The Railway line which skirted Hilcote and ran through Old Blackwell and Newton was constructed by the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company, ( MS&LR ); The directors wanted to extend their lines to gain access to London for the coalfields of Yorkshire.
To that end they gained permission to build their “Derbyshire Lines” from Beighton near Sheffield to Annesley where they joined the Great Northern Railway to Nottingham and on to London. A section from Beighton to Staveley was opened in December 1891, a line from Staveley to Chesterfield in April 1892 and our section from Staveley to Annesley was completed and opened in October 1892.
By 1897 the MS&LR had gained Royal Assent to build its own line to London, and renamed itself the Great Central Railway Co. which in later times was later taken over by the London North Eastern Railway ( L.N.E.R.). The line was closed in 1966, and subsequently part of the line was redesignated as the Newton Link multi user trail, linking to the Five Pits and Teversal/ Silverhill Trails.
This photo was taken as the loco came out of Old Blackwell and skirted the fields west of Cragg Lane , shortly to run under Alfreton Road, to cross over Tibshelf Lane heading for Tibshelf Station.