Rediscovering the Bedford to Hitchin line

Before the Midland Railway opened its London terminus at St Pancras, it used Euston and then King's Cross.

To reach the latter, trains south from Leicester took the current line as far as Bedford, then ran on Great Northern metals to Hitchin and took the East Coast main line from there to King's Cross.

This arrangement survived until St Pancras opened in 1868, after which the Bedford to Hitchin line dwindled to become a rural branch line.

It closed to passengers in 1961 and to good traffic in 1964. This video follows the route today to see what survives of it.

You can find another on this blog that shows the last days of the Bedford to Hitchin passenger service.