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Abbey Line
The Abbey Line, also known as the St Albans Abbey branch line, informally the Abbey Flyer, is a railway line from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey. The 6+1⁄2-mile (10.5 km) route passes through town and countryside in the county of Hertfordshire, just outside the boundaries of the Oyster Card and London fare zones. Its northern terminus, St Albans Abbey, is located in the south of the city, around 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) away from the larger St Albans City station on the Midland Main Line. It is a semi-rural line and, due to its single-track operation, service frequencies are limited. The service is sometimes referred to locally as the Abbey Flyer.
The line was opened by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 5 May 1858 and was the first railway to reach St Albans.
Originally, there were two intermediate stations:
In 1910, a station at Callowland opened, which is now known as Watford North.
In 1924, the eastern terminus became known as St Albans Abbey to distinguish it from the Midland Railway main line station at St Albans City, which opened in 1868. The LNWR station was also served by a branch of the Great Northern Railway from Hatfield.
A sixth station was added at Garston in 1966 and a seventh at How Wood in 1988, to coincide with the electrification of the route at 25 kV AC overhead.
The line was built in its current form, as a branch from Watford to St. Albans. However, the line was at times connected to two other lines. One, the Hatfield and St Albans Railway, opened in 1865 from St. Albans Abbey station to the East Coast Main Line at Hatfield. Mostly a local route, the construction of the Midland Main Line ensured that it never became popular with the critical market of passengers to London. It closed to passengers in 1951, as part of a cutback of minor routes after the war. The whole route closed to goods in 1964, although a short stub at the Hatfield end lasted until 1968.
During construction of the Midland Main Line in the 1860s, a branch was laid from the Abbey Line at the original site of Park Street & Frogmore station (now the site of How Wood station) to the Midland Railway at the later site of Napsbury station to carry building materials. Never used by passenger services, Ordnance Survey maps indicate it closed between 1871 and 1896, although the embankment in Park Street and the west abutment of the bridge over Watling Street remain visible. The bridge over the River Ver just east of Watling Street was still intact in 2001. As part of a cost-cutting plan in the 1980s, British Rail examined reopening this, with the aim of diverting the branch to the City station and selling off the valuable Abbey station site.[citation needed]
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Abbey Line AI simulator
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Abbey Line
The Abbey Line, also known as the St Albans Abbey branch line, informally the Abbey Flyer, is a railway line from Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey. The 6+1⁄2-mile (10.5 km) route passes through town and countryside in the county of Hertfordshire, just outside the boundaries of the Oyster Card and London fare zones. Its northern terminus, St Albans Abbey, is located in the south of the city, around 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) away from the larger St Albans City station on the Midland Main Line. It is a semi-rural line and, due to its single-track operation, service frequencies are limited. The service is sometimes referred to locally as the Abbey Flyer.
The line was opened by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 5 May 1858 and was the first railway to reach St Albans.
Originally, there were two intermediate stations:
In 1910, a station at Callowland opened, which is now known as Watford North.
In 1924, the eastern terminus became known as St Albans Abbey to distinguish it from the Midland Railway main line station at St Albans City, which opened in 1868. The LNWR station was also served by a branch of the Great Northern Railway from Hatfield.
A sixth station was added at Garston in 1966 and a seventh at How Wood in 1988, to coincide with the electrification of the route at 25 kV AC overhead.
The line was built in its current form, as a branch from Watford to St. Albans. However, the line was at times connected to two other lines. One, the Hatfield and St Albans Railway, opened in 1865 from St. Albans Abbey station to the East Coast Main Line at Hatfield. Mostly a local route, the construction of the Midland Main Line ensured that it never became popular with the critical market of passengers to London. It closed to passengers in 1951, as part of a cutback of minor routes after the war. The whole route closed to goods in 1964, although a short stub at the Hatfield end lasted until 1968.
During construction of the Midland Main Line in the 1860s, a branch was laid from the Abbey Line at the original site of Park Street & Frogmore station (now the site of How Wood station) to the Midland Railway at the later site of Napsbury station to carry building materials. Never used by passenger services, Ordnance Survey maps indicate it closed between 1871 and 1896, although the embankment in Park Street and the west abutment of the bridge over Watling Street remain visible. The bridge over the River Ver just east of Watling Street was still intact in 2001. As part of a cost-cutting plan in the 1980s, British Rail examined reopening this, with the aim of diverting the branch to the City station and selling off the valuable Abbey station site.[citation needed]