Nicky Line - The Nicky Line Today

The Nicky Line Today

Since much redevelopment of the town took place subsequent to its closure, the course of the lower part of the line is nowadays hard to follow. The course of the connection from Boxmoor is discernible in places; the gasholders at Duckhall are still present and the boundaries delineate the curve of the original trackbed. The abutment of the bridge that crossed the A41 is still present on the northern side, followed by a few hundred metres of heavily wooded embankment which still have one or two remaining sleepers. Remains of the brick-built bridges crossing the Bulbourne and Grand Union Canal are indistinct but discernible, but the remainder of the embankment to Heath Park has been levelled and landscaped as a public park and cricket pitches. From Heath Park the line went roughly to the site of the present day "Magic Roundabout", where it crossed the lower end of Marlowes over a viaduct. From there it followed a course roughly where the modern day Maynard Road runs (an unsurfaced car park locates a 200 m section of the former railway), through the site of the modern hospital (the hospital existed when the railway was active, but was far smaller – the line passed to its east), through the housing developments of Concorde Drive (the former Hemel Hempstead (Midland) Station), to cross under Midland Road next to the Midland Hotel. From this point the course of the line is easier to follow as much of it still exists as footpaths. The Midland Road bridge is still extant, though now largely buried. The line can be easily traced across Keen's Fields, to cross Queensway on a high-level brick arch bridge which is still complete. From there the line tracks through Highfield and the course follows a well-maintained path all the way up to Cupid Green. This part of the line once again becomes obscured by modern developments, such as a car dealership and a modern industrial estate. Here once stood "Godwin's Halt", a very minor station named for a former landowner of the area. The original bridge at Godwins Halt remains, though again largely filled in. It carries a footpath between Highfield and Pennine Way, which is a lane predating the redevelopment of Hemel Hempstead new town.

The line becomes easier to follow a few hundred metres further on, since this part of the line was open until 1979. From here the line crosses largely open country, roughly parallel with the main Redbourn Road. Most bridges are still intact and have been maintained as part of the cycle route. The modern Redbourn Bypass, built in the 1980s, cuts across the route several times and there are no separate bridges. The wrought iron bridge carrying the line across the A5 at Redbourn remains intact. This bridge is of a type identical to those originally crossing the Bulbourne and the canal at Boxmoor. There was once a station at Redbourn just beyond this point but very little evidence of this remains – the site is marked with an information board today. The route then crosses more open countryside, including fields belonging to the Rothamsted Experimental Station, to Harpenden, where it crosses over the main London Road on a brick arch bridge, to connect with the Midland Main Line. The course of the original connection towards Luton is also discernible.