Nicky Line
Encyclopedia
The Nicky Line is the local nickname for the railway that once linked the English
towns of Hemel Hempstead
and Harpenden
via Redbourn
. It was officially known as the Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead Railway. Today the course of most of the railway has been redeveloped as a cycle and walking path, and is part of the National Cycle Network
(the Oxford
to Welwyn Garden City
route). It is approximately nine miles (14 km) long.
to Birmingham
which then lead to the main industry cities of the time Liverpool and Manchester, opened in 1837, passed through Hemel Hempstead, but, due to vigorous lobbying by local landowners (including the eminent and well-connected surgeon Sir Astley Paston Cooper), it was routed on the other side of the River Gade
and the Grand Union Canal
some distance from the town. A station was built on this line at Boxmoor
(named Boxmoor and Hemel Hempstead) but no connection was provided into the town by rail.
The first proposal for a more convenient rail link for the townspeople of Hemel Hempstead was presented in 1862 by John Grover. His proposal was for a short spur from the main line to the lower end of the (old) town at Bury Mill End. At the same meeting, another (more ambitious) proposal was put forward, extending the line to Redbourn to link to the Great Northern Railway
at Harpenden. However, Grover's design found a sponsor and following an Act of Parliament
in 1863 the Hemel Hempstead and London & North Western Railway Company was formed to construct and operate the line. However, no construction work was undertaken due to difficulties with local landowners and problems agreeing the connection to the main line at Boxmoor, and after a number of years of stagnation the earlier proposals were re-examined. Parliamentary approval was obtained in 1866 and construction work began. Construction proceeded extremely slowly, the lower spur from Boxmoor to Hemel Hempstead only being completed by 1871, though the connection to Boxmoor was via an awkward turntable
arrangement.
Eventually, the HH and L&NWR company ran into financial difficulties and it was the Midland Railway
that came to the rescue, financing completion of the line and agreeing to operate it once it was built. The line was finally opened in 1877. It provided a link for the straw plait trade that existed in Hemel with the hat making centre of Luton
, and this is reflected in the fact that the initial connection at Harpenden headed north towards Luton rather than south towards London. Passengers changed trains at Chiltern Green. The terminus for the new connection was a high-level station at Heath Park Halt, near what is now the former headquarters building of Kodak, on a viaduct extending across Marlowes. Passengers on the new train service were able to reach St Pancras
in London faster than those who took a pony and trap to Boxmoor station travelled to Euston
. A larger station, named Hemel Hempsted (the Midland Railway always spelt it this way) but known as the Midland Station, was the main passenger facility within the town. This stood on the site of a modern housing development, opposite the Midland Hotel, which still exists.
The straw plait trade declined, and in order to help the line pay its way the junction at Harpenden was realigned in 1886 so that it headed south instead of north, and passengers now changed trains at Harpenden Junction. Due to rivalry between the Midland and the L&NWR, which operated the main line at Boxmoor, no passenger trains operated between Midland Station and Boxmoor, though the connection was available for the odd goods train. In 1906 a passenger terminus was opened at Heath Park Halt in an attempt to compete with the L&NWR, which had started a bus service to transport passengers from Hemel Hempstead to the main line station at Boxmoor. The company rivalry grew intense, and on one occasion track was lifted by angry L&NWR workers at Boxmoor to prevent a goods train that had travelled along the Midland Railway from completing the journey to Boxmoor.
system called the "Ro-Railer", a bus that could travel on both roads and railways. The experiment was short-lived and did not catch on.
Following nationalisation of the railways, the connection of the lines at Boxmoor which had so long been a bone of contention was finally resolved, the connection being made to allow coal trains to supply the nearby gasworks at Duckhall. Having finally connected the lines, this service ran for all of six months in 1959 before the line was closed altogether. The viaduct crossing the lower end of Marlowes was demolished on July 6, 1960 during redevelopment of the town centre. Many people turned out to witness the demolition of this local landmark, and the event was well recorded in photographs.
The line between Cupid Green and Harpenden was privately owned by the Hemelite company from 1968, and was used to transport raw materials for manufacturing building blocks via Harpenden to their works at Cupid Green. The line beyond this point to the terminus at Hemel was lifted during the late 1950s.
It is notable that prior to Hemel Hempstead being chosen as the site for a new town
, Redbourn was also considered. Had this occurred then the Nicky Line would have been significantly upgraded to provide a link between the main line at Hemel and a new station at Redbourn.
Since much redevelopment of the town took place subsequent to its closure, the course of the lower part of the line is nowadays hard to follow. The course of the connection from Boxmoor is discernible in places; the gasholders at Duckhall are still present and the boundaries delineate the curve of the original trackbed. The abutment of the bridge that crossed the A41 is still present on the northern side, followed by a few hundred metres of heavily wooded embankment which still have one or two remaining sleepers. Remains of the brick-built bridges crossing the Bulbourne and Grand Union Canal are indistinct but discernible, but the remainder of the embankment to Heath Park has been levelled and landscaped as a public park and cricket pitches. From Heath Park the line went roughly to the site of the present day "Magic Roundabout
", where it crossed the lower end of Marlowes over a viaduct
. From there it followed a course roughly where the modern day Maynard Road runs (an unsurfaced car park locates a 200 m section of the former railway), through the site of the modern hospital (the hospital existed when the railway was active, but was far smaller – the line passed to its east), through the housing developments of Concorde Drive (the former Hemel Hempstead (Midland) Station), to cross under Midland Road next to the Midland Hotel. From this point the course of the line is easier to follow as much of it still exists as footpaths. The Midland Road bridge is still extant, though now largely buried. The line can be easily traced across Keen's Fields, to cross Queensway on a high-level brick arch bridge which is still complete. From there the line tracks through Highfield and the course follows a well-maintained path all the way up to Cupid Green. This part of the line once again becomes obscured by modern developments, such as a car dealership and a modern industrial estate. Here once stood "Godwin's Halt", a very minor station named for a former landowner of the area. The original bridge at Godwins Halt remains, though again largely filled in. It carries a footpath between Highfield and Pennine Way, which is a lane predating the redevelopment of Hemel Hempstead new town.
The line becomes easier to follow a few hundred metres further on, since this part of the line was open until 1979. From here the line crosses largely open country, roughly parallel with the main Redbourn Road. Most bridges are still intact and have been maintained as part of the cycle route. The modern Redbourn Bypass, built in the 1980s, cuts across the route several times and there are no separate bridges. The wrought iron bridge carrying the line across the A5 at Redbourn remains intact. This bridge is of a type identical to those originally crossing the Bulbourne and the canal at Boxmoor. There was once a station at Redbourn just beyond this point but very little evidence of this remains – the site is marked with an information board today. The route then crosses more open countryside, including fields belonging to the Rothamsted Experimental Station
, to Harpenden, where it crosses over the main London Road on a brick arch bridge, to connect with the Midland Main Line
. The course of the original connection towards Luton is also discernible.
The line is commemorated in the modern Marlowes pedestrianisation scheme by a children's playground train and a sign labelled "Nicky Line Halt", though no such named station ever existed.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
towns of Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead
Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
and Harpenden
Harpenden
Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....
via Redbourn
Redbourn
Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, lying on Watling Street, 3 miles from Harpenden, 4 miles from St Albans and 5 miles from Hemel Hempstead. It has a population of around 6,000.-History:...
. It was officially known as the Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead Railway. Today the course of most of the railway has been redeveloped as a cycle and walking path, and is part of the National Cycle Network
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
(the Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
to Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
route). It is approximately nine miles (14 km) long.
History
The main line from LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
which then lead to the main industry cities of the time Liverpool and Manchester, opened in 1837, passed through Hemel Hempstead, but, due to vigorous lobbying by local landowners (including the eminent and well-connected surgeon Sir Astley Paston Cooper), it was routed on the other side of the River Gade
River Gade
The River Gade is a river running almost entirely though Hertfordshire. It rises from a spring in the chalk of the Chiltern Hills at Dagnall, Buckinghamshire and flows through Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Croxley Green to Rickmansworth where it joins the The River Colne...
and the Grand Union Canal
Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
some distance from the town. A station was built on this line at Boxmoor
Boxmoor
Boxmoor, or Boxmoor Village, is a district of Dacorum in Hertfordshire, England. It is now part of Hemel Hempstead. It is a district of mainly nineteenth century housing and meadowland, repeatedly cut through by transport links from London to the The Midlands....
(named Boxmoor and Hemel Hempstead) but no connection was provided into the town by rail.
The first proposal for a more convenient rail link for the townspeople of Hemel Hempstead was presented in 1862 by John Grover. His proposal was for a short spur from the main line to the lower end of the (old) town at Bury Mill End. At the same meeting, another (more ambitious) proposal was put forward, extending the line to Redbourn to link to the Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)
The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
at Harpenden. However, Grover's design found a sponsor and following an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1863 the Hemel Hempstead and London & North Western Railway Company was formed to construct and operate the line. However, no construction work was undertaken due to difficulties with local landowners and problems agreeing the connection to the main line at Boxmoor, and after a number of years of stagnation the earlier proposals were re-examined. Parliamentary approval was obtained in 1866 and construction work began. Construction proceeded extremely slowly, the lower spur from Boxmoor to Hemel Hempstead only being completed by 1871, though the connection to Boxmoor was via an awkward turntable
Turntable (railroad)
A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock. When steam locomotives were still in wide use, many railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many...
arrangement.
Eventually, the HH and L&NWR company ran into financial difficulties and it was the Midland Railway
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
that came to the rescue, financing completion of the line and agreeing to operate it once it was built. The line was finally opened in 1877. It provided a link for the straw plait trade that existed in Hemel with the hat making centre of Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, and this is reflected in the fact that the initial connection at Harpenden headed north towards Luton rather than south towards London. Passengers changed trains at Chiltern Green. The terminus for the new connection was a high-level station at Heath Park Halt, near what is now the former headquarters building of Kodak, on a viaduct extending across Marlowes. Passengers on the new train service were able to reach St Pancras
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
in London faster than those who took a pony and trap to Boxmoor station travelled to Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
. A larger station, named Hemel Hempsted (the Midland Railway always spelt it this way) but known as the Midland Station, was the main passenger facility within the town. This stood on the site of a modern housing development, opposite the Midland Hotel, which still exists.
The straw plait trade declined, and in order to help the line pay its way the junction at Harpenden was realigned in 1886 so that it headed south instead of north, and passengers now changed trains at Harpenden Junction. Due to rivalry between the Midland and the L&NWR, which operated the main line at Boxmoor, no passenger trains operated between Midland Station and Boxmoor, though the connection was available for the odd goods train. In 1906 a passenger terminus was opened at Heath Park Halt in an attempt to compete with the L&NWR, which had started a bus service to transport passengers from Hemel Hempstead to the main line station at Boxmoor. The company rivalry grew intense, and on one occasion track was lifted by angry L&NWR workers at Boxmoor to prevent a goods train that had travelled along the Midland Railway from completing the journey to Boxmoor.
Stations
The full list of stations on the route after 1906 is:- Heath Park Halt
- Hemel Hempsted (Midland RailwayMidland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
) - Godwin's Halt
- Beaumont's Halt
- Redbourn
- Roundwood Halt
- HarpendenHarpenden railway stationHarpenden railway station serves the town of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated on the Midland Main Line. The station is managed by First Capital Connect and is served by its Thameslink route service....
(to/from South)
Ro-Railer trials
In the 1930s, the line was used to trial a hybrid road-rail vehicleRoad-rail vehicle
A road–rail vehicle is a self-propelled vehicle that can be legally used on both roads and rails. Combining the words "highway" and "rail", one is often referred to as a hi-rail truck or just hi-rail, sometimes spelled high-rail, HiRail or Hy-rail. They are normally converted rubber-tired road...
system called the "Ro-Railer", a bus that could travel on both roads and railways. The experiment was short-lived and did not catch on.
Decline
Passenger demand was never high and further declined during the inter-war years. The rivalry between the Midland and LNW Railway companies ensured that the line ultimately failed to serve the people of Hemel Hempstead in the most useful way possible, and the last passenger train ran in December 1947, following a 'temporary' suspension of services due to the national coal shortage.Following nationalisation of the railways, the connection of the lines at Boxmoor which had so long been a bone of contention was finally resolved, the connection being made to allow coal trains to supply the nearby gasworks at Duckhall. Having finally connected the lines, this service ran for all of six months in 1959 before the line was closed altogether. The viaduct crossing the lower end of Marlowes was demolished on July 6, 1960 during redevelopment of the town centre. Many people turned out to witness the demolition of this local landmark, and the event was well recorded in photographs.
The line between Cupid Green and Harpenden was privately owned by the Hemelite company from 1968, and was used to transport raw materials for manufacturing building blocks via Harpenden to their works at Cupid Green. The line beyond this point to the terminus at Hemel was lifted during the late 1950s.
It is notable that prior to Hemel Hempstead being chosen as the site for a new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
, Redbourn was also considered. Had this occurred then the Nicky Line would have been significantly upgraded to provide a link between the main line at Hemel and a new station at Redbourn.
The Nicky Line today
Magic Roundabout (Hemel Hempstead)
The Magic Roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England is the familiar name given to a complex road junction also known as the Moor End or Plough roundabout. The familiar name comes from the children's television programme of the same name and is also used for a similar junction in Swindon...
", where it crossed the lower end of Marlowes over a viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
. From there it followed a course roughly where the modern day Maynard Road runs (an unsurfaced car park locates a 200 m section of the former railway), through the site of the modern hospital (the hospital existed when the railway was active, but was far smaller – the line passed to its east), through the housing developments of Concorde Drive (the former Hemel Hempstead (Midland) Station), to cross under Midland Road next to the Midland Hotel. From this point the course of the line is easier to follow as much of it still exists as footpaths. The Midland Road bridge is still extant, though now largely buried. The line can be easily traced across Keen's Fields, to cross Queensway on a high-level brick arch bridge which is still complete. From there the line tracks through Highfield and the course follows a well-maintained path all the way up to Cupid Green. This part of the line once again becomes obscured by modern developments, such as a car dealership and a modern industrial estate. Here once stood "Godwin's Halt", a very minor station named for a former landowner of the area. The original bridge at Godwins Halt remains, though again largely filled in. It carries a footpath between Highfield and Pennine Way, which is a lane predating the redevelopment of Hemel Hempstead new town.
Rothamsted Experimental Station
The Rothamsted Experimental Station, one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, is located at Harpenden in Hertfordshire, England. It is now known as Rothamsted Research...
, to Harpenden, where it crosses over the main London Road on a brick arch bridge, to connect with the Midland Main Line
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
. The course of the original connection towards Luton is also discernible.
Origin of the name
The origin of the nickname "The Nicky Line" is shrouded in obscurity. Suggestions range from being named for the parish of St. Nicholas in Harpenden, through which it runs, to Hemel's connection with Nicholas Breakspear. The local paper notes that the engines themselves were referred to as "Puffing Annies" by locals, as the climb from the town centre up through Highfield was steep and the engines created much steam and smoke ascending this grade. Older generations in Hemel still refer to the line as "the Puffing Annie", rather than the Nicky line.The line is commemorated in the modern Marlowes pedestrianisation scheme by a children's playground train and a sign labelled "Nicky Line Halt", though no such named station ever existed.