Ұлыбританиядағы қолданыстан шығарылған «Ники» темір жол желісі

Railway line in the UK

The Nickey line (also known as the Harpenden to Hemel Hempstead branch railway) is a disused railway that once linked the towns of Hemel Hempstead and, initially, Luton but later Harpenden via Redbourn, in Hertfordshire, England. The course of most of the railway has been redeveloped as a cycle and walking path, and is part of the Oxford to Welwyn Garden City route of the National Cycle Network. It is approximately nine miles (14 km) long.

The origin of the nickname the "Nickey line" is shrouded in obscurity. Suggestions include being named after the parish of St Nicholas in Harpenden, through which it runs; Hemel's connection with Nicholas Breakspear; the knickerbockers worn by the navvies who constructed the line; or "down the nick", a slang term of engine drivers which meant "to run out of steam" and may have been applicable on the line's difficult inclines. The spelling of the line's name is recorded as appearing as "Nickey" on signs and tickets for special trains and in the local press; when the line was converted to a cycle path, the signs which were erected omitted the "e" in the legend "Nicky Line Footpath and Cycleway". The L&BR's construction had been delayed for several years by vigorous lobbying by a number of powerful and well connected local landowners, including the eminent surgeon Sir Astley Cooper of Gadebridge House, who were all keen to protect their estates from invasion by the "iron horse". Their campaign was successful and the main line was routed along the River Bulbourne instead of the River Gade, skirting around the edge of Hemel Hempstead. As a result, the railway station serving Hemel Hempstead was built one mile outside the town centre at Boxmoor; Boxmoor and Hemel Hempstead railway station (today's Hemel Hempstead railway station) opened in 1837. The first proposal for a more convenient rail link for the townspeople of Hemel Hempstead was presented in 1862 by John Grover. His proposal was for a short spur from the main line at Boxmoor, following the route of the River Gade to the lower end of the (old) town at Bury Mill End. At the same meeting, another (more ambitious) proposal was put forward by a Mr Stocken and a Mr Stallon, extending the line to Redbourn to link to the Great Northern Railway at Harpenden. However, Grover's design found a sponsor and following an act of Parliament in 1863 the and London & North Western Railway Company (HH&L&NWR) was formed to construct and operate the line. However, no construction work was undertaken due to difficulties with local landowners and problems agreeing the connection to the main line at Boxmoor, and after a number of years of stagnation the earlier proposals were re examined. By 1865, the Midland Railway was developing its route out of London St Pancras, opening up new interchange possibilities to the north of Hemel Hempstead. A new railway scheme was put forward by engineers G. W. Hemans and A. Ormsby which followed the original HH&L&NWR plan as far as Hemel but involved tunnelling under Highfield to connect to the MR at Harpenden, with an option to extend (via another tunnel) to Harpenden East on the GNR's Hertford, Luton & Dunstable branch. The tunnelling proposals proved to be prohibitively expensive, and further opposition from landowners resulted in the scheme being rejected by Parliament in 1865. With the assistance of Grover, the plans were revised and resubmitted for Parliamentary approval which was obtained in 1866. The railway company had meanwhile already commenced construction work in anticipation of approval. The new line was to follow the route authorised in 1863 through Hemel Hempstead and Redbourn, before curving north around Harpenden, crossing the turnpike road (A1081) and passing under the Midland line to connect with the GNR at Harpenden East, with provision for a spur to connect to the MR line north of Harpenden Central.

Passenger demand was never high and further declined during the inter war years. The rivalry between the Midland and LNWR Railway companies had ensured that the line ultimately failed to serve the people of Hemel Hempstead in the most useful way possible, and the bus service continued under the LMS had shifted passenger demand away from the railway and onto the road. By the end of 1946 the only regular rail passengers on the Harpenden service were six schoolchildren. The LMS also moved its main goods operation from Hemel Hempstead to Boxmoor, and it was only the demand for coal supplies to the Duckhall gasworks that kept the Nickey line operational. During the harsh winter of 1946–47 a national coal shortage hit the British economy and passenger trains were "temporarily" suspended. As it turned out, the service was never to be re instated and the last passenger service on the Nickey line ran on 16 June 1947. In 1948 the nationalisation of the railways was enacted; the LMS and other railway companies were absorbed into the new state owned corporation British Railways. Goods traffic continued to decline on the Nickey line and in 1959 the stretch of track between railway station and the Duckhall gasworks was taken over by the Hemel Hempstead New Town Development Corporation. Hemel had been designated for redevelopment as a New Town in post Second World War regeneration and plans were in place to demolish the viaduct crossing the lower end of Marlowes, severing the Nickey line link with the Midland Main Line. In order to maintain the supply of coal to the gasworks, new track was laid at Boxmoor joining the Nickey line to the West Coast Main Line via a siding. The connection of the Nickey line to the former LNWR line, which had so long been a bone of contention among competing railway companies, was finally achieved. It was not to last long; this service ran for all of six months in 1959 before the gasworks shut down and the link was closed. A year later on 2 July 1960, the Marlowes railway viaduct was demolished and the removal of the Nickey Line had begun. Many people turned out to witness the demolition of this local landmark, and the event was well recorded in photographs. The closure of the remaining parts of the line continued in stages; railway station closed in 1963, followed by Godwin's Halt in 1964, cuttings were filled in and commercial buildings and housing estates were built on the former railway land. The line between Cupid Green (north of Godwin's Halt) and Harpenden survived for some more years however, having been leased by British Rail in 1968 to the Hemelite concrete company who continued to use the line privately to transport raw materials for manufacturing building blocks via Harpenden to their works at Claydale. Hemelite's goods operations continued on this line until British Rail decided that the branch line should close. The junction with the Midland Main Line at Harpenden Junction was severed on 1 July 1979. The last journey on the line was made by a Hemelite Drewry locomotive, which was taken off the tracks at Redbourn and transported by lorry to work on the Yorkshire Dales Railway. Track lifting was undertaken in 1982 with the following year the trackbed being converted into a public footpath. It is notable that prior to Hemel Hempstead being chosen as the site for a new town, Redbourn was also considered. Had this occurred then the Nickey line would have been significantly upgraded to provide a link between the West Coast Main Line at Hemel Hempstead and a new railway station at Redbourn.

The course of most of the railway has been redeveloped as a cycle and walking path by St Albans District Council and Dacorum Borough Council. It was opened in 1985, as the 'Nicky Line', though later corrected to the 'Nickey Line'.