The Alban Way

St. Albans - Hatfield

Part of the Lost Rails Project

Click to enlarge this map of the route
© Stephen Wragg 2010
The new Salvation Army Printing Works and its siding, Campfield Road, St Albans, circa 1900s.
© Salvation Army International Heritage Centre
Ronald Truwert remembers hearing anti-aircraft guns being used on The Alban Way in World War Two
Mr Truwert recalls how, in the 1950s, some of the patients from Cell Barnes hospital worked at the nearby station.
David Day, born 1936, talks about his father's job, transporting coal from London Road station to Halsey's timber yard in London Colney
Bernard Woodhouse started working on the railways in the 1940s and recalls jobs picking up copies of War Cry, the Salvation Army's magazine from the Campfield Road printing works
John Garrick lived near the rail line in Dellfield. In this extract he recalls a derailment near the Camp Road bridge
Mr Garrick talks about the games he used to play by the side of the line near Sanders Orchids
Valerie Robertson describes London Road station, which she lived next to and where her father worked from 1938.
Mrs Robertson explains how German prisoners of war were put to work on the railway lines

The Hatfield & St Albans Railway illustrates Victorian ‘railway mania’ and the unplanned growth of the network. It was backed by the Great Northern Railway to attract passengers back to its Hatfield Station from the rival St Albans Abbey Station for Watford Junction.

The line opened in 1865, but in 1868 passenger demand was destroyed by the new Midland main line railway to St Albans (City).

Most of the six mile track is across flat country and was relatively cheap to build, at £87,000 (say £50 million today) – but the annual revenue of under £1,500 did not even cover the interest on loans. So the poorly used track was subsidised by the Great Northern’s main line. In the twentieth century bus services and the North Orbital Road provided overwhelming competition. Goods traffic grew, however, and by the 1890s the line encouraged the growth of Fleetville and other industrial suburbs between St Albans and Hatfield. The Salvation Army Print Works (Campfield Press) was built alongside in 1889 and others followed.

For the next 75 years tank engines delivered coal to Sanders Orchid Nursery or the County Mental Hospital at Hill End, picked up wagon loads of Bibles and the War Cry, and took Fyffe’s bananas to the north London cold store at Acrewood Way. During World War II special trains took aircraft factory workers to work at Lemsford.

Today almost all the trackbed is preserved as a well-used footpath and cycle-way, mainly with open countryside to the south. The highlight is at St Albans where the Midland Railway’s huge arch over the former branch line is Hertfordshire’s finest monument to the railway age.

Discover more

Photo gallery of The Alban Way

Audio memories

Below you can listen to a selection of clips taken from interviews with people who worked on or lived near the line.

This page was added on 28/02/2011.

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  • Hiya. Thanks for this information. I walked this line from the crossing at the end of Griffiths Way to Hatfield on Christmas Day (2023). It was a beautiful walk that has led me to look up this site.

    It would be great if someone could take an interest in keeping the signage along the path clean and clear of graffiti because some of the signs were difficult to read, and nearly pointless to photograph.

    I was most interested to find out about the Salvation Army siding. As a baby, I found myself on the front page of Australia’s version of the War Cry in 1974, so I have some heritage of my own with the Salvo’s.

    I hope I get to come back to walk the path again one day.

    By Andrew Wright (26/12/2023)
  • my father purchased a house in colney heath lane and at the back of the garden was this railway, at the time it was a passenger service then the passenger service stopped and became a goods service. well one day me and my brother went out and we asked if we could help the guard in return get a ride in the guards van and he said ok, so we would help him close the level crossing gates and on to the abbey stop then return to  close the gates, but we had to walk back to where we lived as it would not stop to let us off but it was worth it. 

    By Ronald miles (21/10/2015)
  • I LIVED IN BOLEYN DRIVE FROM 1938 BACKING ON TO THIS LINE,IN LATER YEARS I USED TO WALK TO MARCONI INSTRUMENTS ALONG IT.MR. LEE WORKED THE WATER CRESS BEDS ALONGSIDE THE TRACK. I HAVE MANY HAPPY MEMORIES OF MY CHILDHOOD EXPLORING THIS TRACK.

    By ken bailey (07/09/2015)
  • I recall in the late 50’s early 60’s in Hatfield there being a large coal yard situated at the Lemsford Road bridge ( Fiddle bridge ) with what I thought was always a large number of rail coal wagons to be seen. In all references to this line I never seem to see this mentioned. Also I remember a disused railway station local to Wellfield Road and behind the Wellfield school playing field. For some reason I still remember the fireplace in what i quess  was the waiting room. Was this Lemsford Halt ?? – i ask because it was a  large station . Again I do not see references or photo’s of this station.

    By Stephen Golding (27/01/2015)
  • The Midland Railway arch over the GN branch line is indeed impressive.   I would argue that it really does not rival Digswell Viaduct on the GN Mainline as Herts’ finest monument to the railway age.

    By Robert Oakhill (02/11/2014)
  • I Lived at 181 Dellfield the Garden of which backed on to this Railway,from the age of two years until I was 17 and have many memories of the Line in Question And some of the most vivid were of the evening Goods from St Albans to Hatfield struggling to make the top of the incline from the London Rd Station often having to shunt the first half dozen wagons into Sanders Royal Orchids sidings and the go back for the rest and also of many hours playing on the spare ground around the railway at that point “Happy Days” Unfortunatly I cannot Recall Mr Garrick But I am aware of the incident where the train came over the bridge and went into Sanders siding and over the walkway into Mr Towseys back garden

    By Roy J Sinfield (28/02/2012)