35. The Nickey Line walk-26.05.23

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2023 > 35. The Nickey Line walk-26.05.23

This is the fruition of a plan that I had been thinking about for quite some time that just needed the logistics put in place. On a glorious spring day Mike, Andy and I took the train from Wellingborough to Harpenden via a quick change at Bedford and then walked the length (east to west) of the Nickey Line Walk ending up in Hemel Hempstead. From there we took the train back to Northampton via a couple of changes at Tring and Milton Keynes.

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222008, EM 06.40 Lincoln Central-London St. Pancras (1B19, 1E), Wellingborough station
The start of our 'Grand Day Out' (with apologies to Wallace and Gromit!) began at Wellingborough station. 222008 passes at speed with the 06.40 Lincoln Central to St. Pancras service. I am unsure when the bi-mode Class 810 will enter service later this year if they will operate the daily return Lincoln service. With the Melton Mowbray service having been withdrawn I suspect that the Lincoln services will go the same way.
Keywords: 222008 06.40 Lincoln Central-London St. Pancras 1B19 Wellingborough station EMR Meridian

360116, EM 08.39 Corby-London St. Pancras (1H14, RT), Wellingborough station
The first of the five trains that we travelled on arrives at Wellingborough station's platform four. We travelled aboard EMR's 360116 working the 08.39 Corby to St. Pancras one station to Bedford. Unbelievably, this was the first time that I have travelled on one of the re-purposed Desiros that EMR acquired from Greater Anglia.
Keywords: 360116 08.39 Corby-London St. Pancras 1H14 Wellingborough station

Site of Harpenden Junction
A strange photograph taken from Harpenden's Hollybush Lane overbridge reveals the site of Harpenden Junction. When I visited in 1979 I stood in a very similar spot and photographed the signalbox below with the stump of the former Nickey Line leading off to the left, see....https://www.ontheupfast.com/p/21936chg/26893057004/harpenden-junction-signal-box Just beyond the trees to the left is the start of the Nickey Line Walk that Andy, Mike and I were to walk the length ending up in Hemel Hempstead.
Keywords: Harpenden Junction

4. Andy & Mike, start of Nickey Line walk, Harpenden
The official start point of our Nickey Line walk in Harpenden. As can be seen from the sign, it was a seven-mile walk along the trackbed (for most of the route as there were a few sections where it had been built over) to Hemel Hempstead. The signage and information provided en route were generous and we found encouraging patronage of the walk by walkers and cyclists alike.
Keywords: Andy Mike the start of Nickey Line walk Harpenden

Sign, The Nickey Line, Harpenden
The useful website at http://www.nickeyline.org/home/ gives plenty of information about a visit and the background of the line. It had a complicated history that is further documented at https://www.nickey-line.co.uk/index.html.
Keywords: Sign The Nickey Line Harpenden

Andy, former Roundwood halt
Andy walks along the remains of one of the six stations and halts that once blessed the Nickey Line between Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead. Roundwood halt was only open for twenty years between 1927 and 1947 built to serve the much anticipated northern expansion of Harpenden. This did not happen at this time with the war playing its part but today it very much has but too late for the line to be part of! This was the only piece of station infrastructure observed on the line.
Keywords: Andy former Roundwood halt

Mike, Harpenden Junction distant signal
What we presume to be the Harpenden Junction distant signal is seen in the early summer sunshine along with a short section of track. The last train ran on 27.06.79 with empty fly ash wagons leaving the line that was severed from the mainline at Harpenden Junction a month or so later. When the line was taken over by Hemelite (who made lightweight blocks. from power station fly ash) in 1968 it is believed that it was the only privately leased line in the country. The company used a pair of Drewry shunters (D2203 and D2207), an occasional leased in Class 08 and latterly an unreliable Clayton (D8568) to move the loaded and the empty former coal wagons the length of the line from their facility at Cupid Green to Harpenden Junction where they sat on the fast lines for about thirty minutes whilst a BR locomotive detached or attached itself. Needless to say, this took place in the middle of the night when there was no fast traffic!
Keywords: Mike Harpenden Junction distant signal

Cherry Tree Lane (formally Wood End Lane) bridge
There were several clues on the walk between Harpenden and Hemel Hempstead suggesting that the Lickey Line could well have been double track in certain sections including this double arch bridge that carried Cherry Tree Lane over the railway. In addition, the bridge that carried the M1 over the line was wide enough to accept two lines.
Keywords: Cherry Tree Lane formally Wood End Lane bridge

Andy & Mike, end of Nickey Line walk, Midland Road bridge, Hemel Hempstead
At the end of our epic walk that took in the length of the Nickey Line from Harpenden to Hemel Hempstead Andy and Mike take a pause on Midland Road in Hemel. To the casual passer by the bridge parapet to the left appears to be a substantial brick wall but to those in the know it is instantly identifiable as a piece of railway infrastucture. The bridge has been filled in and the corresponding parapet on the other side of the road has been removed.
Keywords: Andy Mike Nickey Line walk, Midland Road bridge, Hemel Hempstead

The Midland Hotel, Hemel Hempstead
A further clue to the railway heritage of this part of Hemel Hempstead is in the name of the pub/hotel seen here. The Midland Hotel was opposite Hemel's Midland station which was the largest on the entire length of the Nickey Line between here and Harpenden. Mike, Andy and I enjoyed a refreshment break on one of the benches in front of the hotel before continuing our walk down into the town centre and then out to the LNWR station to head for home.
Keywords: The Midland Hotel, Hemel Hempstead

The Midland Hotel & site of Hemel Hempstead Midland station
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
Keywords: The Midland Hotel site of Hemel Hempstead Midland station

66528, 09.32 Felixstowe North-Ditton (cancelled from Crewe Basford Hall) (4M88, 1L), Hemel Hempstead station
Having completed our walk along the Nickey Line from Harpenden Andy, Mike and I returned to more normal fare at Hemel Hempstead station! With problems on the lines further south towards Euston northbound locals were subject to delays and cancellations. Whilst waiting for a later train that would drop us at Tring 66528 'Madge Elliott MBE Borders Railway Opening 2015' passed northwards leading the 4M88 Feisxtowe to Ditton Freightliner. Unfortunately, this train ran into difficulties later in its journey being terminated at Crewe Basford Hall.
Keywords: 66528 09.32 Felixstowe North-Ditton cancelled from Crewe Basford Hall 4M88 Hemel Hempstead station Madge Elliott MBE Borders Railway Opening 2015

350119, LN 14.24 London Euston-Tring (2T43, RT), Tring station
Having terminated at Tring, the 14.24 all stations stopper service waits on the up slow line to return to the capital again. We travelled on the 2T43 from Hemel Hempstead aboard 350119 with another unidentified Desiro leading. Tring is a surprisingly large station given its remote location from the town it professes to serve; a point made by the comic Mark Steel when he visited the town as part of his Mark Steel's in Town comedy series, see... https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bssk
Keywords: 350119 14.24 London Euston-Tring 2T43 Tring station London Northwestern Desiro

66715, 12.18 London Gateway-Hams Hall (4M47, 1L), Tring station
At full chat through Tring station GBRf's 66715 'Valour' leads the 12.18 London Gateway to Hams Hall 4M47 service. Even though I am clearly on the right side of the yellow line the disturbance of air as the train passed at speed was considerable even knocking over Andy's drink that was placed on the platform against the railings someway further to the right. This was the second time that this had happened losing his ice from an empty cup when an earlier train had passed!
Keywords: 66715 12.18 London Gateway-Hams Hall 4M47 Tring station

DR77002, 10.15 Guide Bridge Sidings-Willesden Railnet Sidings (6J99, 21E), Tring station
What I believe to be DR77002 passes through Tring station on the up slow relief line. It was running as 6J99 and had made the not-inconsiderable journey from Guide Bridge in Manchester leaving at 10.15 heading for Willesden Yard no doubt in preparation for forthcoming engineering works. I like the framing of the brightly coloured SB Rail Tamper Regulator unit through the dark bridge at the northern end of the station.
Keywords: Track machine 10.15 Guide Bridge Sidings-Willesden Railnet Sidings 6J99 Tring station

350119, LN 15.15 Tring-London Euston (2T44, 4L) & 66085, 09.51 Southampton Western Docks-Birch Coppice (4M71, 70L), Tring station
66805 rushes through Tring station with the diverted 4M71 09.51 Southampton Western Docks to Birch Coppice service. With the repairs to the Nuneham viaduct embankment (not the viaduct itself as is often reported) coming to a close, these services will soon return to their normal route via the GW line through Leamington, Banbury and Oxford to Didcot. Adjacent to the northbound freight is 350119 which is waiting to leave the station as the 2T44 all-stations stopper service to Euston.
Keywords: 350119 15.15 Tring-London Euston 2T44 66085 09.51 Southampton Western Docks-Birch Coppice 4M71 Tring station London Northwestern Desiro DB

66427, 13.37 DIRFT-Tilbury (4L48, 15L), Tring station
The daily 4L48 13.37 Daventry (DIRFT) to Tilbury heads southwards through Tring station led by frequent DRS performer 66427. This service dubbed the Tesco Express is a regular-as-clockwork train that leaves DIRFT just after lunch and seems to always get to Tilbury pretty quickly with quite tight timings. The balancing working returns as 4M07 leaving Tilbury's vast facility the next morning. Along with various other services, this makes the Tesco distribution centre at DIRFT a huge and twenty-four-hour operation.
Keywords: 66427 13.37 DIRFT-Tilbury 4L48 Tring station DRS Tesco Express

350126, LN 13.39 London Euston-Milton Keynes Central (2K33, 1E), Tring station
The second train of our three-legged journey from Hemel Hempstead to Northampton arrives at Tring station. With one earlier train cancelled and others running late we were expecting the 2K33 13.30 Euston to Milton Keynes to be very crowded. However, 350126 (and another unidentified Desiro at the rear) was surprisingly lightly loaded for a Friday afternoon. We took the stopper service through to its destination.
Keywords: 350126 13.39 London Euston-Milton Keynes Central 2K33 Tring station MKC London Northwestern desiro

221117, VT 12.49 Holyhead-London Euston (1A50, 3L), Milton Keynes Central station
Andy did not take his rather heavy and cumbersome steam-powered Canon D60 with him on this day which was probably a good idea given the long walk that we had taken following the Nickey Line earlier in the day. As an alternative, he made good use of his iPhone and is seen here videoing AWC's 221117 entering Milton Keynes working the 12.49 Holyhead to Euston service. Apologies for taking this image of what is rather mundane a train (a Voyager) on the wrongs side for the sun but I take any opportunity to capture them now that they are in their final few months of operation on the WCML route, soon the sounds of their horrendous 750hp Cummins QSK19 engines will no longer be passing my home in Roade!
Keywords: 221117 12.49 Holyhead-London Euston 1A50 Milton Keynes Central station AWC Avanti West Coast Voyager

350127, LN 15.23 London Euston-Birmingham New Street (1Y47, 1E), Northampton station
The third and final train of what, on paper at least, would appear to be a pretty straightforward journey from Hemel Hempstead stands in Northampton station. However, due to cancellations and late running this journey was done in three steps. We travelled on 350127 from Milton Keynes working the 15.23 Euston to Birmingham New Street. It sits at Northampton for about fifteen minutes, as most services do, which must surely cause a good degree of frustration to many passengers!
Keywords: 350127 15.23 London Euston-Birmingham New Street 1Y47 Northampton station London Northwestern Desiro

90049 90048, 11.13 Felixstowe North-Trafford Park (4M87, 14E), Northampton station
90049 and 90048 work the 4M87 11.13 Felixstowe North-Trafford Park through Northampton station. Freightliner has still got a bit of a hotch-potch of liveries applied to their fleet of hand-me-down Class 90s with two examples seen here.
Keywords: 90049 90048, 11.13 Felixstowe North-Trafford Park (4M87, 14E), Northampton station

66708, 11.50 Southampton Western Docks-East Midlands Gateway (4M19, 16L), Northampton station
Wearing its distinctive one-off livery revealed back on 06.04.22 66708 ‘Glory to Ukraine' leads the diverted 4M19 11.50 Southampton Docks to East Midlands Gateway passes Northampton station in superb late afternoon lighting. If and when the dreadful conflict in the east of Europe comes to some sort of conclusion I hope that GBRf keeps this Class 66 in this livery and named as now if not least as a reminder of the awful mess that nationalism can get us into.
Keywords: 66708 11.50 Southampton Western Docks-East Midlands Gateway 4M19 Northampton station GBRf Glory to Ukraine

Tickets, Wellingborough-Harpenden
Andy and I pre-booked our outward tickets and collected them at Wellingborough station prior to departure for Harpenden. By splitting the journey at Harlington it saved a couple of pounds but even so the fare was a little pricy as we chose to depart during the dreaded and somewhat outdated 'peak' time. With the post-COVID changes to work and travelling patterns the peak/off-peak system really does need to be fundamentally re-thought.
Keywords: Tickets Wellingborough-Harpenden

Tickets, Hemel Hempstead-Northampton
Andy I had to book e-tickets for the return journey from Hemel Hempstead to Northampton that were a little better value than our outward journey via the MML from Wellingborough to Harpenden. Mike chose to book his tickets on the day at the two origin stations. This is very laudable with him keen to support ticket offices but it does mean that he will be charged the most expensive walk-on fares that does not seem fare does it really?
Keywords: Tickets Hemel Hempstead-Northampton

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