The LNWR had offered the use of the line but, with its climb through Dove Holes, the Midland did not consider it useful for express trains, saying that it went up a steep hill merely for the sake of going down. The LNWR may have saved costs in construction but it proved difficult to operate, even with the powerful locomotives they had been forced to introduce for their lines north of Manchester. In later days, a stretch was operated using banking engines, the longest such section on the British railway system. In 1957 there was a serious accident at in which driver John Axon, who died at his post attempting to control a runaway goods train, received the George Cross medal. From 8 October 1956, services on the Buxton branch were in the hands of Class 104 diesel units based at Buxton depot, though some remained steam worked for longer (for example, the 08:20 train to Manchester switched to diesel on 17 June 1957).