The Nicky Line is the local nickname for the railway that once linked the towns of Hemel Hempstead and Harpenden via Redbourn. Today the course of most of the railway has been redeveloped as a cycle and walking path, and is part of the National Cycle Network (the Oxford to Welwyn Garden City route). It is approximately nine miles long.

History

The line opened in 1877 as a branch of the London North Western Railway, and originally it was built to link the straw plait trade that existed in Hemel with the hat making centre of Luton. In the 1930s, the line was used to trial a hybrid early mass-transit system called the "Ro-Railer", a bus that could travel on roads and railways. The experiment was short-lived and didn't catch on. Passenger demand was never high and declined during the pre-war years. The last passenger train ran in December 1947, following a 'temporary' suspension of services due to the national coal shortage. The line was privately owned by the Hemelite company from 1968, and was used to transport raw materials via Harpenden to their works at Cupid Green, for manufacturing building blocks. The line below this point to the terminus at Hemel was disused and demolished during the late 1950s. It is curious to note that prior to Hemel Hempstead being chosen as the site for a New town, Redbourn was being considered; had this occurred the Nicky Line would have been significantly upgraded to provide a link between the main line at Hemel and a new station at Redbourn.

The Nicky Line originated at Heath Park, close to the lower town centre. According to a recent published history, it didn't ever link up to the main railway line that exists today, which opened in 1837. This was due to the two lines being owned by rival companies and no agreement about connection was ever reached. At that time the main line station, Boxmoor, was considered to be quite a distance from the town, and people wanted more convenient access to the railways. The Heath Park station was much closer to the town centre, and generally more convenient, though the line itself headed off in the opposite direction - a connection with Luton was possibly considered more worthwhile than one to London at the time. A larger station, Midland Station, was the main facility at the Hemel end of the line, and stood on the site of a modern housing development, opposite the Midland Hotel, which still exists. However, the Ordnance Survey map published in 1884 does show a link up, and no evidence of a station at Heath Park, so there is some doubt over which version of history is actually true.

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. 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, demolished in 1959. From there it followed a course roughly where the modern day Maynard Road runs, 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 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 intact. From there the line tracks through Highfield and the course follows a well-maintained surfaced 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 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 is intact. 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 East Coast Main Line.

Origin of the name

The origin of the nickname "The Nicky Line" is shrouded in obscurity. Suggestions range from being named for the parish of St. Nicholas in Harpenden, through which it runs, to Hemel's connection with Nicholas Breakspear. The local paper notes that the engines themselves were referred to as "Puffing Annies" by locals, as the climb from the town centre up through Highfield was steep and the engines created much steam and smoke ascending this grade.

The line is commemorated in the modern Marlowes pedestrianisation scheme by a childrens' playground train and a sign labelled "Nicky Line Halt", though no such named station ever existed.