Editing Midland Main Line (section)

===Midland Counties early developments===
[[File:British main lines railway diagram.png|thumb|left|The Midland Main Line (green) in relation to other main lines]]
[[File:ATP-E IN YARD.jpg|thumb|left|[[British Rail APT-E]] built at Derby rail technical centre and extensively tested on the Midland Main Line its first run being on 25 July 1972 from Derby to Duffield]]
The Midland Main Line was built in stages between the 1830s and the 1870s. The earliest section was opened by the [[Midland Counties Railway]] between [[Nottingham]] and [[Derby]] on 4 June 1839.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Railway between Nottingham and Derby |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000237/18390607/010/0003 |newspaper=Stamford Mercury |location=British Newspaper Archive |date=7 June 1839 |access-date=5 July 2016 }}</ref> On 5 May 1840 the section of the route from [[Trent Junction]] to [[Leicester]] was opened.<ref>{{cite news |title=Midland Counties Railway |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000172/18400509/012/0003 |newspaper=Leicester Chronicle |location=British Newspaper Archive |date=9 May 1840 |access-date=5 July 2016 }}</ref>

The line at Derby was joined on 1 July 1840 by the [[North Midland Railway]] to [[Leeds Hunslet Lane railway station|Leeds Hunslet Lane]] via [[Chesterfield railway station|Chesterfield]], [[Rotherham Masborough railway station|Rotherham Masborough]],{{#tag:ref|Quickly the [[Sheffield & Rotherham Railway|Sheffield and Rotherham Railway]] ran its branch line to [[Sheffield Wicker railway station|Sheffield Wicker]]|group= n}} [[Swinton railway station (South Yorkshire)|Swinton]], and [[Normanton railway station|Normanton]].

On 10 May 1844 the [[North Midland Railway]], the [[Midland Counties Railway]] and the [[Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway]] merged to form the [[Midland Railway]].