Mass transport came of age in the mid 19th century. First with the opening of the Midland Line and the regular, reliable rail services that followed. The canal and inland waterways were also being extensively used to move goods long distances in support of the burgeoning industrial activity in Chesterfield and surrounding areas.
with the, by now, excellent national transport routes. Visionaries and industrialists like Ralph W Jackson set about creating a network of branch rail lines to do just that.
Our Branch Line page describes the now disappeared lines..