Shortly afterwards, a proposal was made for an Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway which however never materialised, apart from a stretch between Colwick and Grantham.

In 1876, a loop was built passing the west side of Hag Wood Tunnel, as a diversion from the original line to a third platform, which allowed for Derby to Sheffield stopping trains.

Longlands Tunnel was opened up to form a wide cutting and the junction with the Manchester line was moved south of the river.

A new modern steel bridge for the Manchester line was built alongside the original viaduct over the River Derwent and the A6 main road.

It also carried coal trains from Nottinghamshire, for a while with Garratt locomotives, which would be split at Rowsley for the long climb to Peak Forest.

The stopping service on the former North Midland route to Chesterfield and Sheffield (using the eastern platforms on the slow lines) was withdrawn in January 1967, when the other local stations on this section were closed.

Although the triangular station site remained for a number of years, the eastern road bridge over the A610 was finally removed in the late 1980s.

All that is left now is one platform on a single track to Matlock; the original main Derby to Sheffield line passes to the east through Hag Wood (Toadmoor) Tunnel and onwards to Clay Cross and Chesterfield.

The original listing of Ambergate station for closure under the Beeching Axe led to its mention in the song "Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.