite fierce competition from the London and North Western Railway. However, the owners considered options for converting the canal from Kiverton Park to Chesterfield into a railway in 1872, 1873 and 1884, but on each occasion, the plans were shelved. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway was expanding, and an Act of Parliament was obtained in 1889, which allowed them to divert parts of the canal to enable a new railway connecting Chesterfield, Staveley and Beighton to be constructed. The new route was straighter than the old, and reduced the length of the canal by around . The Beighton to Staveley section of the new railway opened on 1 December 1891, and reached Chesterfield on 4 June 1892. The railway's carrying business on this and other canals ceased shortly afterwards. The original route of the canal at Hague Lane was largely destroyed by the construction of the railway and Renishaw Central station, but further north, the section around Chapel Wheel Forge and Dam is still clearly visible, and reinstatement of it as part of a restored canal was considered but rejected on practical grounds. Close to Bluebank Lock, the railway, known as the Great Central Railway Chesterfield Loop, turned to the east and passed to the south of Staveley Iron Works to reach Staveley Town station. Prior to construction of this section, the canal looped to the north around the iron works, passing through Cinderhill Lock before turning south-eastwards. The canal was re-routed along the southern edge of the works, and the railway crossed over at Staveley Works station, almost on top of a new lock which was known as Staveley Works Lock or Hollingwood Lock.