 In 1893 another of Edward Watkin's railways, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, had been authorised to build a new 92-mile (148 km) line from Annesley in Nottinghamshire south to Quainton Road. Watkin had intended to run services from Manchester and Sheffield via Quainton Road and along the MR to Baker Street. Following Watkin's retirement in 1894, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway obtained permission for a separate station in London near Baker Street at Marylebone, and the line was renamed the Great Central Railway (GCR). The new line joined the MR just north of Quainton Road, and opened to passengers on 15 March 1899.
