Great Central Railway

The Great Central Railway was a Victorian-era main line railway company whose London Extension opened in 1899 as the last main line to be built into central London, running from Annesley in Nottinghamshire to Marylebone station. The route was built to a generous continental loading gauge to enable through running to Europe via a proposed Channel Tunnel. The line was progressively closed under the Beeching cuts from the 1960s and the remaining section from Aylesbury to Rugby closed in 1969. Parts of the route are now preserved as heritage railways at Loughborough and Quainton Road.