This was a large scale scheme, but by this time wagonload freight was in decline on British Railways, and the new yard had a limited life.

It was a hugely ambitious scheme, and although authorised by Parliament, it failed to attract share subscriptions in any volume.

The MS&LR had opposed this, and the parliamentary powers actually granted by the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict.

When the branch was constructed, it terminated at Barlborough colliery, near Clowne, as there was no commercial advantage in continuing to Beighton.

There was dissatisfaction among industrialists in Sheffield at the rates charged by the established railway companies there, and consequently there was local support for the LD&ECR's aspiration.

The Great Eastern Railway had running powers over the LD&ECR system, and it too encouraged plans to reach Sheffield.

In 1894 plans for an independent line to Sheffield were put forward, but at that time the LD&ECR was in particular financial difficulty and the proposal was withdrawn.

This was to be a new line running from the LD&ECR at Spinkhill, on the (uncompleted) Beighton branch, to a new terminus at Attercliffe, in Sheffield.

[note 3][9] Although nominally an independent concern, the Sheffield District Railway was a creature of the LD&ECR and the GER together; and it was not proposed to acquire rolling stock.

It has also been necessary to raise the ground by at least twelve feet, and considering that the station covers an immense tract of land, this has been no slight undertaking.

[11]Construction of the 40-acre site involved two diversions of the River Don, and filling to raise the ground level by 125 feet.

The LD&ECR ran six trains daily between Langwith Junction and Sheffield (Midland station).

[6] By contrast the Midland Railway made increasing use of the line; from 1 July 1903 it ran a service of four trains each way between Sheffield and Mansfield, hauled by its own locomotives but with LD&ECR rolling stock.

The LD&ECR was absorbed by the Great Central Railway on 1 January 1907,[14] and the running powers it had over the SDR were transferred with the ownership.

In consequence the Great Northern Railway obtained running powers over the District line for goods and mineral traffic to and from Sheffield.

[15][7] Gerard Fiennes, General Manager of the Eastern Region of British Railways, described the search for a location to rationalise freight movement in the Sheffield area.

Fiennes, Dick Temple, the Divisional Manager at Sheffield and Ralph Sadler, the Chief Civil Engineer spent two days looking at the places where Midland and Great Central were close with the idea of a common marshalling yard...

Although the topography was unfavourable, the availability of land and the potential connections to other routes made the location an obvious choice.

At the west end two new spurs were built connecting the former South Yorkshire Railway Sheffield - Rotherham line.

[17] At the time Tinsley yard was commissioned, it was already beginning to become clear that wagonload freight on British Railways had an uncertain future.

A series of reviews, in many cases prompted by demands for heavy investment in wagons and infrastructure, indicated a bleak future and weak support.