- Watton-at-Stone railway station
Infobox UK station
name = Watton-at-Stone
code = WAS
manager =First Capital Connect
locale =Watton-at-Stone
borough =East Hertfordshire
usage0405 = 0.102
lowusage0506 = 93,188
usage0607 = 0.108
platforms = 2
start = June 1924
Closed September 1939
Reopened May 1982Watton-at-Stone railway station serves the village of
Watton-at-Stone inHertfordshire ,England . It is on the Hertford Loop branch line between Hertford North and Stevenage and is served by trains operated byFirst Capital Connect .History
According to the Watton-at-Stone Parish Council [Watton-at-Stone Parish Council: [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vernon.dunhill/Watton02/nathab_transp.htm Transport] ] , 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 theEast Coast Main Line as the result of an accident. Scheduled passenger services of four trains per day started on2 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 engineerNigel Gresley 's residency in the village.The nationalised
British Railways considered reopening the station in the 1960s, 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 byHertfordshire County Council and British Rail, but villagers and the Parish Council responded to a public appeal for funds, and together contributed £8,000. On17 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.ervices
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.
"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 notoriouspublic information film "The Finishing Line ". [British Transport Films: " [http://www.britishtransportfilms.co.uk/productions/films/BT1196/BT1196.html The Finishing Line] "] Using shock tactics to deter children from playing near railway lines, the film was staged as adream sequence of a parody schoolsports 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.References
External links
* Other map sources for gbmapping|TL296192 (coordinates coord|51.8566|N|0.1192|W|type:landmark_region:GB)
* [http://www.rail-net.co.uk/wmvpage.php?picid=1627&storyid=180 Movie] of steam train "Duke of Gloucester" passing through Watton-at-Stone
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