London Road Railway Station, Leicester
The first station on the present site was constructed by the Midland Counties Railway on Campbell Street and was first used on 4 May 1840, when a train of four first and six second-class carriages, pulled by the 'Leopard' steam engine, arrived from Nottingham. All that remains of the first station are a pair of Egyptian-looking gateposts in Campbell Street. The Midland Railway completely rebuilt the station between 1892 and 1894. The new station frontage on London Road remains as a well-preserved late Victorian building. The interior of the booking hall and the structures on the platforms were reconstructed by British Rail in the 1970s. The station clock is the only hand-wound station clock in the UK. The original Campbell Street station was the starting point of the first excursions arranged by travel agency magnate Thomas Cook. A commemorative statue of Cook has been placed on the pavement approximately 100 metres west of the present station.
