LNWR 350 265 arrives with a Milton Keynes bound service
Information
Type:
National Rail (West Coast Main Line)
Station code:
BKM
Opened:
1838
Platforms:
4
The first Berkhamsted station was built in 1838 by the London & Birmingham Railway. The line (which nowadays is part of the West Coast Main Line) was originally planned to cut through the site of Berkhamsted Castle however the plans were changed after the castle became the first building to obtain a protection order from parliament. The WCML now runs along an embankment next to the castle's barbican.
The original station was replaced by a larger station on the current site in 1875, the new site was just 100m away from the old one. Most of the original 1875 station buildings are still in place and in use. One major change from Victorian days being the WCML electrification in the 1960s.
All four lines of the WCML have platforms though the platforms on the slow lines are used mostly. At one time it was proposed to extend Crossrail (what became the Elizabeth Line) to Berkhamsted and through to Tring but in the end the government decided not to proceed. The station is managed and served by London North Western Railway.
Rickmansworth is a stop on the Metropolitan Line in Hertfordshire. It is also served by Chiltern Railways services between London Marylebone and Aylesbury.
Information
Type:
Transport for London
(Metropolitan Line) &
National Rail
(London-Aylesbury Line)
Station code:
RIC/ZRI
Opened:
1887
Platforms:
3
The station was opened by the Metropolitan Railway in 1887 on it's extension from Pinner. It served as the line's terminus for two years before the line was extended to Chesham. The Great Central Railway also used Rickmansworth on it's services into London Marylebone.
The Metropolitan Railway electrified the line as far as Rickmansworth in 1925. The station was used for the changeover between electric and steam locomotives until the line was electrified out to Amersham in the early 1960s [1].
The station has two platforms in use, the bay platform still exists but is seldom used nowadays. Rickmansworth is used as a crew changeover point for Metropolitan Line trains and there is also stabling nearby [2]. Access between the two platforms is via a subway.
A Chiltern 165 departs bound for Aylesbury
The platforms have LU roundels
View of the platforms sans trains
A Chiltern train prepares to depart
The station has LU and NR signage
Two Chiltern trains at Rickmansworth
[1] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Rickmansworth to Aylesbury (Middleton Press, 2005) Fig. 3 [2] Jason Cross, London Underground Guide 2017 (Train Crazy, 2017) p. 152
Tring is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in Hertfordshire. The station is closer to the village of Aldbury than the town of Tring itself which is nearly two and a half kilometres away.
Information
Type:
National Rail
(West Coast Main Line)
Station code:
TRI
Opened:
1837
Platforms:
5
The station was opened by the London & Birmingham Railway in 1837 as they extended their line from London Euston up from Boxmoor (nowadays Hemel Hempstead). Due to objections by local landowners the original planned route for the line, which would have taken it much closer to the town, had to be changed resulting in the station being fairly remote.
The Metropolitan Railway once planned to extend their line from Chesham as far as Tring [1]. Parliamentary approval had been gained and some land was bought though plans never came to fruition mostly due to budgetary pressures. One thing Tring did have was a landing dock siding so the carriages of the local gentry could be loaded onto flat wagons! [2]
Tring is now a stop on the West Coast Main Line. A number of services from London Euston terminate at the station. The station has five platforms, two for the WCML fast lines, two for the slow lines (which are the ones usually in use) and a platform usually for terminating services. The station is managed by London Northwestern Railway.
LNWR 350 252 stands at the station
View from the footbridge, the fast lines are on the right
The station building can be seen in the centre at the end of the footbridge
LNWR 350 241 arrives with a North bound service
All lines are electrified
Looking North past a LNWR Class 350
[1] Mike Horne, The Metropolitan Line (Capital Transport, 2003) p. 16 [2] Vic Mitchell & Keith Smith, Watford to Leighton Buzzard (Middleton Press, 2004) Fig. 59
Hemel Hempstead is a stop on the West Coast Main Line in Hertfordshire in between Berkhamstead and Apsley.
Information
Type:
National Rail
(West Coast Main Line)
Station code:
HML
Opened:
1837
Platforms:
4
Hemel Hempstead was opened as Boxmoor in 1837 by the London & Birmingham Railway. It was the Northern terminus of the line from London Euston for a few months until the line was extended to Tring later in the year. The station was built about a mile outside of the town centre due to opposition from land owners.
A later station, called Hemel Hempstead, was built by the Midland Railway in the town centre. To compete with this interloper the original station, then owned by the LNWR, was renamed Boxmoor & Hemel Hempstead in 1912. The name went through a few tweaks in the following decades, becoming Hemel Hempstead & Boxmoor in 1930. The ex-Midland station was closed in 1963 allowing the original station to finally be named Hemel Hempstead!
Hemel Hempstead is served by regular trains between Milton Keynes Central and Tring to London Euston, operated by London Midland who manage the station. Less frequent services from further afield including Birmingham New Street also stop at the station.
Southern services between Milton Keynes Central and East Croydon via the West London Line also stop. Virgin Trains services pass through the station but do not stop. The station has platforms on both the WCML slow and fast lines, the latter are more intensively used. There was once a South facing bay platform but this is now disused. The platforms (and lines) are built on an embankment with access between the platforms being via a subway.
LM 350 254 on a Euston bound service
Hemel Hempstead has gold name signs honouring Olympic success as common with LM managed stations
Platform buildings
Looking down towards London
Southern 377 705 pulls into the station on a South bound service
