The Charnwood Forest Railway was a branch line in Leicestershire constructed by the Charnwood Forest Company between 1881 and 1883. The branch line ran from Coalville (joined from the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway (ANJR)) to the town of Loughborough.
It should not be confused with the much earlier railway that was part of the Charnwood Forest Canal.
Stations on the Charnwood Forest Railway were located at Coalville East, Whitwick, Shepshed and Loughborough Derby Road. By 1885, the company had been placed in receivership; under this supervision, in 1907 three halts were opened, these being Thringstone Halt, Grace Dieu Halt and Snells Nook Halt. These were an attempt to improve the profitability of the line by increasing the customer base. The line was worked by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and was taken over by the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923.
Passenger services ceased to operate on 13 April 1931, with freight services ceasing to operate on 12 December 1963. The line was known as the 'Bluebell Line' due to the flower growing along much of the length of the line during the spring.
History
Formation
According to Hadfield, in 1828 the owners of the disused Charnwood Forest Canal turned down an approach by Leicestershire coal owners for permission to lay rails along the now dry canal bed. The idea was to bring coal by this rail route from Whitwick and Swannington to Loughborough where it could then be transferred on to boats which would bring the coal into Leicester at West Bridge Wharf. Not to be deterred, the thwarted coal owners then promoted a Bill in 1829 which resulted in the construction of the Leicester and Swannington Railway, opened in 1832 — Leicestershire's first railway.
Interest then came from London and North Western Railway as a way of getting a foothold in the coal mining area. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed in 1874 to lay a single-track railway from Nuneaton Junction near on the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway to Loughborough. The intention was to link it to the Midland Main Line, but this never happened and the terminus was at Loughborough Derby Road.
A ceremony marking the beginning of work was held on a very rainy day, 31 August 1881. The first turf was cut by Lady Packe (wife of Hussey Packe) of Prestwold Hall. Squire de Lisle of Garendon Hall wheeled the first barrow load of soil over a plank, but due to the rain he slipped and spilled it all, causing great amusement.
The line was long with four stations serving Coalville (East), Whitwick, Shepshed and Loughborough (Derby Road). There was a rock face of through which to go at Thringstone and in order to swing the curve at Grace Dieu a cant of was required. The line also had a steep gradient of 1 in 66 between Whitwick and Coalville East.
The line opened on 16 April 1883 and was worked by the LNWR which had subscribed a third of the capital in exchange for 50% of the gross receipts.
Decline
As a result of being unable to pay the interest on debenture stocks and partly due to financial malfeasance by the Secretary, the line went into bankruptcy in 1885. In 1906 there was a move to join up with the Great Central Railway at Loughborough but nothing came of it and the terminus remained at Loughborough's Derby Road. The Company then came up with two initiatives designed to improve profitability; Cheap-to-run railmotor services, which were introduced between Loughborough and Shackerstone, and on 2 April 1907 three halts were opened for use with them.
On leaving the hands of the receiver in 1909 it remained a separate company until the LMS absorbed it in the 1923 grouping. Passengers trains were operated by an LNWR steam railmotor, though 2-4-2 tanks. 0-6-0 freight and 0-6-2 Coal Tanks also worked passenger services as well as freights. The LNWR ran nine passenger trains from Derby Road station in Loughborough with most going through to Shackerstone and two continuing to Nuneaton. In 1922 a passenger could leave Euston at 5:35, change at Nuneaton and Shackerstone and be in Whitwick at 8:32.
The line was never successful and went into a decline after World War I. The LMS withdrew passenger services on 13 April 1931.
Final days
During World War II the line enabled large amounts of road stone from quarries to be conveyed to new aerodromes throughout the country. Additionally, the line served a number of ammunition dumps, the army ambulance train was kept at Loughborough, rubber was stored at Shepshed and the USA Post Office was based at Coalville East.