With proposals for the North Staffordshire Railway underway by 1845, the canal company threatened to build their own railway between the branch of the Manchester and Birmingham Railway at Macclesfield and Harecastle Tunnel, where it would meet the North Staffordshire Railway. The railway promoters immediately tried to gain the support of the Macclesfield Canal, by offering them shares, and requesting their assistance in promoting their Act of Parliament. The canal company suggested that the railway could lease the canal at £2 per share per year. The railway company responded with an alternative plan, which would see them buying the canal within five years for £2.50 per share, and paying off some of the canal's debts. This was rejected by the shareholders, who authorised the committee to negotiate with other railways, or to seek the required powers to build their own railway.