The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1844 to 1922 when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Initially, the MR's main line, now known as the Midland Main Line, connected the East Midlands to London and to Leeds. Eventually the Midland (head office in Derby) owned a large network of railway lines centred on the East Midlands, and the main lines connecting the East Midlands to Birmingham and Bristol, and another to Manchester. In the end, they were the only railway of the time to own or share lines in all of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.