the latter, the Midland succeeded in reaching Manchester in 1867. The Midland, and later the LMS, regarded it as one of their premier lines, linking Manchester with the East Midlands and London. Indeed, it could be regarded as the original "Midland Main Line" carrying such prestige expresses as The Palatine and the Peaks. In the twentieth century, it also carried The Midland Pullman. Initially, there was a great deal of parcel traffic, particularly textiles from the various mills, and the line was also immensely important for coal traffic from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire to Manchester and, southwards, for limestone from the Peak District. A large motive power depot was provided at Rowsley to split trains and provide banking engines for the long haul up to Peak Forest. With the end of water power for the mills, and the introduction of road transport, the parcel traffic disappeared, but minerals remained important until the mid-20th century. In 1968, however, the route from Matlock to Buxton was closed during the Beeching Axe. The line between the quarry north of Matlock and Ambergate remained as a single track carrying a small amount of limestone, with a passenger service continuing from Matlock (strongly supported by Derby railway employees with their free passes). During the period from 1976 to 1993 trains would run through Derby from the Derwent Valley line to Sinfin. This ceased when the Sinfin branch line was first replaced with a taxi, then closed in 1998. The service later returned as a train as far as Peartree as a single train per day until 2001. While the railway workers have largely disappeared, at the beginning of the 21st century, there is renewed public interest in rail, and Derbyshire County Council, among others, is keen to reduce traffic congestion on the A6 and in the Peak National Park. The route between Matlock and Rowsley was taken over by the Peak Rail preservation group, who are campaigning for the link to be restored to Buxton. The County Council carried out a study in 2004, which concluded that it was not economically feasible, but that the track bed would be protected from development. It was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail service in July 2006 and fully designated as a community rail line in September 2006. Meanwhile, the interest shown by the local councils, and public groups such as the Derwent Valley Rural