Watford High Street – Croxley Green railway line
The Watford High Street – Croxley Green railway was a railway line in the county of Hertfordshire . Large parts of its route are to be used as part of the Croxley Rail Link project for a new connection between Watford and Croxley.
history
In 1862 the Watford Junction – Rickmansworth Church Street railway line was opened by the short-lived (1862–1881) Watford and Rickmansworth Railway Company (W&RR). It went to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1881 . When the Metropolitan Railway Company in north-west London expanded rapidly in the early 20th century , the LNWR tried to fight against the resulting competition and began building a branch line from Watford High Street Station to Croxley Green in 1908 . This required the construction of a bridge over the Grand Union Canal . Passenger traffic on the new route began on June 15, 1912, and goods traffic on October 1, 1912.
A year later, the LNWR built a link from Watford High Street across the River Colne to Bushey & Oxhey with a link south towards Rickmansworth . This new track triangle not only connected the former W & RR route and the New Line of the LNWR, but also enabled direct travel from Croxley Green to London Euston for the first time . The rural-looking surroundings of the Croxley Green terminus underlined the LNWR's slogan " Live in the Country ".
Initially, the line was operated with steam, including so-called railmotors , a type of railcar . On October 30, 1922, electrical operation with power rails began. At that time, 25 pairs of trains ran on the route on weekdays. In 1925 operations began on Sundays, but in the 1940s it was discontinued along with the evening trains. Although the 1966 Beeching Report called for the line to be closed, operations were continued after a veto by the Minister of Transport Barbara Castle , albeit only at peak times. In 1988 another attempt was made to liven up the route by serving it twice an hour. That made the replacement of the dilapidated platform in Croxley Green necessary. As of January 1990, only one pair of trains ran in the morning, leaving Watford around 7:00.
Passenger traffic on the section of the trunk line from Watford Junction to Rickmansworth Church Street was discontinued by BR in 1952 .
When a new road interrupted the route to Croxley Green in 1996, operations were initially temporarily discontinued and then finally ceased in 2001. The trains were initially replaced by buses and finally by taxi rides. However, in 2004/2005 it was still possible to buy tickets to Watford West.
Operating points
Watford High Street
Watford Stadium
⊙ Only 70 years after the opening of this route, theWatford Stadiumstop wasset upin 1982 inorder to cope with the crowds at footballmatches and to separatefansfrom the home and away teams. Until then, visitors to the Vicarage Road Games had used theWatford High Streetor Watford Junction train stations.
The Football Trust contributed £ 50,000 GPB, Watford Borough Council £ 80,000, Watford FC 50,000 GPB, and British Rail the remaining £ 200,000 towards the cost of building the station . Watford Stadium Halt was opened on December 4, 1982 by rock musician and chairman of Watford Football Club Elton John and chairman of the Football Trust Lord Aberdare .
By the time it closed in 1996, Watford Stadium Halt had not been used for a number of years (likely due to the football club's declining success), but it was not dismantled and the platform was preserved.
Watford West
This station opened as Hagden Halt in 1913 , but renamed it soon after. From November 1914, the breakpoint was closed for the duration of the First World War . Here, too, the facilities of the stop were retained after the line was closed.
When the Croxley Rail Link is built, this stop will not be reopened. Instead, a new access point is to be built in Watford Vicarage Road , which will serve both the settlement and the access to the football stadium.
Croxley Green
The station building and platform of the Croxley Green terminus, which was opened at the same time as the line, burned down in March 1913, and suffragettes were suspected of arson. British Rail served the station until 1996. Seven years before it was closed, it was rebuilt, replacing the original platform with a wooden one on the opposite side of the track. When operations ceased in March 1996, the facility, including the lampposts and the platform, remained in place. Around 2005, the dilapidated wooden platform was removed, but more than 15 years after operations had ceased, lamp posts and signs were still there.
Part of the embankment east of the bridge over the Grand Union Canal has been removed to make way for the new Ascot Road route. This should improve the flow of traffic to the nearby industrial park. Since then, the terminus has been separated from the rest of the route.
When the Croxley Rail Link is rebuilt, this station will not be rebuilt, as the new route will run north of it and only meet the old route east of the canal and the river Gade . Instead, a new Cassiobridge station is to be built a few meters north.
Web links
- Photos of the route after the end of operations (in English)
- Photos from the 2009 series (Simon Cornwell, text in English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Oppitz, Leslie (2005). "3. Lord Ebury's Line". Lost railways of the Chilterns. Newbury: Countryside Books. Pp. 40-48. ISBN 9781853066436 .
- ↑ a b Watford to Croxley Green . West Watford History Group. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013.
- ^ Estimates of station usage . Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- ^ Watford Stadium . In: Disused Stations . Subterranea Britannica. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013.
- ↑ Photos of Watford Stadium Halt . In: Croxley Green-Watford High Street (pt.4) . Abandoned Tube Stations. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013.
- ↑ Photos from Watford West 1977 to 2012 (text in English)
- ↑ Photos from Watford West 2008 (text in English)
- ↑ Disused stations - Watford West
- ^ Welbourn, N. (1998). Lost Lines London. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allen Ltd. P. 111. ISBN 0-7110-2623-8 .
- ↑ Disused Stations - Croxley Green
- ↑ Pictures of Croxley Green Station
- ^ Pictures of Croxley Green station from 1998 and 2004