Hitchin to Bedford in 1961

Before the Midland Railway built its own London terminus at St Pancras, its trains used this line to reach King's Cross.

Look for the vast airship hangars at Cardington ("the Bedfordshire pyramids" as James Hawes has called them), a crossing on the level with the Oxford to Cambridge line near Bedford and an arrival at an unreconstructed Bedford Midland

The last passenger train on this line ran in December 1961, but goods services lasted until 1964.

Later. You can see what remains of this line today in another video on this blog.