Place Watton-at-Stone Managed by Great Northern 2011/12 0.120 million Number of platforms 2 | Grid reference TL295192 DfT category E 2012/13 0.141 million 17 May 1982 Reopened Station code WAS | |
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Address Watton at Stone, Hertford SG14 2RJ, United Kingdom Original company London and North Eastern Railway Similar Bayford railway station, Knebworth railway station, Welham Green railway st, Hertford North railway st, Brookmans Park railway st | ||
Watton-at-Stone railway station serves the village of Watton-at-Stone in Hertfordshire, England. It is on the Hertford Loop branch line between Hertford North and Stevenage and is served by trains operated by Great Northern.
Contents
History
According to the Watton-at-Stone Parish Council, 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 the East Coast Main Line as the result of an accident. Scheduled passenger services of four trains per day started on 2 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 10 September 1939, despite the famed locomotive engineer Nigel 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 by Hertfordshire County Council and British Rail, but villagers and the parish council responded to a public appeal for funds, and together contributed £8,000. On 17 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.
Services
Generally, the station is served by one train per hour in each direction; however during peak times this increases up to three trains an hour in each direction. Up trains run to Moorgate, whilst Down (away from London) trains call at Stevenage and continue to Hitchin before terminating at Letchworth Garden City. Weekend (and some weekday peak) trains terminate/start from Stevenage. Up trains used to run to & from London Kings Cross on weeknights after 22:00 and all day at weekends, but since the December 2015 timetable change now use the Moorgate branch at all times.
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 notorious public information film The Finishing Line. Using shock tactics to deter children from playing near railway lines, the film was staged as a dream sequence of a parody school sports 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.