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Chesham tube station

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Chesham tube station is a London Underground station in the market town of Chesham in Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened on 8 July 1889 by the Metropolitan Railway (MR). It is the terminus station of the Chesham branch of the Metropolitan line, which runs from Chalfont & Latimer. The station, a Grade II listed building, is in London fare Zone 9 (previously zone D).

Chesham London Underground
Station entrance
Chesham is located in Buckinghamshire
Chesham
Chesham
Location of Chesham in Buckinghamshire
LocationChesham
Local authorityBuckinghamshire
Grid referenceSP960016
Managed byLondon Underground
Number of platforms1
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone9
London Underground annual entry and exit
2019Increase 1.17 million[2]
2020Decrease 0.62 million[3]
2021Decrease 0.51 million[4]
2022Increase 0.87 million[5]
2023Increase 0.97 million[6]
Key dates
1889 (1889)Opened
1966Goods yard closed[7]
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°42′19″N 0°36′41″W / 51.7052°N 0.6113°W / 51.7052; -0.6113
London transport portal

Chesham station is 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Charing Cross, making it the furthest London Underground station from central London. It is both the northernmost and westernmost station in the system. The distance between Chesham and Chalfont & Latimer is the longest between adjacent stations on the network, at 3.89 miles (6.26 km).[8]

History

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The station was opened on 8 July 1889 by the Metropolitan Railway as the company's temporary northern terminus when the railway was extended from Rickmansworth. The line had been intended to extend to Tring railway station with connections to the London and North Western Railway's West Coast Main Line.[9] However, before work was begun, the MR chose an alternative route across the Chilterns via Aylesbury. The line to Chesham was retained as a branch from the new route and construction began in late 1887. Although the MR continued to buy land between Chesham and Tring for some years after the station's opening, the route was never extended further. The station building complex has remained almost unchanged.[10][11]

The station originally had a goods yard, which closed in July 1966.[7] The goods yard site by 1994 was the car park for the station and a Waitrose supermarket.[12] When the line was electrified a bay platform was added,[13][14] but proved unnecessary and closed in November 1970.[15] [note 1]

On 16 and 17 August 2014 the branch line celebrated its 125th anniversary of operating. It was celebrated using London Underground's first steam locomotive, Metropolitan 1. It ran from Rickmansworth to Chesham (with the first and last service of each day starting or ending at Harrow-on-the-Hill to allow stabling of the set at Ruislip), meaning that the line from Chalfont and Latimer to Chesham had to be closed for a period of time to allow for the special service.[16]

Grade II listed building

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The station is a Grade II listed building. The reasons for listing the station at this level were:

  • Architectural interest: the most complete surviving example of a late-C19 rural Metropolitan station
  • Historic interest: a vivid reminder of the Metropolitan Railway's early expansion into London's rural hinterland
  • Ensemble value: the station building, signal box and water tower form an unusually coherent and intact group.[17]

Services

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The Chesham Shuttle on the last official day of operation at Chalfont & Latimer.

Since 12 December 2010, Chesham has had an 8-car train every 30 minutes direct to Aldgate.[18][19] In the morning and evening peak, trains run non-stop between Moor Park and Harrow-on-the-Hill, then calling at Finchley Road and all stations to Aldgate. During off-peak times, trains now call at all stations to Aldgate. For Chesham residents this is a major improvement, as previously Chesham was served in the off-peak solely by a 4-car shuttle train to Chalfont & Latimer, where passengers had to change onto a train to or from Amersham. Although the reasons for the new service pattern were largely technical (the S8 Stock, while designed as two four-car trains, cannot be split into four-car trains as they have driving cabs only at the outer end of each unit), it was expected to ease congestion on local roads by increasing Chesham's attractiveness to park-and-ride commuters.[20][21][22]

Preceding station   London Underground Following station
Terminus Metropolitan line
Chesham branch
 Chalfont & Latimer
towards Baker Street or Aldgate
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  •  
    The single platform and floral display
  •  
    Station approach pictured in 1984
  •  
    In 1957 a 4-4-2T locomotive of LNER class C13 (GCR Class 9K) waits at Chesham with a train for Chalfont & Latimer
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    View of the platform towards Chalfont & Latimer, the signal box building on the left
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    Chesham station garden, water tower and signal box (looking north towards the station building)
  •  
    The approach to the station, looking north, showing (left and right) where tracks were formerly laid
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    Chesham tube station main entrance
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    Chesham signal box in 2008, with a sign "CHESHAM" not in the TfL standard Johnston typeface
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    Celebration dinner menu for Metropolitan Railway extension to Chesham 15 May 1889 by Spiers & Pond Ltd

Notes

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  1. ^ The three track layout may be seen during the opening credits of John Betjeman's TV documentary Metro-land.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Step free Tube Guide" (PDF). Transport for London. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2019. Transport for London. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2020. Transport for London. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2021. Transport for London. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2023. Transport for London. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News (591). London Underground Railway Society: 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.
  8. ^ "Key facts". Transport for London. Distances. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  9. ^ Simpson 2004, p. 8.
  10. ^ Simpson 2004, p. 14.
  11. ^ Foxell 1996, p. 32.
  12. ^ a b Foxell 1996, p. 84.
  13. ^ "Progress work at Chesham Underground station by H K Nolan". London Transport Museum. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  14. ^ "LTE Metropolitan Line Extension". Railway Gazette International. 1959. At Chesham, the present single-face platform will be extended at the London end, and widened to form a 230-ft. bay platform on the west side.
  15. ^ Foxell 1996, p. 72.
  16. ^ London Underground Limited. !25 anniversary of Chesham Branch
  17. ^ Historic England. "Chesham Underground Station including water tower to south and signal box to south-east (1401704)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  18. ^ Goodman, Camilla (17 November 2010). "Chesham shuttle to be replaced by direct trains next month". Buckinghamshire Advertiser. Uxbridge. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  19. ^ "Amersham and Chesham". TfL. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  20. ^ "'S' stock making its mark". Modern Railways. London. December 2010. p. 46.
  21. ^ "Chesham and Amersham consultation on service improvements" (Press release). Transport for London. 12 June 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Consultation on proposed changes to Metropolitan line services at Amersham and Chesham" (PDF). TfL. February 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2012.

Bibliography

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  • Foxell, Clive (1996). Chesham Shuttle (2 ed.). Chesham: Clive Foxell. ISBN 0-9529184-0-4.
  • Simpson, Bill (2004). A History of the Metropolitan Railway. Vol. 2. Witney: Lamplight Publications. ISBN 1-899246-08-8.
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