IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Scammell Way, WATFORD, WD18 6GU

This housing was built in the 1990s on the site of the former Scammell lorry factory on Tolpits Lane. The road through the estate is Scammell Way which runs between the two white faced buildings. The Scammell factory existed on the site between 1922 and 1988.

Nearly three years on from Hywel's Image and about the only changes are that the scrubby vegetation has grown thicker and the red box containing the train driver's mirror has disappeared. The tracks sleepers and electrified third rail remain in situ... This was taken from the Tolpits Lane road bridge. See Image for a view of the outside of the station.

On Tolpits Lane.

This is Watford West station - disused since 1996. The station was left to decay - it even has signs in place on the street level at the time the photograph was taken 9 years after it closed. The driver mirrors can clearly be seen.

Opened in 1912 by the London & North Western Railway on its branch line from Watford Junction to Croxley Green, this station closed in 1996. This was the former entrance in 2012 with the station signs still in place.

The British Railways / Railtrack / Network Rail logo on the sign appears clean and smart but it is a delusion because it is now 12 years since a train passed through the station Image The road is Tolpits Lane.

Watford West was the only intermediate station on the Croxley Green branch. The faded red paint on the lampposts tell us that it was once part of the Network SouthEast network. The 'H' frame at the end of the platform housed a mirror for driver only operation. See Image taken from the same viewpoint in 1985. The Croxley Green branch was opened in 1912, becoming an outpost of the DC electrified system running out of Euston and Broad Street. For much of the line's existence the service consisted of a peak hours shuttle to and from Watford Junction although in NSE days an attempt was made to increase patronage with an all-day service. This was not successful; the stations were not ideally located and the frequent bus services that passed closer to Watford's amenities were a better option for most potential customers. In the end the trains were 'temporarily' withdrawn in 1996 with a purely nominal road replacement. The trains were never reinstated and permanent withdrawal came in 2003 - a rare example of a railway closure in the post-privatisation period. Proposals to link the route of the branch with the Metropolitan Line - allowing Metropolitan Line trains to reach Watford Junction - are, at the time of writing, very much on the back burner.

In July 2013 The Secretary of State for Transport issued a Transport and Works Act Order for the proposed Croxley Rail Link scheme granting the planning permissions, access rights and land transfers necessary for the scheme to go ahead. The £118m scheme proposes that the current London Underground Metropolitan Line branch to Watford would be re-routed from a point east of Croxley station and extended to Watford Junction station via Watford High Street station, with the closure of the original Watford station to passenger traffic. It is proposed that new stations would be provided on the new rail link at Ascot Road, where a park and ride facility would be provided, and at Vicarage Road, in order to serve Watford General Hospital, the proposed Watford Health Campus development, and Watford Football Club. Construction work is scheduled to commence in 2014 with completion planned for 2016. The Croxley Rail Link's website is here http://www.croxleyraillink.com/Default.htm This is the former Watford West station, dating from 1912 and the opening of the L&NWR's Croxley Branch. The new line would utilize the trackbed through here, but it is not planned to re-open the old station. Despite the summer vegetation it can be seen that the track and the platform of the former station are still extant. This is the view from the Tolpits Lane bridge. This view has been taken in:- September 1985 Image April 2005 Image March 2008 Image March 2013 Image