Leicester was one of the first cities (though then a town) to be served by a railway when the Leicester and Swannington Railway built its terminus station at West Bridge on the western side of Leicester in 1832. The Leicester and Swannington Railway was built to supply the city of Leicester with coal from the mines in the north west of the county, this early entrant to the country’s network was later absorbed by the Midland Railway.

Accompanying each section of this book are maps that hopefully give the reader some idea of where the various lines of the railway passed through the city, sadly the majority of it no longer in existence, although traces of structures still exist if you look closely enough.