Navigation immediately suffered from the competition and lowered its rates considerably. This put the cost of coal from those regions below that for which West Leicestershire products could be sold, forcing their owners to reduce their own prices. The L&SR was in turmoil, looking for an alternative business, and in 1845 the Midland Railway, successor to the Midland Counties Railway, made an offer to purchase the L&SR. The motivation of the Midland Railway was partly to exclude competing railways that might take on the L&SR. The offer was excellent, and the L&SR shareholders agreed on 20 August 1845. The Midland Railway (Leicester and Swannington Purchase) Act ratified it as from 27 July 1846. The Midland began working the L&SR on 1 January 1847. Midland Railway improvements The Midland Railway had acquired miles of railway, eight locomotives, six carriages, and twelve goods vehicles. The line was not physically connected to any other railway. In July 1847 the Midland got Parliamentary authorisation to make a new railway from Leicester to Burton, incorporating part of the L&SR into the route. The L&SR was doubled between Desford Junction and Thornton, also between Bagworth and Mantle Lane, Coalville, and a new deviation line, two miles in length, was constructed, by-passing the Bagworth self-acting incline. The old Bagworth incline was closed after cessation of traffic on 25 March and replaced on 27 March 1848 by the new double line, with a ruling gradient of 1 in 66. It was soon discovered that the L&SR engines were inadequate to cope with the gradient, so that banking engines had to be used. Later the Midland used a more powerful "Buffalo" design, but as the L&SR system was still disconnected from the general railway network, the locomotive had to be moved through the streets of Leicester by road. Leicester to Burton line The Midland Railway opened its Leicester to Burton line, incorporating part of the L&SR, on 1 August 1849. It ran from a connection at Knighton Junction, a short distance south of Leicester station; in 1850 a south curve was constructed there, making it a triangular junction. The Leicester passenger terminal had always been of the most basic description, but it was not until 13 March 1893 that the Midland Railway opened a new station there, at West Bridge. The original Leicester termination of the L&SR continued in use as the West Bridge branch until passenger services were