Midland Counties Railway

The Midland Counties Railway (MCR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844. The MCR was the forerunner to the Midland Railway.

The MCR grew up out of competition to supply coal to Leicester in the English East Midlands, a town which was rapidly industrialising and was a valuable market for coal. The competition was between the Coalville area of Leicestershire, and the Erewash Valley area of Nottinghamshire.

The former had built the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1832 to connect the Leicestershire coalfields with the city. This railway had brought down the price of coal in Leicester.

Not to be outdone, the Nottinghamshire colliery owners planned to build their own line from Nottingham and Derby to Leicester to compete with the Leicester and Swannington.

Innitially the line was intended to be a local affair. However it soon became apparent that a far greater market could be obtained if coal could be transported to London. This was to be done via a junction at Rugby with the new London and Birmingham Railway. The line recieved parliamentary consent in 1836, and had been completed from Nottingham to Rugby by 1840.

To the north, the MCR system linked with the North Midland Railway which linked their system to Sheffield and the north.

Innitially the MCR did not prosper due to competition from the Birmingham and Derby Railway which also transported coal from the east midlands to London via Birmingham. In 1844 the MCR, the Birmingham and Derby Railway and the North Midland railways merged to form the new Midland Railway. The following year the Leicester and Swannington was also merged with the Midland Railway.