Shireoaks Colliery was already producing, having been sunk in 1856, but others followed on the new route Steetley and Langwith in the 1870s, Whitwell, Warsop Main, Creswell and Shirebrook in the 1890’s and Sherwood in 1902.  

In 1866 the Midland had opened a branch line from Blackwell on the Erewash Valley line through to Teversall, where a colliery was being sunk. Later the line was extended to serve Tibshelf Colliery 1870, Segby (Sutton) Colliery, sunk 1873, Silverhill, sunk 1875, and Pleasley, sunk 1875/77. The Midland completed a connection between this branch line and the Mansfield - Worksop line at Pleasley Junction, in Mansfield Woodhouse, in April, 1886. The first passenger train ran on 1st May 1886, from Mansfield, calling at Mansfield Woodhouse, Pleasley, Teversall, Woodend (Whiteborough), Tibsbelf and Newton, Westhouses and Biackwell, and Alfreton. The journey time was 38 minutes.

On 20th October, 1888, a single line branch was completed from Elmton and Creswell, on the Mansfield — Worksop line, through Clowne and Seymoor Junction, providing a link with Staveley and Chesterfield, In 1903 a connection was made to the new Coxcroft Colliery. Passenger services over this line began on let November, 1888 taking 57 minutes Mansfield to Chesterfield and calling at Mansfield Woodhouse, Shirebrook, Langwith, Elmton and Creewell, Clown Netherthorpe, Staveley and Whittington

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Since 1847 there had been a connection from the Midland’s Nottingham — Lincolnshire line at Rolleston Junction to the country town of Southwell. An extension from Southwell in Mansfield was opened in April 1871, running through Kirklington, Farnsfield, Blidworth and Rainworth. A passenger service was established but coal was the main traffic, especially when the collieries were sunk at Blidworth, Bilstborpe, Rufford, Clipstone and Mansfield.

A motive power depot was established at Mansfield, mainly for passenger workings, and the stock included a majority of tank engines, including the very long lived 0-4-4 1P tanks. These locos for many years worked the “Penny Emma” push and pull train on a branch line from Sutton Junction or the Nottingham - Mansfield line to a station at Sutton in Ashfield about 3/4 mile away. This opened on 3rd May 1893, the single fare being one old penny.

During the 1840’s some 4-4-2 tank locos of London, Tilbury and Southend Railway design were shedded at Mansfield for passenger work. They were known as ‘Crooners’ by the men, but were worn out and dodgy steamers.

For freight locos there was the Kirkby shed. Following Kirtley’s example the Midland loco superintendents S.W. Johnson, R.K. Deeley and Henry Fowler continued down the years turning out 0-6-0 tender locos for freight work. As vehicles got heavier this led to a great deal of double-heading. it was not until London, Midland and Scottish days that in 1935 W.A. Stanier brought out his famous 8F 2-8-0 loco for freight work. Kirkby received some early examples and they transformed coal train working.  The traditional Midland 4-4-0 tender locos which had also been built at Derby for passenger work began to be augmented by Staniers 4-6-0 “Black Fives” and the Hughes/Stanier 2-6-0 “Crabs” until the end of steam - more modern tank locos, including the 2-6-4’s built by Fowler, Stanier and Fairburn, and the smaller bunkered 2-6-2’s, hauled the passenger trains until the services were withdrawn.

The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company, whose trains began running on the Worksop - Mansfield line in 1875, was originally founded as the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1837. The idea was to provide a better link between Sheffield and Manchester by building a railway from Sheffield, crossing the Pennines via Penistone and Godley to London Road, Manchester.

The Woodhead tunnel, 3 miles and 22 yards long, through the Pennine chain was the difficult engineering feat, completion fell behind schedule and costs soared. The engineer, Charles Vignoles, had sunk his own money in the project and he was declared bankrupt in 1841. Joseph Locke, who had driven the ‘Rocket’ on 15th September, 1830, at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, when he ran over Mr William Huskinson MP, took over as engineer, and the line was opened in 1845, on 23rd December.

With the completion of the main line the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester quickly took over the Great Grimsby and Sheffield Junction Railway, the Sheffield and Lincolnshire Junction Railway and the Grimsby Dock Company to become the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in July, l846.

A great deal of money was needed to complete the lines through Retford, Gainsborough and Barnetby to Grimsby, New Holland and Lincoln, but the system was opened in 1849. Over the next 15 years the port of Grimsby was developed for the export of coal and for the landing of fish for distribution all over the country. Timber and dairy produce were among other imports.

A handsome station, built with Steetley stone, was begun in 1850 at Worksop The builder was James Drabble, of Carlton. The civil engineer for the lines linking Sheffield to the East Coast was John Fowler, who later went on to design the first railway bridge across the Thames in London, at Pimlico. Later still, in partnership with Benjamin Baker, be supervised the building of the Forth Bridge, for which they were both knighted in 1890.

We often hear the phrase “Jobs for the boys”, but the first Locomotive Superintendent of the M.S. and L. Railway was Richard Peacock, who was 26 when appointed. He had been Loco Superintendent of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester from the age of 21, having previously worked for Daniel Gooch on the Great Western Railway, and before that had been in charge of locos on the Leeds and Selby Railway.  The M.S. and L relied on locomotives built by outside contractors like Sharp Brothers, of Manchester, arid E.B. Wilson of Leeds.

Sharp’s produced a lot of reliable 2-2-2 tender tank locos for passenger work, and some robust 0-6-0’s for freight.  Wilson’s young leading draughtsman, David Joy, produced a design for a 2-2-2 passenger loco in 1847. The first one was named ‘Jenny Lind’, after the famous Swedish opera star, and was built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railways. The type soon spread to many other companies, including the M.S. and L.

In 1845 Sharp’s built the first of a series of 0-6-0 freight locos to Robert Stephenson’s ‘long boiler’ design, and the M.S. and L. Railway purchased some of these. All three axles were in front of the firebox and the long boiler gave more tube heating surface and ample water capacity. At higher speeds these long boilers were dangerously rough riders but they were ideal for slow freight; one of them pulled a train of 101 wagons weighing 597 tons at 13 ¼ mph.

Peacock laid out the loco running sheds at Gorton, where the famous Gorton railway workshops were later established.  In 1854, Peacock resigned to found with Charles Frederick Beyer, the locomotive building firm of Bayer Peacock.

W.G. Craig followed Peacock as M.S. and L Loco Superintendant and he conpleted the first loco, an 0-6-0 goods, at the companies Gorton Works.  In1859 Charles Reboul Sacre took over as loco superintendant and held the post for 27 years.  He was a firm believer in double framed locomotives with outside bearings for the axles, but his early locos were cabless.  One can only imagine those early days, struggling throught the clogging smoke of the single bore Woodhead tunnels soaked in sweat and then emerging into a Pennine snow storm, 1000 feet above sea level.  No wonder the footplate men had long bushy beards.

Sacre did eventually fit weather boards to his locomotives and then extended them, bent over at an angle, to give slightly better protection.  By 1878 he had developed a proper cab with curved side sheets.  In the side sheets he placed an oval brass framed window, but the roof stopped halfway along the footplate.  I bet the crew would gladly have swopped the oval window for another foot of cab roof over their heads.