Rickmansworth (Church Street) was a London and North Western Railway (LNWR) station in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, between 1862 and 1967. The town continues to be served by Rickmansworth station, which lies to the north-west.
History
Opened in 1862, it was the terminus of a branch line, which ran from .
Church Street station was the south-west terminus of the Watford and Rickmansworth Railway (W&RR), a business venture of the Whig politician, Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury (1801–1893). It opened on 1 October 1862. The line ran from Watford Junction to with many small freight branches, the most notable of which ran to .
Lord Ebury's plan was to extend the line south and to open a new railway to on the Great Western Railway's Uxbridge branch. However, the GWR withdrew its funding for the scheme and line was never extended. The line failed to operate at a profit, the W&RR ran into financial difficulties, and eventually the operation was taken over by the London and North Western Railway in 1881.
In 1923, under the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the Rickmansworth line and the service from Watford Junction to was converted to fourth-rail electric trains. The station was renamed Rickmansworth (Church Street) on 25 September 1950. It continued to be operated as a branch line from Watford by British Railways until the passenger service was withdrawn on 3 March 1952.
The station and tracks continued to be used for goods services until the line was cut back to one of the intermediate freight sidings 1967.
The site today
The track to has since been removed and the trackbed is now the Ebury Way rail trail. The platforms and station buildings have been demolished; the site is now occupied by social housing. A Premier Inn hotel now stands between the old station site and the canal.
References
External links Disused Stations - a full history and photographs of the station