Croxley Green Light Maintenance Depot was a

traction maintenance depot A motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds" or just "sheds". Facilit ...

located in Croxley,

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, England that provided storage and light maintenance for electric multiple units working the

Watford DC line The Watford DC line is a suburban railway line from London Euston to Watford Junction in Greater London and Hertfordshire. The line is shared by services on London Underground's above-ground section of the Bakerloo line between Harrow & Weald ...

. The depot was near the triangular junction where the line to the since closed Croxley Green station branch line branched off from the former

Watford and Rickmansworth Railway The Watford and Rickmansworth Railway (W&RR) ran services between Watford and Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, England. The company was incorporated in 1860; the line opened in 1862. The Rickmansworth branch was closed to passengers in 1952 and to ...

, and both branches met the

. The depot tracks left the depot in the westward direction, so empty stock workings from Watford and London would carry along a headshunt before reversing into the car shed. The River Colne flowed under the railway line on two bridges carrying the main line and the depot throat tracks.

History

The depot opened in 1917, around the time of the DC electrification of the line to Watford, Rickmansworth and Croxley Green. Before its closure in 1985, the depot's allocation consisted of Class 313 and Class 501 EMUs, and the depot was also used for stabling

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

stock while the

Bakerloo line The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs par ...

ran to

Watford Junction Watford Junction is a railway station serving the town of Watford in Hertfordshire, England. The station is on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), from and the Abbey Line, a branch line to St Albans. It is also the northern terminus of the Lion ...

. These trains would run empty along the branch line to the depot. The depot should not be confused with a proposal to build a depot for the

Metropolitan line The Metropolitan line, colloquially known as the Met, is a London Underground line between in the City of London and and in Buckinghamshire, with branches to in Hertfordshire and in London Borough of Hillingdon, Hillingdon. Printed in mage ...

along the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

between Moor Park and Croxley stations, on a different site.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Disused Stations gallery
(photos by Nick Catford and David Pearson) London Underground depots Transport in Watford History of Watford