through Rugby junction, giving the town huge national importance. By the 1860s the junction had become extremely congested, so much so that it was not uncommon for trains to have to queue for hours to pass through. This caused much anger and frustration amongst travellers, for whom Rugby became a byword for delays. Charles Dickens lampooned it in his short story Mugby Junction (1866). To relieve this congestion a new line, later called the Midland Main Line, was built, taking a more direct route to London, avoiding Rugby. Much traffic was diverted onto the new line; Rugby remained one of the most important railway junctions in the country, but was no longer an all-important hub. The first Rugby railway station was opened in 1838 when the London & Birmingham opened, located to the west of the present station. When the Midland Counties line was opened in 1840, the original station was badly located to serve the new line, and so a second station was opened close to the present one. This station lasted for over 40 years but proved to be inadequate to cope with traffic. In 1885 the present station was opened. In 1899 the Great Central Railway was built into Rugby and the town gained a second station which offered an alternative route to London and the north. Growth of industry With the railways, many wagon works, and engineering facilities were opened, and Rugby's population reached 10,000 by the 1880s, many employed by the railways. Because of its transport links, a number of industries developed in Rugby. In 1862 the Rugby Lias Lime and Cement Co. Ltd. was founded, although manufacture of cement at the site began in 1855. Using the local Blue Lias clay. Rugby began to develop more industries from the 1880s onwards. In 1881 a corset factory opened, employing local women. From the 1890s onwards Rugby began to attract engineering industry, due largely to its good transport links. The Willans & Robinson works opened in Rugby in 1893 which made steam engines. And in 1899 the British Thomson-Houston works opened which made electrical equipment and later turbines. Engineering would dominate the town's economy for most of the following century. Challenges of growth By the middle of the 19th century Rugby's infrastructure had not kept pace with the increase in population. Most notably, there was not an adequate supply of drinking water which was mostly sourced