Watford rail link support boost
 

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:18:03 +0000, Charles Ellson
wrote:

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:37:44 -0000, "Tim Roll-Pickering"
wrote:

quoted:

The extension of the Metropolitan tube line to Watford Junction
station moved a step closer to realisation today.

How many steps are there?!

About umpty-seven each side of the road that's in the way ? (Plus one
very big one if they only build it as a tube line).

I remember seeing this proposed 40+ years ago. I showed it to my old
man (who worked on the Met) who said it was originally planned
pre-war.

Watford rail link support boost
 

On 18 Jan, 22:36, (Neil Williams)
wrote:

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:25:23 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Better still, use DMUs and run it through to Aylesbury!

That'd be a seriously useful service, and would get a lot of the
benefits of Aylesbury-Bletchley for very little of the additional
cost.


Indeed, a very interesting idea - has this ever been mooted before
because it's the first time I've heard of such a notion?

It's not as though the Met line is a stranger to DMUs of course.

Watford rail link support boost
 

On 18 Jan, 21:56, "Peter Masson" wrote:

wrote:

"THC" wrote:
This is excellent news, although every time an additional approval for
the Croxley Rail Link is granted in this tortuous process, the cost
goes up and the proposed completion date stretches further away.

It states on the proposal that trains would run every ten minutes. Yet on
the Amersham branch there are now only two trains an hour (I think I am
correct in saying this?) how come there would be such a variance?

Current service from Watford - Baker Street is every 10 minutes. It is this,
and not the Amersham trains, that would be diverted to run from Watford
Junction. There have, however, in the past been suggestions that if the link
is built there should also be a shuttle service from Watford Junction to
Amersham or Chesham.


And the present Watford Met station would likely be closed.

Watford rail link support boost
 

On 19 Jan, 01:10, Mizter T wrote:

On 18 Jan, 22:36, (Neil Williams)
wrote:

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:25:23 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Better still, use DMUs and run it through to Aylesbury!

That'd be a seriously useful service, and would get a lot of the
benefits of Aylesbury-Bletchley for very little of the additional
cost.

Indeed, a very interesting idea - has this ever been mooted before
because it's the first time I've heard of such a notion?


Silly me, thinking that it was possible no-one had really suggested
this already! The Wikipedia article makes plenty of mention of it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croxley_Rail_Link

I'm evidently just not that imaginative to have thought about it
already. A potential through service from Aylesbury is surely *the*
selling point of this link, is it not? I could never get myself that
excited about it beforehand, as I didn't think the benefits of there
being 'more Met line' at Watford really made the whole thing seem that
worthwhile, but as part of a wider service the proposed Croxley link
starts to look rather more attractive.

Watford rail link support boost
 

Christopher A. Lee wrote:

I remember seeing this proposed 40+ years ago. I showed it to my old
man (who worked on the Met) who said it was originally planned
pre-war.

Was there ever any thought given during the original construction of the Met
branch to a link-up? Or was there too much competition between the LNER and
the LMSR?

Watford rail link support boost
 

Mizter T wrote:

I'm evidently just not that imaginative to have thought about it
already. A potential through service from Aylesbury is surely *the*
selling point of this link, is it not? I could never get myself that
excited about it beforehand, as I didn't think the benefits of there
being 'more Met line' at Watford really made the whole thing seem that
worthwhile, but as part of a wider service the proposed Croxley link
starts to look rather more attractive.

I was under the impression the plan was to make two obscure back-water
suburban stub branches into a through root and make the town of Watford more
accessible from the Met. The Aylesbury link hasn't been mentioned that
often.

Watford rail link support boost
 

Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:
Christopher A. Lee wrote:

I remember seeing this proposed 40+ years ago. I showed it to my old
man (who worked on the Met) who said it was originally planned
pre-war.

Was there ever any thought given during the original construction of
the Met branch to a link-up? Or was there too much competition
between the LNER and the LMSR?

I don't know, but a Met station was built in Watford High St and is still
there AFAIK. The line never reached it.

Watford rail link support boost
 

On 19 Jan, 10:44, "John Rowland"
wrote:
Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:
Christopher A. Lee wrote:

I remember seeing this proposed 40+ years ago. I showed it to my old
man (who worked on the Met) who said it was originally planned
pre-war.

Was there ever any thought given during the original construction of
the Met branch to a link-up? Or was there too much competition
between the LNER and the LMSR?

I don't know, but a Met station was built in Watford High St and is still
there AFAIK. The line never reached it.

Might be useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watford...tation#History

....though I believe the article to be wrong. It claims "Revolution" as
the location, but other sources claim "Moon Under the Water". Hard to
tell from the photograph in the cited reference which is correct,
though I suspect it is in fact MUtW.

The W&RR built the line to Ricky in the late 1800s, the LMSR built the
Croxley Green branch around the early 1900s, then the Met built their
Watford Branch, with Watford Met opening in the 20's as direct
competition. The Ricky line had options over the early years of being
extended to High Wycombe (long before the GC joint line was
conceived), and apparently Uxbridge via Harefield.

Watford rail link support boost
 

On Jan 19, 12:08*pm, Jamie Thompson wrote:
Might be useful:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watford...tation#History

...though I believe the article to be wrong. It claims "Revolution" as
the location, but other sources claim "Moon Under the Water". Hard to
tell from the photograph in the cited reference which is correct,
though I suspect it is in fact MUtW.

You are correct. The property at 44 High Street Watford was purchased
by the Met for its proposed town centre station (Watford Central?) It
was sold, later to become the Grange furniture store and subsequently
the Moon.

The W&RR built the line to Ricky in the late 1800s, the LMSR built the
Croxley Green branch around the early 1900s, then the Met built their
Watford Branch, with Watford Met opening in the 20's as direct
competition. The Ricky line had options over the early years of being
extended to High Wycombe (long before the GC joint line was
conceived), and apparently Uxbridge via Harefield.

To Uxbridge from Ricky (Church Street) was Lord Ebury's dream and the
option for extension that I have seen documented most often. IIRC
Goudie and Stuckey's excellent book, "West of Watford" (Forge Press,
now out of print), tells more of the story and of the albeit vague
proposals for the LM&SR's Croxley Green branch to loop back towards
Boxmoor and Berkhamsted.

THC

Watford rail link support boost
 

On Jan 19, 2:40*am, "Tim Roll-Pickering" T.C.Roll-
wrote:
Mizter T wrote:
I'm evidently just not that imaginative to have thought about it
already. A potential through service from Aylesbury is surely *the*
selling point of this link, is it not? I could never get myself that
excited about it beforehand, as I didn't think the benefits of there
being 'more Met line' at Watford really made the whole thing seem that
worthwhile, but as part of a wider service the proposed Croxley link
starts to look rather more attractive.

I was under the impression the plan was to make two obscure back-water
suburban stub branches into a through root and make the town of Watford more
accessible from the Met. The Aylesbury link hasn't been mentioned that
often.

Much more was made of the Watford - Aylesbury service when the link
was being talked up in the 80s and 90s. There were also some grandious
proposals for an Aylesbury to St. Albans service involving a flyover
(or dive under) at Watford Junction. Back then, the plan was supposed
to be self-financing as the sale of the Watford Met branch for housing
would pay for the new alignment.