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The Watford and Rickmansworth Railway Company (W&RR) was a short-lived company that ran services between Watford and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England. It was incorporated in 1860 and the line opened in 1862. One branch was closed in 1952, and the remaining line was gradually run down and eventually closed in 1996. A scheme is now underway to re-open one of the branches as part of a London Underground extension. == Lord Ebury's railway == The Watford and Rickmansworth Railway was a business venture of the Whig politician, Robert Grosvenor, 1st Baron Ebury (1801–1893), at a time of great competition among railway companies vying to construct new, lucrative passenger routes. In July 1860, Lord Ebury obtained powers to construct a 4.5 mile single track line between Watford and Rickmansworth which opened in October 1862. It was nicknamed "Ebury Line" after the railway company's founder and first chairman. The Rickmansworth terminus was located opposite the church to the south of the town where interchange sidings were provided with the nearby Grand Union Canal. The line had two other stations at Watford Junction and Watford High Street and its depot was situated on Wiggenhall Road in Watford. Lord Ebury's ultimate vision was to construct a railway running southbound from Watford to on the Great Western Railway's Uxbridge branch, eventually providing a new route from Watford to via Uxbridge and . The GWR offered to put up £20,000 towards the project and in 1863, Parliamentary authorisation was obtained to construct an extension from Rickmansworth to Uxbridge. The GWR later withdrew its offer of funding and the scheme foundered. Lord Ebury's ambition to link Watford and Uxbridge was never realised, and the W&RR was to remain a short branch line for its entire operation. Despite hopes that the railway would bring further economic development to Rickmansworth and would serve the small factories and warehouses which had developed along the Grand Union Canal, it was Watford which actually grew at a faster pace and drew business from Rickmansworth. The construction of the railway was dogged with financial problems and a further Act of Parliament had to be passed in 1863 to authorise the issue of further shares to the value of £30,000 (£40,000 worth of shares had already been issued). The initial daily service consisted of five trains each way from Rickmansworth to Watford. The line was worked from the outset by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR), who shared Watford Junction station with the W&RR. For the first 19 years, the LNWR operated services and paid the W&RR 50% of the gross earnings of the line. The railway was never financially successful and the Official Receiver was called in only four years after opening. Attempts were made to remedy the W&RR's financial problems by opening several freight branches; a branch was driven along the edge of Croxley Common to serve Dickinson's paper mills and the Grand Union Canal at Croxley Green, and another short branch near Watford High Street served the warehouses of Benskins Brewery.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/r/rickmansworth_church_street/index.shtml )〕 The line ran close to the watercress beds of the River Gade and a steady trade developed in transporting hampers of watercress to Watford Market, resulting in the W&RR trains being nicknamed ''"Watercress Trains"''. Despite all attempts to make Lord Ebury's railway into a commercial success, the company faced bankruptcy and in 1881 it was absorbed by its operations partner, the burgeoning LNWR.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Watford and Rickmansworth Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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