In the early nineteenth century, when news broke of the building of the North Midland Railway, it was clear that George Stephenson would follow the gentle gradient of the Rivers Rother and Don, bypassing Sheffield. This must have been at least part of the motivation behind the building of the Sheffield & Rotherham Railway, which ran from Sheffield Wicker Station to Rotherham Westgate. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, opened in 1840, from Derby to Rotherham (Masborough) and Leeds. ... George Stephenson. ... Rother is a local government district in East Sussex, England. ... Rivers Don River, Russia, one of the main rivers of Russia. ... Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. ... Sheffield Wicker Station was the first railway station to be built in Sheffield, Yorkshire. ...
The railway was aligned approximately NNE so that it also followed a gentle gradient. It opened in October,1838, crossing the path of the future North Midland near Masbrough, the latter arriving there nearly two years later in 1840. A branch was included to link the railway to the North Midland in a northerly direction from Sheffield at Rotherham Masborough Station. A path to the south was installed in 1869. There was also a branch from the Greasbrough collieries. October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1840 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
It seems to have been built by mainly local expertise. The first director was George Wilton Chambers, a coal master, and its secretary was Thomas Pearson, a civil engineer and also a coalmaster. Two of the engineers were John Stephenson (not known to be a relation of George) who introduced scientific methods into earthwork construction and the excavation of deep cuttings, and Isaac Dodds whose "talent for invention was highly respected in his day", which included the job of designing the railway's first engine The Cutler.
In later years the Midland Railway built a diversion through Dronfield and Sheffield, which became known to railwaymen as the "New Road", as opposed to the "Old Road".
Nevertheless, the terrain was more difficult than for the other two railways to Derby, requiring 200 bridges and seven tunnels, and an aqueduct for the railway to pass underneath the Cromford Canal.
It is now part of the Midland Main Line from London to Leeds and Sheffield and part of the route operated by Virgin Cross Country from the North East through Birmingham to the South West (sometimes known as the Cross Country Route).
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