Coal was discovered in the area in the late 19th century; the last colliery in Rotherham was Maltby Main Colliery, established 1910 and faced with closure in March 2013. To house the colliery’s workers, the colliery company built a large estate known as the ‘Model Village’ to the east of the town centre. From 1900 until 1929, the town was served by Maltby railway station on the South Yorkshire Joint Railway, with services running between Doncaster and Worksop. The station’s platforms still remain and the line is an important freight route. John Brown’s Private Railway also ran by the west of Maltby, but the track has been lifted and is now a public footpath; a short stretch of track and a platform remains. During the Second World War, a munitions factory, ROF Maltby, was established on the outskirts of Maltby close to the colliery; to house these workers, an estate nicknamed ‘Little London’ was built to house its workers, who had moved from Enfield in London.