Cheddington Station

[DarloRich]

I see what you're saying but I do think there is a lot of potential growth there and if the development in the area continues as it looks as though it will Tring will quickly be overwhelmed

Agreed - I am not saying the station should close just that with such low usage figures any excessive spend will be harder to justify

building a whole new village on the old airfield.

the reason I was in Cheddington the other day was to look for the airfield memorial. I didn't find it!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 May 2023 ==

The land on which the railway and station was built belonged to the Tavistock Family.
They agreed to the railway crossing their land, as long as a station (Cheddington) was built, and a minimum service called at the station.

that sounds feasible but surely the land was more likely to be part of the Rothschild estates. They did own Mentmore Towers ( which you can see from the station and is sadly declining) until the 1940's i think,

 

[zwk500]

that sounds feasible but surely the land was more likely to be part of the Rothschild estates. They did own Mentmore Towers ( which you can see from the station and is sadly declining) until the 1940's i think,

Mentmore Towers was built 20 years after the L&B Railway opened. The Rothschilds also own Tring Park (there's a museum in Tring funded by the Rothschilds, at least at first. I'm told it's rather good but never got there myself) so would not necessarily have insisted on a 2nd station when they moved house.

Mind you, these sort of clauses are not unknown - even if railway officials are sometimes unaware! The Bluebell Railway is the result of one such provision.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The parking does seem to be excessively priced for a station that must surely rely on people driving and parking.

£6.40 per day at Cheddington and a maximum of sixty-eight or so spaces on the car park. Not exactly a "park and ride" station, is it?

 

[Bletchleyite]

£6.40 per day at Cheddington and a maximum of sixty-eight or so spaces on the car park. Not exactly a "park and ride" station, is it?

People will mostly go to Tring for that, it has a massive part double-decked car park.

 

[12LDA28C]

that sounds feasible but surely the land was more likely to be part of the Rothschild estates. They did own Mentmore Towers ( which you can see from the station and is sadly declining) until the 1940's i think,

Unlikely I would say - the Rothschilds owned much land around Tring and refused the railway access to their land which is why Tring station is so far out of town, or at least that's what I was told many years ago.

 

[zwk500]

Unlikely I would say - the Rothschilds owned much land around Tring and refused the railway access to their land which is why Tring station is so far out of town, or at least that's what I was told many years ago.

From Wikipedia, it appears the Rothschilds were living in the area when the Railway was built but didn't purchase Tring Park until much later. As mentioned Mentmore Towers was built after the railway as well. Although they would no doubt have had considerable influence with parliament (although the first Rothschild to have a seat in parliament wasn't until the 1870s) I do question how much pressure they would have been able to exert if their land wasn't directly affected.

 

[BucksBones]

Because there are about 5 houses within walking distance. If you're going to get in the car you might as well do so to a place with a better service. I'd choose Tring as services start there so the boarding process is less fraught and a good choice of seats is available, though admittedly the stopper that serves Cheddington is quiet north of Tring.

I'm not sure a 10-15 minute walk to the village is too long to be considered "walking distance"

I don't think that's Permitted, is it? Though you'll probably get away with it given the lack of revenue checks on LNR.

Oh....I'm not sure. It appears on the journey planners so I presumed it was ok. Perhaps it isnt

 

[zwk500]

I'm not sure a 10-15 minute walk to the village is too long to be considered "walking distance"

Distance wise it's fine, although what is the path like?

Oh....I'm not sure. It appears on the journey planners so I presumed it was ok. Perhaps it isnt

Would depend on the ticket. But if you can get an itinerary offered against a ticket on a journey planner that is permitted.

 

[BucksBones]

People will mostly go to Tring for that, it has a massive part double-decked car park.

That does get full though... admittedly not so much recently but it was a huge problem before covid

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 May 2023 ==

Distance wise it's fine, although what is the path like?

It's fine - streetlights and everything. All mod cons here you know!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 May 2023 ==

the reason I was in Cheddington the other day was to look for the airfield memorial. I didn't find it!

It's by the back entrance at the Marsworth end on Long Marston Road - the interesting end with the WW2 era buildings still standing. There's also a memorial on the other side of the road to the displaced Polish citizens who were put up there after the war.

 

[DarloRich]

Mentmore Towers was built 20 years after the L&B Railway opened.

Apologies - I misread the dates. doh!

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm not sure a 10-15 minute walk to the village is too long to be considered "walking distance"

It's a bit closer than I thought it was to be fair. Being flat it'd be ideal for cycling.

But even given that the village is larger than 5 houses, it appears to have a population of 1,754 - hardly a metropolis!

Oh....I'm not sure. It appears on the journey planners so I presumed it was ok. Perhaps it isnt

Having just tried it going via Leighton comes up as "multiple tickets required" on NRE. To work around this if commuting you can of course just buy a Leighton season, when I've been travelling daily on someone else's purse I have in the past had a Wolverton* season rather than a Bletchley one, it's a few quid more but offers a lot of added flexibility.

* Wolverton fares are the same as MKC, so why not?

 

[gg1]

I also mused on who might have been MP at the time!

Oh dear

Looking at the electoral history on Wikipedia, it was a marginal constituency from the end of WW2 to the mid 70s which no doubt helped the case for the station remaining open.

 

[DarloRich]

Oh dear

The MP was, i think, Robert Maxwell. He did campaign to keep open Castlethorpe station north of Wolverton but ultimately failed. That is what really set me off wondering about Cheddington. They seem similar stations.