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[[File:Manton up coal train geograph-2769680-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|An up coal train near Manton]]The Midland Railway served a number of colliery areas, and conveying house coal and industrial fuel to large population areas became dominant. Moving manufactured goods away from towns where production took place was also important. Over time there was a massive flow of minerals from the North and East Midland coalfields to southern towns and cities, chiefly London, and also to the agricultural districts of East Anglia and Lincolnshire. All the wagons had to be sorted according to their specific destination, and of course all the wagons had to be returned empty to the collieries after discharge.<ref name = reghist136>Robin Leleux, ''A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: volume IX: the East Midlands'', David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1976, {{ISBN|0-7153-7165-7}}, pages 136–138</ref> The Midland Railway had a double track route south from [[Trent railway station|Trent]] through Leicester, and it was heavily congested. As well as the principal long-distance passenger expresses, there was a huge volume of mineral traffic. These trains tended to be slow moving and often had to wait in refuge sidings alongside the main line, pending the availability of reception sidings at yards nearer their destination. The main line was still largely double track and in consequence congestion and delay was widespread.<ref name = reghist26>Leleux, pages 26, 66, 67 and 80</ref>
From the later 1870s, the main line was progressively quadrupled south of Kettering, with easier gradients going south. The most important of these works was the [[Wymington]] Deviation, a 3{{frac|1|2}} mile line opened on 4 May 1884. It had a ruling gradient of 1 in 200 rather than the long 1 in 120 climb on the original main line; there is a 1,860 yard tunnel. This gave the heavy southbound coal trains, mostly hauled by small Johnson 0-6-0 locomotives, a gentler climb, enabling them to take longer loaded trains. North of Kettering a different solution was proposed.<ref name = reghist67>Leleux page 67</ref><ref name = barnes166/>
==A direct line==
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