Watton-at-Stone railway station

According to the Watton-at-Stone Parish Council^[1], a proposal for a rail route between London and Stevenage was approved Parliament in 1898, though construction did not begin until 1906. A single-track section through Watton-at-Stone opened on 4 March 1918, with the track later being dualled.

The station saw its first passenger train run through on 6 February 1920, but did so only when a train was diverted from the East Coast Main Line as the result of an accident. Scheduled passenger services of four trains per day started on 2 June 1924, stopping on request at Watton-at-Stone.

The station's life as a passenger service was short-lived however, and it closed just 15 years later on 11 September 1939, despite the famed locomotive engineer Nigel Gresley's residency in the village.

The nationalised British Railways considered reopening the station in the 1960's, but it was not until 1981 that a campaign to reopen the station gathered momentum. The bulk of the £120,000 costs were paid for by Hertfordshire County Council and British Rail, but villagers and the Parish Council responded to a public appeal for funds, and together contributed £8,000. On 17 May 1982, a small crowd gathered to board the 06:23 service from Watton-at-Stone to Moorgate, the first passenger train to serve the village in almost 43 years.

[edit] Services

The station is served by one train per hour in each direction. Up (London) trains call at Hertford North, Bayford, Cuffley, Crews Hill, Gordon Hill, Enfield Chase, Grange Park, Winchmore Hill, Palmers Green, Bowes Park, Alexandra Palace, Hornsey and Harringay before arriving at Finsbury Park. Then on Mondays-Fridays (departing Watton-at-Stone before 2040) trains continue up the Northern City Line (calling at Drayton Park, Highbury and Islington, Essex Road and Old Street) before terminating at Moorgate, but at other times they go to London King's Cross. Down (away from London) trains call at Stevenage and Hitchin before terminating at Letchworth Garden City.

[edit] The Finishing Line

In 1977, track in the vicinity of the then closed station was used by British Transport Films as a set to film the notorious public information film The Finishing Line.^[2] Using shock tactics to deter children from playing near railway lines, the film was staged as a dream sequence of a parody school sports day with 'events' on and around the track. Local schoolchildren were drafted as actors. The film was broadcast on the nightly Nationwide TV show, and the liberal quantities of stage blood and graphic depiction of injuries became a matter of some controversy.

[edit] External links

Train times and station information for Watton-at-Stone railway station from National Rail
Street map and aerial photo of Watton-at-Stone railway station from Multimap.com

Other map sources for grid reference TL296192 (coordinates 51.8566° N 0.1192° W)
Movie of steam train Duke of Gloucester passing through Watton-at-Stone