The early years (1969–1976)

The MLPG received a lease on the station, buildings and most of the trackbed at Loughborough Central in 1970; this would become its base of operations. By the following year, negotiations into purchasing the rest of the remaining railway had proven successful and the group was able to buy it for a mere £75,000 (£1,128,000 in 2021).^[4] The rest of the Loughborough yard complex was secured in 1972. In the same year, the first coaching stock arrived on site. The first open day occurred in 1973, shortly after the arrival of working motive power. Passengers were offered simple wagon or coach rides run by small industrial locomotives. On 30 September 1973, LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5231 hauled the first passenger train since the railway's commercial closure, to Quorn and back, but at the same time the down line was being lifted between Birstall and Quorn because of BR's increasing demands.^{[citation needed]}

To purchase what was left of the track, the MLPG was re-merged into a supporting charity, the Main Line Steam Trust (MLST). The entire value of the eight miles (13 km) of up line was re-assessed by BR at £279,000 (£3,590,000 in 2021)^[4] and the MLST was now paying £3,300 a month (£39,000 in 2021)^[4] just to keep it.^{[citation needed]} A deal was struck on 1 April 1976 that would see the remainder of the down line lifted if BR's cash demand was not raised. At that time, passenger trains were still running as far as Rothley, but, without an adequate supply of working mainline locomotives, the trust had to resort to using industrial tank engines working single track – some way short of the original vision of the MLPG seven years previously.^{[citation needed]}

Great Central Railway PLC

To purchase the land and track, Great Central Railway (1976) PLC issued shares, and the MLPG was transformed into the MLST, a charitable body, to support the company.

Charnwood Borough Council agreed to purchase the land from BR and lease it to the railway for 99 years. However, this still left GCR (1976) PLC the task of raising over £150,000 (£1,149,000 in 2021)^[4] to purchase the track. Ultimately, the target was not met and only a single track between Loughborough and Quorn could be afforded (BR allowed more time to raise funds to purchase Quorn to Rothley). The double track from Rothley to Belgrave & Birstall was lifted, along with the 'down' line from Loughborough to Rothley.

In the late 1980s, the intention was announced to extend the line back to Belgrave & Birstall. The former station had been vandalised and the Railway had no choice but to demolish the buildings. In 1990, a station called Leicester North was opened a hundred metres to the south of Belgrave & Birstall. This shift in location placed the new station inside Leicester's city boundary, allowing the 'Leicester' tag to be included in the name, along with unlocking extra funds to assist in the construction.

The double track project (1991-present day)

In the 1990s David Clarke became president of the GCR and approached the railway about the possibility of double-tracking the line.^[5] As a signalling enthusiast, Clarke aspired to operate a signal box on a double track main line, and so the campaign to raise funds to double the section between Quorn and Rothley was launched, with Clarke himself providing a large amount of the capital.

After reaching Quorn, work moved ahead to extend the second track to Loughborough. The double track between Loughborough and Rothley opened on 1 June 2000. This gave additional capacity, which is especially useful at galas, where up to six trains may be in operation at any one time. This enables the running of non-passenger-carrying trains (freights, TPO set) during galas to a greater extent than any other heritage railway. It also means that the timetable can be generally adhered to, as delays do not cascade, as they do on single track lines.

Her Majesty's Rail Inspectorate has granted powers to run private test trains at up to 60 mph. Other special trains at public events run at up to 45 miles per hour (72.4 km/h). Typically, UK heritage railways are limited to a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour (40.2 km/h).^[6]

In 2004, a new signal box at Quorn opened, at that time the only preserved box in the UK with a double track on either side. With this new signal box, a train can, in theory, be dispatched from Loughborough every 10 minutes. A further signal box at Swithland Sidings has been fitted with Great Western Railway style signals, in the style of the GCR/GWR joint line via High Wycombe, allowing for a further capacity increase on the preserved GCR. The full Swithland project was completed in May 2012.^[7]

On 5 December 2012, the GCR was awarded the NRHA Signalling Award for this long-running and complicated project.^[8]

The gap and Loughborough Midland (High Level)

Approximately 500 metres (0.3 mi) separates the GCR to the south from another stretch of the former railway to the north, operated by the Great Central Railway (Nottingham), formerly known as the Nottingham Heritage Railway. "The Gap" from the GCR's Loughborough locomotive shed to where the line crosses the A60 is a section of embankment and bridges (including a large single span over the Midland Main Line) that would need to be reinstated to join the two concerns together. If completed, the GCRN would merge with the GCR to create a single 18-mile (29 km) track^[9] (the Greater Great Central Railway (GGCR), as it is known almost universally by Great Central staff), which would also be rebuilt as a double-track line for most, if not the whole, of its length.

The project has been moving forward steadily since February 2009, when it was announced that it would receive £350,000 for a feasibility study, Charnwood Borough Council having won a grant from the East Midlands Development Agency, with the GCR to contribute £100,000 towards a combined cost of £450,000 for the study.

As of 2022:

• A new (single-track) bridge over the Midland Main Line was completed in 2017 at a cost of about £3 million.^[10] The new bridge has been built with increased clearances to accommodate proposed future electrification of the Midland Main Line.
• In 2020 work was completed on refurbishing the bridge over the Grand Union Canal, at a cost of £475,000.^[11][12]
• In October/November 2022 the existing bridge over the A60, which had been damaged by corrosion and by repeated vehicle impacts, was replaced by a new twin-track structure, at a cost in excess of £1 million.^[13]

Remaining stages include a bridge over Railway Terrace and a 'flyover' over a factory car-park immediately to the north of it (together projected to cost £3 million), plus work to reinstate embankments to the north and south of the new bridges. It is proposed that work on the embankments will use current construction techniques to provide a higher but narrower structure than the original; while the Railway Terrace bridge is proposed to re-use one of two 17-metre road bridges removed as part of reconstruction work at Reading station in 2011 and made available by Network Rail to the project.

Earlier plans also suggested for the Nottingham side of the railway to build a new station, Loughborough High Level, immediately to the north of the Midland Main Line, which could be completed before the other works, and provide passengers with an easy walking connection to and from Loughborough main-line station.^[14] This has not so far been taken forward.

In March 2024, it was announced that Loughborough Central locomotive shed is to relocated to a new location as part of the railways unification project.^[15]

The Mountsorrel Railway Project

The Mountsorrel Railway project was originally devised and financed by Railway Vehicle Preservations Limited^[16] and aimed to rebuild of the Mountsorrel branch off the Great Central railway at Swithland sidings to the working Mountsorrel quarry.

In 2006, the branch was essentially intact but the track was lifted in the mid-1960s. The original purpose of the reinstatement was to provide a carriage shed to house the restored carriages of Railway Vehicle Preservations Ltd and shelter them from the elements. In 2006, RVP applied for planning permission for the shed, but this was rejected due to badger setts discovered on site. The reinstatement of the line went ahead, instead being carried out by a separate group, the Mountsorrel Railway Project, directed by Steve Cramp. Work commenced in 2008 with the aim of relaying 1.25 miles (2 km) of line up to the bridge at Bond Lane, where a platform was planned to be built. By 2012, the line had been fully ballasted for half of its length, passing through Wood Lane Bridge and across into Mountsorrel Parish.^[17] RVP re-evaluated their plans for the shed at the end of the branch line, instead deciding upon putting an application in for a four road shed at the back of Swithland sidings.^[18] On 4 February 2013 the ambitious plans were given conditional approval.^[19]

After eight years and over 80,000 hours of volunteer time, the Mountsorrel Railway was opened to the public over the weekend of 24 and 25 October 2015 by Richard Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Worcester, who is president of the Heritage Railway Association and vice chairman of the Science Museum.^[20]

Following the opening of the railway, the Mountsorrel Railway Project changed direction, evolving into the Mountsorrel and Rothley Community Heritage Centre, which now occupies the former site of Nunckley Quarry.

Recently^[when?] Lafarge, (operators of the Mountsorrel Quarry) proposed a stone loading terminal at the end of the Mountsorrel Railway.^[21] This was in response to a planning submission^[22] to build 300+ Houses near to the proposed Bond Lane Station, and was clearly aimed at Lafarge protecting the mineral extraction rights. The proposal would be dependent on the GCR 'Bridging the Gap' to GCRN. GCR then would build a north chord from the southern end of Swithland Viaduct to meet the existing track just at the end of the straight section of the Mountsorrel Railway.^[23] The proposal estimates that 3 loaded trains of 1000 tonnes would leave the proposed terminal every weekday and travel via the GCR to the Midland Main Line Connection.

Film

This section does not cite any sources. (April 2021)

• Buster (1988)
• Shadowlands (1993)
• The Secret Agent (1996)
• The Navigators (2001)
• Enigma (2001)
• The Hours (2002)
• Control (2007)
• A Boy Called Dad (2009)
• Cemetery Junction (2010)
• Stan & Ollie (2018)

TV

• She's Out (1995)
• Woof! (1995)
• Goodnight Mr. Tom (1998)
• Take a Girl Like You (2000)
• The Cazalet Chronicles (2001)
• Casualty (2001, 2014)
• Hawking (2004)
• The 4:50 from Paddington (2004)
• E=MC2 (2005)
• The 39 Steps (2008)
• Central Steam (TV Series) (2010)
• South Riding (TV miniseries) (2011)
• Top Gear (2011)^[36]
• Ripper Street (2012)
• Heston's Fantastical Food (2012)^[37]
• Our Story (2013)^[38] – To be Screened on ITV in 2014
• Great British Railway Journeys (2013) – First Screened on BBC TV in January 2014
• The Crown (2017-present)

Music video

• Stereophonics – Indian Summer (2013)^[39]
• Louise Steel – Take Off And Busk (2015)^[40]

Main Line Steam Trust

Main Line Steam Trust was established in 1969 as the Main Line Preservation Group, with the intention of preserving one of two potential sections of the line, one based at Lutterworth, running from Leicester to Rugby Central, and one based at Loughborough, running between Leicester and Nottingham. The Loughborough base was chosen and work began on restoring the station, an office was rented at street level at Loughborough Central station, and in 1971 Charitable Status was granted to MLPG, who changed their name to Main Line Steam Trust Limited.

Substantial monthly payments were required to keep the formation intact between Loughborough and Belgrave & Birstall, with steam hauled services operating from Loughborough Central to Quorn & Woodhouse Station, and eventually Rothley station. The money required to purchase the line south of Rothley was not available and only the Loughborough to Rothley section of line was preserved, with the aid of Charnwood Borough Council.

The operation and the assets were transferred to the Great Central Railway (1976) Ltd. and MLST took on the role of the charitable volunteer-run support body for the railway. MLST has continued to support the Great Central Railway PLC (the 1976 was eventually dropped from the title), and the various organisations around the railway. It also supports the Great Central Railway (Nottingham).

MLST have funded a great deal at the Great Central Railway, including assistance in funding the double track, Leicester Station, Quorn & Woodhouse Signalling, Swithland Signalling, Loughborough South Remodelling, and has assisted in bringing in visiting locomotives for gala events on numerous occasions.

MLST has now been incorporated into The Friends of the Great Central Main Line (FoGCML), this with the David Clarke Railway Trust (DCRT) provide the volunteers and the funding. Outside commercial interests and individuals are able to donate toward various projects (Loughborough's 'Crystal Palace', Mountsorrel Railway, RVPS restorations etc.) to the DCRT, gaining valuable tax advantages.

Great Central Railway PLC