A SHORT HISTORY OF THE NICKEY LINE
Building started in 1867 and the Branch Line opened for passenger traffic on Monday July 16th 1877.
Passenger services were suspended in June 1947, due to a shortage of coal, but Passenger services were never restarted.
In 1959 removal of the track started between the Hemel Gas Works and Cupid Green to allow the construction of a large roundabout and the expansion of Hemel Hempstead Town Centre. The Hemel Hempstead Gas Works still required coal so a connection was laid between Hemel Hempstead Station on the West Coast Main Line and the Gas Works using the cutting which originally provided a link between the Nickey Line and the old London North Western Railway, shown on maps from 1887.
After this the only traffic on the line was for the Hemelite Company in Cupid Green, which made building blocks of ash from power stations. But even that traffic ended in 1979 when British Rail decided to close the connection to the Midland Main Line and the Branch Line was severed from the Main Line on Tuesday 24th July 1979.
The rest of the track was lifted in 1982.
For more history see the 'Books & Information' webpage.
