Watford West Video circa 1990

The Croxley Green branch was reduced to three Monday to Friday round trips from 21 January 1991 and further reduced to a single Monday to Friday morning round trip from 17 May 1993. This was withdrawn from 25 March 1996, being replaced by a similar frequency bus. Initially, this was to last for but nine months for road works, the line being retained for the prospective Croxley Rail Link !

XF

I moved from the Watford area at the end of 1969 however before this it was planned for me attend the Victoria Secondary School very near Watford West station -alas this never happened and I never did travel on the line.

I have paid and still do pay frequent visits back to the Watford area and have seen the Watford West station deteriorate over the years. Even if (hopefully when) the Croxley Link is approved Watford West will not reopen and will be replaced by a station at the near the Watford Health Campus which is also better suited for access to Watford Football Ground.

I have paid homage to the covered staircases at both Croxley Green and Watford West Stations in model form, on my Croxley WRD layout at my Croxley West station



XF

...I'm sure you'll be in the minority on here as most would prefer a operational railway on it!

It'd be better than it just being left! I can't believe the track is still there in places, and the lighting at most stations!

In 2009 there were still OPO mirrors at the stations, live rails in places and I know Watford West and Croxley Green still had the signs outside. Wat West even had a poster still in its frame about the closure from 1996! Bearing in mind though this was 2009 the stuff might have gone now. Alot of it was also majorly overgrown too, if you looked over the bridges it was like looking at some sort of jungle.

I walked the line last summer. It's still used for the odd engineering project, like signal cabling tests I read somewhere.
At the back of Riverside Park, it joins the Ebury Way cycle path to Rickmansworth Church St. The Rickmansworth Church St. and CRL lines join at more or less the optimum position for pedestrian access to Vicarage Road Stadium (via Occupation Road) and the new/proposed Watford Health Campus. I can't see why they aren't putting a station there instead of at Vicarage Road and reopening Watford West. Surely there's enough building work being done already to sort out the gradient problem they say is the reason Watford West is being scrapped, despite it being in a better location for residential access. And there's nothing to stop them putting in a lighter foot bridge over Ascot Road to the current Croxley Green, rather than having to rely on a pedestrian controlled road crossing over that bit.

Here is an album of photos I took of part of the Croxley Green branch and also the former Rickmansworth Church Street now Ebury Way

www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/1651-croxley-green-rickmansworth-church-st-branches-2011/

XF

At the moment, yes. It's a lovely bridge, quite a prominent feature of the canal.