Taken from what would have been the yard and cattle pens of the former Hemel Hempstead Midland station this present-day scene gives little away apart from the presence of the Midland Hotel to the top left of the photograph. The station was closed to passengers relatively early in 1947 being fully closed in 1963 and demolished in 1969. The Disused Stations website has a very thorough page documenting the fascinating history of the station, see....
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/hemel_hempsted/index.shtml