Chesham is Lovely

Let’s take a visit to the most far-flung Underground station.
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[@FlyingScott]

"You best behave, or I'll ask the GWR" is perhaps the ultimate steam-era threat to a railway company.

[@rogermew5578]

Agh yes especially as the GWR sold and modified the last locos to be used on the met. In fact just so you all know L99 was still in use in the 1969. She actually was the last steam engine working on national railways as a working normal in use loco. She was a GWR loco 7715, so the GWR was the last steam engine in UK steam normal use. I saw her last in 1968 shunting trucks at Hillingdon. She is now dead lined with a broken boiler ring.

[@johntyjp]

A 10 year Old boy, I persuaded my mother to travel home from Chesham to Amersham by train when it was just a short bus ride over the hill!! I wanted a steam train ride, bless her, we went to Chalfont then back to Amersham 😄

[@tommyphillips8547]

I do that journey everyday to get to school!

[@johntyjp]

@@tommyphillips8547 On a steam train Tommy!!?? 😏 good for you!😆

[@plort1021]

It’s a luxury to even see a steam train these days, never mind ride one! You were lucky John!

[@KravKernow]

Whenever Barry Humphries travelled on the Underground he used to walk through the carriages asking if people could direct him to the buffet car.

[@philroberts7238]

And I seem to recall that Barrie Mackenzie in one of his adventures had a somewhat unseemly entanglement with the Chorley Wood Young Conservatives

[@frglee]

Brings back memories. When I lived in central London, Chesham was a nice place for a day trip. There's some good walking in the countryside thereabouts and a sweet little country town to wander around in search of a cup of tea and a sticky bun afterwards, before returning to the seething metropolis.

[@rjjcms1]

It's a hilly old place,where the housing is on the outskirts at least. As I discovered when pushing a heavily laden cart up and down some of those steep inclines on a brief posting to deliver mail there several Januarys ago.

[@bryan3550]

"It looks straight out of the Steam Age" 'cos it is! Welcome to METRO-LAND: what a gem! 🧐

[@nickbarber9502]

Probably the only line on the network where you can see free-range llamas grazing next to the track.

[@NDKY67]

I had the weirdest experience of my life in Chesham back in the 90s while visiting a university friend. I had arranged to meet him at Chesham station after he finished work, I arrived quite a bit earlier than said time, so I decided to have a walk around the town centre. While walking down the high street I was was approached by two girls who said “Nick are you going to Tom’s party tonight”, surprised I managed to reply with a confused “Err No?”. Then one of the girls said “Oh you’re not Nick are you?” So I replied “No but my name is Nick”. They told me I looked so like their friend, it was uncanny. So I guess I had a doppelgänger who lived in Chesham, nobody ever believes me when I tell that story, but it really did happen, I’d love to know what the odds of that happening were.

[@bigmaxcc]

🤔fascinating I'm reading this while on my way to work

[@johnmightymole2284]

5 to 1. Happens all the time. Especially in Chesham.

[@Thomas828]

When I lived in London I had a push bike and Chesham was my gateway to the Chiltern Hills. I would regularly cycle from there to Wendover, Lee, St Leonard's, the Kimbles, Halton, Prince's Risborough, ... oh my, it's hard to remember all these names off hand. And Chesham itself is the place I would have moved to at the first opportunity if I'd won the Lottery. And to think I would have missed out on all this if it hadn't been for the GLC in the last few months of its existence.

[@donkeysaurusrex7881]

The Wholesomest Little Station on the Underground

[@ollie3x10_8]

I love Chesham, perfect station to start a micro adventure from.

[@pj100565]

Ah lovely! I’ve always lived on the Kentish Riviera and as I child we’d get packed off to visit our Aunt in Chesham. The back garden faced on to the Met so we delighted in seeing A60 stock rattle by. I remember the 100th anniversary in 1989 too. Revisited 2 years ago. Chesham hasn’t lost its charm!

[@louispole6285]

ITYF Chesham is also the only Zone 9 station served exclusively by mole trains.

[@Bunter.948]

'Chesham is lovely'. And so are you, Mr H. That was delightful, and perfectly captured the 'heritage railway' feel of the place. I've always thought of Chesham as being somewhat posh, but you paint a picture of rural happiness. As you say, quite lovely. Thank you. Simon T

[@nickryan3417]

The level of posh really depends on which part of Chesham you go to - there are many *very* expensive properties in the Chesham area.

[@rjjcms1]

@@nickryan3417 Indeed,some bits of it appear to be posher than others,which do seem a little on the rough side.

[@roberthorwat6747]

I frequently drive via Chesham between Hemel and High Wycombe. Not because it's the quickest (that would be the M1, M25 and M40), it's just by far the most pleasant route. If the road journey is anything to go by, the rail trip scenery coming into Chesham must be quite a feast for the eyeballs.

[@paulmaynard1]

I grew up in Chesham in the 1960s and 70s. It hasn't really changed based on your video since then except possibly the fresh paint and the addition of flowers. My first memory of the train was spitting down the funnel of the steam trains. As kids we used find one of the two bridges where it was possible to spit. Steam continued until 1966 when it was finally stopped.

[@ianhelps3749]

This reminds me of Altomunster, which is part of the Munich S-bahn network, but is at the end of a long winding branch line . It was the only non-electrified S-bahn line and you had to change at Dachau to get there . I did the trip once, and at the end of the line you really are in the Bavarian countryside. The station still had a couple of sidings, and there was a nice kebab cafe on the platform. The line was finally electrified 10 years ago and trains now run direct to Munich.

[@patrickovsiu]

Not even 10... just 7

[@kathrynstansbury2349]

We live in Chesham and when my children were small, I used to take them on the train to Chalfont and Latimer as a way of entertaining them of an afternoon :)

[@LordChesalot]

my mum did this when i was a kid

[@fuzzylon]

I once took a trip to Amersham to see what it was like - thinking it was the most westerly and northerly station on the network. I'm going to have to go back and visit Chesham now.

[@stumpy2000]

You were almost correct. I believe the reversing sidings at Amersham are just slightly further west than Chesham. Although I cannot remember where I've heard that!

[@michaelwilson6584]

Some time in the late 1990’s I took my then small children for a holiday in Chesham. Stayed in a beautiful little cottage overlooking the river and rode the Met back and forth to Rickmansworth, then via a change at Chalfont, and once all the way to Madame Tussaud’s at Baker Street. Wonderful little town and a gem of an “underground” station.

[@Apollo_Mint]

I was quite intrigued by the craftsmanship and maintenance on that vintage train. Someone really cares for it!

[@peterhurst4184]

I always think of the D'Ascgoyne family when I hear of Chalfont. The family vault filled up there fairly quickly.......

[@visionsofhere3745]

"I shot an arrow in the air, She came to ground in Berkeley Square"

[@AtheistOrphan]

Best film EVER!

[@jeremypreece870]

What a brilliant idea: Pullman diner carriages on the London Underground! Just think, commuters could opt to spend lunchtime going round the circle line while tucking into their three course meals. And with all of the wine, could decide to go round twice on Friday lunchtime. BTW I recognised the Bluebell Railway before you mentioned it.

[@philroberts7238]

...like that old Melbourne tram!

[@DrewsRailwayWorld]

Great video, thanks for taking me along on your countryside ramble. Of course any railway is better than no railway, however, the 'Underground' train looks quite incongruous in this delightful and picturesque rural setting, I wonder what Sir John B would have had to say, although I am sure he would have been pleased that the station survives. When I am allowed out of WA I must visit as part of my first 'post apocalyptic' overseas trip to the UK. ...Drew

[@americanmultigenic]

My first job, my boss was a lady (American) who commuted daily from Chesham to West Kensington. So I have always been curious about Chesham Station. Interesting to see it.

[@willhovell9019]

A good contrast Jago , out in the Bucks countryside , beyond the Middlesex rural remnants. Regular visitor to Chesham to see my uncle and aunt. Great insight into the absurdity private railway competition. We never learn, do we? Watkins dream of through trains from Manchester to Dover was finally achieved , bur the undersea bit to Paris had to wait until the 1990s. It could have been the 1970s if the Labour government had held it's nerve and continued with a conventional rail tunnel . Was working at the time of cancellation at Britain Rail international in Paris . We used to walk to to the railway workers canteen at gare St Lazzare . On cancellation , the Channel Tunnel liaison office was reduced two forlorn guys in an office above the station , next to the canteen entrance. The car and lorry traffic would have remained with the ferries , leaving more capacity for rail freight and through passenger services , perhaps including sleepers and motorail ? Any one for an overnight service from Edinburgh to Paris?😁

[@willhovell9019]

Even BREL built tilting APT trains running on SNCF lines , in my counter history dreams. A curse on those travel journalists at the time, and their hangovers on the Glasgow to London trial run. I'm sure that the tartan seat covers and tartan carpet didn't help the titling sickness either.😁

[@MrSimon64]

If you visit Amersham, a rather large scale model of the engine and carriages is just north of the station at the far end of hill ave

[@shrikelet]

Outlying stations of metropolitan rail networks are frequently rather charming, but Chesham really take the cake.

[@patlussenden4536]

If I were to be a train operator this would be the line I would bid for. It seems like a mellow trip into the country and back again.

[@giantrobot9000]

This is my new favorite video of yours. My family moved to Chesham from the US when I was 14. My introduction to all things British were based out of that lovely town and station, which I used every day.

[@lrjtherailwayguy]

I like Chesham for the fact that it's a quiet country like staition where it's the idle spot for a cup of tea or a picnic,I like quiet country staitions cus thíer just so charming far away from the hustle and bustle of london

[@MrDjbremix]

I enjoyed this one ... Somewhere familiar to me, being a Wycombe boy I've been to Chesham a few times... Great story.

[@chizzieshark]

When I lived in London, on some weekends I would take the tube to its furthest station. In this way I visited Epping and Amersham, but the way I visited Chesham was by doing the Chess Valley Walk starting at Rickmansworth. Some parts are not great (walking behind people's backyard fences) but other parts are lovely. At the end of the walk, I ended up in Chesham town centre which is absolutely charming. Unfortunately everything was closed by the time I got there. Would definitely like to go back there for a day trip.

[@rjjcms1]

The Chess Valley Walk! I've been meaning to do that for years,and have a map of the route to take sitting in the bottom of a drawer in my kitchen.

[@Batters56]

I have fond memories of doing that walk. Absolutely wonderful.

[@andrewmurray5542]

Have a look at John Rogers' Chess Valley walk from Rickmansworthto Chesham. It will no doubt bring back some memories. All his walks are worth watching. He's great!

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

Chesham is indeed a very nice station. That whole section of the Met (Chesham/Amersham to Chorleywood especially, but also Rickmansworth and indeed Moor Park) is really convenient for lots of lovely walks.

[@elizabethspedding1975]

This is a lovely station.🌺🌺🌺

[@MrGreatplum]

Excellent stuff as ever. I haven’t made it as far as Chesham - when working near to Baker Street, we used to take the a stock up the met as far as you can get and back in the hour lunch break! Good to see the Mets at the bluebell, love travelling on them

[@daveayerstdavies]

I love Chesham station. I lived in the town for several years in the 1980s.

[@randomroveruk6715]

Excellent Jago! The Met is my favourite Underground line. I used it to go to school half a century ago when I lived in Middlesex, but I didn't get to know Chesham until almost 20 years ago. I like the station and the town, though I know people who couldn't wait to get away from it.

[@tmb8807]

The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it?

[@tonylancaster8704]

I live in West Yorkshire and in 2019 I went on every tube line from end to end and i have now done the line to Battersea power station I think Chesham station is one of the best stations on the tube when you sit waiting for a train its like being out in the countryside Great video Jago and thanks for making it .

[@bertiewooster3326]

Blimey Tony you must be keen !!!

[@Jablicek]

I live in London and haven't been that keen!

[@WarrenPaulWilliams]

Wanted to do same but covid hit ain’t been to London since 2019 times been on every route Duno if I been end to end on all been to drunk some times to remember where I been but been on some mad journeys on tube train DLR overground river boat cable car foot bus taxi Boris bike and I’m from brum lol 😂

[@kirstiecampbell6823]

Hello I’m a cheshamite and very excitable this was very cool and nice to look through all the nice comments about the town. Thanks for the history lesson

[@brianparker663]

Love this! As a born-and-bred Metrolander this is my territory. Greetings from 'Arra!

[@JamesPetts]

The outer reaches of the Metropolitan are a delight.

[@willhovell9019]

Great that the branch line was saved by a GLC grant . Good history pictures on the platform and waiting room. Good loos too. Chesham was always a town , with its own market place Theatre and of course for many years Waitrose.

[@rjjcms1]

Good old GLC to the rescue!

[@whll4751]

Fun fact (sort of): I actually managed to catch a 'Chesham Fast' train by happy accident from Baker Street this evening... so nice to make that trip in 50 mins! A rare treat nowadays 🤣

[@foxrenard]

Yay! My home town. Thank you for visiting our lovely town although even many of our residents look down on us for not being as salubrious as our high falutin neighbours such as Amersham I think we have twice the charm and treble the character. Also I would like to say that I think the journey from Chalfont to Chesham is by far the most beautiful on the tube also even though it was even better before they built all the embankments which blocks a large part of the chess valley.

[@bryansmith1920]

I kept expecting Jenny Agutter to spring out from behind a signal box With Bernard Cribbins as

[@rjjcms1]

As a tree slides menacingly down the embankment towards the tracks.

[@RailwayDan]

The Met is my favourite of the Underground lines. So much more character than most. I would imagine ALL of their stations have a very interesting story to tell one by one. That's going to be a long day out Jago. Wrap up warm my friend. As always, great work, very interesting and dotted with your little twists of humour. Brilliant.

[@tmb8807]

Largest abandoned section of any line, too. The disused northern section beyond Aylesbury has an interesting story of its own.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I really want to explore the met! Especially before it goes ATO!

[@JagoHazzard]

It’s a line I’ve not given enough love.

[@AcornElectron]

It’s awesome when I see one of my favourite channels commenting on another of my favourite channels. Keep up the good work fellas and stay safe.

[@RichardWatt]

Hey, PD! Fancy seeing you here again! :D

[@macchinaverdi]

CN you walk the line north of this station

[@SBEARD12345]

Not going ATO for a couple of years... If anything head for Stepney to Upminster..as that will go ATO next year

[@TheEulerID]

I see a map which shows the Brill Tramway (also known as the Quainton Tramway, Wotton Tramway, Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch to its friends). That surely deserves a video as the most remote part of the London Underground system for a very brief period. nb. Chesham was also the home to Nascom Microcomputers. They manufactured what was probably the country's first proper home microcomputer in the form of the Nascom 1 in 1977, only one year after the Apple 1 appeared. I say proper computer, but you did have to solder it together yourself as I did with their next model, the unimaginatively named Nascom 2.

[@rjjcms1]

Not seeing through the extension of the line there cannot have been too brill for Brill. We got a cat from the animal rescue centre at Quainton,which is between a large village and very small town and located in the Buckinghamshire countryside west of Winslow.

[@LordChesalot]

do you have anything left form that nascom 2, there is a museum organisation in Chesham and they would likely be interested

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

I used to like using the Moor park station with its direct to Baker street trains in the morning.

[@johnadams9127]

That "old" platform that is now a garden is one of Chesham's more recent changes. AIUI it was constructed to provide storage for the Chalfont shuttle AFTER electrification Incidentally Chesham opened before Amersham. Fun fact - the locals say ches-ham or chez-ham..

[@stephenholt4670]

You should go to Verney Junction at some point... the now-disused northernmost point on the Metropolitan, and technically the most distant London Underground station ever to exist at something like 50 miles out from Baker Street.

[@rjjcms1]

For those wondering where the hell it is,it's off the A413 just north of Winslow on the way to Buckingham. A lot of horsey pursuits around there,so you've a strong chance of finding yourself behind a horse box ferrying a geegee to or from there.

[@philroberts7238]

@@rjjcms1 Used to be (and maybe again I think) on the old Bletchley to Oxford line. I was always intrigued as to what Verney Junction could ever have been joined with seeing that there was absolutely nothing there!

[@rogermew5578]

Hi soon it will not be, the replacement line from Oxford to Cambridge is also picking up the line from Ayelsbury and the steam train heritage place at Quainton road will possibly be run on the line from Quainton Road (the turn off to Brill still being there) In fact I have spoken to some certain people and it may be a way to get people on the line on Sundays and bank holidays.

[@rainyfeathers9148]

Despite all the disrespect it's a very worthy station. And it's pretty, I'd take the journey to see it🤗🥰

[@luxford60]

Chesham is lovely, and also the setting for a novella in the Rivers of London series (about magic police) called, naturally, The Furthest Station.

[@AidanMmusic96]

Love the outer stretches of the Met line! Amersham is a gorgeous place too, though when I visited Chesham it bucketed down with rain! Also, do I sense a series on Metroland coming on..? :D

[@mattpollard83]

Chesham is great . Just a shame that the met line currently like to cut its service last minute on a regular basis . Which is rather annoying when you have to go to work and try to come back home to Chesham after a long day

[@no_one_of_that_name_here]

That was a lovely day out. Thanks!

[@mcarp555]

I always like those distant branches where the Underground pretends to be a "real" rail service, being outside and all...

[@sarahlathom-sharp6436]

Haha. We 'really' use it to travel into London on. We 'commute'!

[@jamescarroll3495]

I live and work in chesham, but go to Soho for fun (and some business lunches). Cant imagine this town and my social and business life without it.

[@franciskolarik6802]

"It's not even in London." Yet.

[@patrickovsiu]

From the Met's perspective Chesham is *two* counties away (need to go through Herts first)

[@TheJimmcv]

I used to live in Chesham. Loved the fact that I could underground up to town.

[@rjjcms1]

Bliss! I lived on a road right by a station for four years in the 90s,and revelled in the cosy knowledge that,upon alighting on the platform weary and with achy feet having come back from a long day spent either working or touring round the sights in the capital,I could be sitting in my living room in just 2 or 3 minutes' time. I live 40 minutes' walk from my local station now,though if they'd built the station actually in the town it would be half that distance away!

[@davidioanhedges]

Chesham: a station I used to use often ... I like that The least underground'y station of the underground ...it's 3.89 miles from the previous station is also all over ground ... and mostly through wooded countryside

[@spef7396]

I'm a long time fan and grew up in Chesham, glad to see our day has come. Class video mate

[@joeobyrne3189]

Used to go to Chesham quite a lot in the 80s & 90s. Nice to see they've kept the signal box & its character.

[@Themclachlans]

Well I was born in Chesham but (to my shame) have never taken a train on the Chesham branch. I grew up in Croxley, so that's where my Met line memories were made. (1960's onwards).

[@Ibis117]

I get my "Old Git" Oyster card in five weeks. I shall be exploring the entire network, as there really will be no more excuses. Chesham might well be my first trip.

[@brianparker663]

Frequent old git trip for me too. I can visit my cousin for free 😃

[@kharmalade544]

Yes, that card really is wonderful. We forget that, just sometimes, government gets it right.

[@brianparker663]

@@kharmalade544 More the Mayor's call than the actual government - but either way it is fab!

[@kharmalade544]

@@brianparker663 I did think the nine AM bar was going to be a bit of a drag but I seem to have got more lazy to match.

[@brianparker663]

@@kharmalade544 Yes, I was surprised - but many services now say "at any time". It's only a few Overground and National Rail services that now limit travel to after 9.30. 🙄 I honestly think sometimes it is too generous...but I'm not complaining!

[@westparade4366]

I enjoy going to Chesham for country walks! Lovely place.

[@oldgoat5589]

The bay platform didn't exist in steam days. I remember them building it during the electrification phase to accommodate the four-car shuttle, when through eight car trains arrived during peak hours, at the main platform.. I also remember them closing the bay, not that long ago. A very short life, really. I remember too, as a child, frequently riding the old steam Chesham shuttle, when it was hauled by a NE tank, and later a larger BR tank. Got a cab ride, once, too!

[@adamcrofts58]

Nice looking station. Thanks as ever

[@seanmurphy5770]

Very good presentation,thank you for enthusiasm in the upkeep of history of the lines of the underground.

[@DanceswithDustBunnies]

My favorite place in England (and where my best friend lives), your footage brought back so many memories. Thank you.

[@TheWestAnglian]

Chesham station as its self is indeed a lovely station however the town isn't so much. even some of the locals i met after going on a date with someone from Chesham even called it a dump.

[@robhorne3048]

Nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there.

[@SkepticalSteve01]

I’d add it to my bucket list if there were a bookshop or two, a decent place for afternoon tea and possibly an art gallery or a couple of antique shops. Is there any of that? Time to get out Google street view for a virtual stroll, I suppose.

[@LordChesalot]

@@SkepticalSteve01 there a second hand book shop called chapter one, lots of cafes woul recommend the drawing room. There is a nice park and a decent theatre but not much else.

[@LordChesalot]

There is two antique shops

[@SkepticalSteve01]

@@LordChesalot Excellent! It’s on my list! When I was young and actually lived in London I couldn’t be bothered checking out the distant reaches of the Underground. Not even when one of my mates told me there were little scorpions in the hedgerows of Ongar.. I’ll be checking that one out, too.

[@chriscaughey1103]

I love watching your videos! They are always fun and informative for the U.S. fan!

[@PtolemyJones]

Rather surprised it isn't listed, but it really is very attractive.

[@dr.plutonus1496]

In my 25 year retail career I worked in shops near the furthest edges of the Tube network - Ruislip, South Woodford and, between 1988-90, Chesham. Some of the older members of my team always pronounced it Chessham. Which is fair enough because, after all, it is on the river Chess.

[@raverdeath100]

Chesham and Amersham have always been London-centric as far as public transport goes. the other market towns in that part of the Chilterns - Aylesbury, Wycombe, Beaconsfield and Princes Risborough - are all connected to London via main lines. back in the day during the 70's (still nationalized), Chesham and Amersham were served by the London Country bus network (the stops had the London Transport symbol). the other towns being served by the Aldershot/Thames Valley or Oxford Bus Companies. maybe it has something to do with the geography of the region.

[@highpath4776]

More I think that the London General Omnibus Company had an agreement with Amersham and District Bus Company for services in the area. Aylesbury as a border town (united counties ran into it too), was Keith Garages (Red Rover Omnibus).

[@matthewjburt6482]

One of my favourite stations. Thanks for the video Jago!.

[@TheOracle65]

Many thanks for another most excellent video, very informative and what a charming station. I plan to visit soon on my next trip to London. I don't use the Metropolitan tube much, but this looks like a worthy diversion.

[@RogersRamblings]

The last time I was at Chesham it was entirely grey. Good to see it's had a multi-coloured lick of paint.

[@rjjcms1]

The last time I was there I took a nice,leisurely walk from one end of the main drag to the other and back again. That was in June 2020 so the weather was beautiful but it was almost deserted on a weekday afternoon because of the first Coronavirus lockdown. The bulk of the shops had reopened by then,though,and I bought myself a new pair of trainers and a much-needed new pair of hiking boots. There was evidence of a small BLM demonstration having taken place in the preceding days. I tore down,shredded and binned one poster that had been left up under the monument at one end because I felt that it was conveying a message that was actually divisive; I had no objection to any of the other posters that had been left up.

[@philroberts7238]

@@rjjcms1 They had a small BLM demo there, did they? Good on 'em! (Divisive indeed!)

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

Excellent as usual - but I always thought it was pronounced "Chess-m" rather than "Chesh-m", after the River Chess which appears briefly in one of your shots. And having to go all the way to Horsted Keynes to make a film about the London Underground must really have tested your Oyster-card!

[@Flipper-hd6cx]

As a Cheshamite I think I'm qualified to say you are almost correct! The traditional pronunciation was "Chezzum" but apart from once or twice when I have heard it said as such by some very senior citizens it is always pronounced Cheshum. Apparently the change started with the building of new housing post WWII and an influx of people into the town from West London. There hasn't been much sizeable development in the town since the early sixties, and we locals are justifiably protective over our green belt. It is our immediate surroundings which for me are the main attraction of the place. Actually the river is named after the town and not the other way around, as it rises from three aquafers within it. Anyone visiting, I would recommend coming on a Wednesday or Saturday when the market is on, it makes the High St which is pedestrianised not feel quite so sad and run down.

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

@@Flipper-hd6cx Thanks for that - I wasn't 100% sure about Chezzum or Chessum. Interesting you atribute the change to the influx of incomers - this has happened in Scotland where place names can get "Anglicised" with no regard for tradition etc. The BBC used to have a Pronunciation Unit, but I think that bit the dust years ago!

[@rjjcms1]

After seeing the Chess River Walk mentioned in the comments here but before reading this thread,I instinctively thought "Chess + ham". As in the name of the river and the old English word that suffixes so many settlements up and down the country.

[@Clivestravelandtrains]

@@Carlz1965 Thanks for that - I'm always happy to stand corrected (or sit corrected!) especially if it draws more snippets of information out.

[@andrewmcculloch7891]

Lived in Harrow in the early 60s and went to school in Northwood Hills. Moved to Chesham in 1966 and through some skilled negotiations by my parents I stayed at the same school. BCC provided a season ticket and for five years I commuted between Chesham and Northwood Hills. In those days the branch line was usually a shuttle service but there were two through trains in the morning rush hour and two more in the evening.

[@hb1338]

As a youngster in the 1970s my family often travelled into London from Amersham on outings. If you chose carefully you could get the fast train which missed out Northwood, Northwood Hills, Pinner and North Harrow, Northwick Park and Preston Road. Did you have to choose your train carefully ?

[@andrewmcculloch7891]

@@hb1338 I used to get the first through train in the morning changing to the slow train at Moor Park. In the afternoon it was usually the shuttle. If I remember correctly all the Amersham trains bypassed those stations. The Watford trains were the stopping ones

[@drg111yt]

Thank you, lovely tale. 'Twere all Underground stations anachronistic like Chesham. The best of the Underground is on its periphery.

[@Nick-ye5kk]

Try driving through Chesham in the rush hour and see if it's still lovely..

[@cstevephillips]

Next time I recommend the Chess Valley Walk from Chesham along the River Chess to Rickmansworth. You can also deviate half way to Chenies then to Chorleywood. Very picturesque.

[@ourresidentcockney8776]

I'd wager that part of the charm of Chesham is purely down to the fact that it survived. I'm sure the same could be said today if the Central still ran to Ongar for example. Very much a scenario of semi-rural escapism from suburban/city life. If the Met still ran out to say Brill, I very much doubt Chesham would have as great a charm. Purely such would be down to it being a part of a collection of various rural to semi-rural stations in a beautiful part of the world. Definitely what adds to the charm of Chesham is that the station is a bit of a jammy bastard that managed to survive to the present. A fact for which we are all better off for occurring. Will absolutely have to make a trip up there someday soon!

[@radiosnail]

I rrally must travel on it one day before it's gone forever

[@buonafortuna8928]

Enjoyed that. Lovely trip down memory lane from when we used to live nearby.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

one of my favorite stations... certainly on the quaint factor here... used to live not too far from it, so it was one of the possibilities of reaching the network for me... great place!

[@Jimyjames73]

Hello - I used to have a friend who lived in Chesham & I used to live near Chesham & Tring!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂

[@losh330]

These far out stations like Chesham make some underground lines look more like an S-Bahn network than a metro network.

[@1258-Eckhart]

Thameslink is an S-Bahn. If you include Berlin in the S-Bahn definition, the Overground is also an S-Bahn (cp Ring 541 & 542)

[@sihollett]

That's because rather a lot of the Underground (not just the Met) is functionally S-Bahn.

[@losh330]

@@1258-Eckhart That is true but the Metropolitan and Central lines have some aspects of an S bahn system since they go into more rural areas like Epping and Chesham/Amersham. The closest examples I can find that are similar is the PATCO Speedline in Philadelphia and New Jersey that goes deep into the suburbs and the San Francisco BART that goes to Dublin/Pleasanton and Antioch.

[@grahamwhitworth9454]

Perhaps that's why the line is now served by S stock!

[@sarahlathom-sharp6436]

Tbh although rural, the actual journey to central London on the fast train is only 40 mins. Quicker than between going east to west and vice versa when in Central London. We are so lucky to be able to pop in to Town when we like for work, theatre, shopping etc, then home again to our beautiful Chiltern Hills and town.

[@Eddyspeeder]

Thank you for this lovely hommage to a place that, like everybody else, I never really had on my radar

[@johndufton9686]

I wish they had kept the dining car. Imagine being able to get breakfast on your way into London and Dinner on your return.

[@hb1338]

I'm embarrassed by how little I know about my former stamping grounds (Amersham, Chesham, Great Missenden) but delighted to be educated in such an interesting manner. Thank you ! It is worth noting that the planned station at Millfields is right in the middle of Chesham's industrial area, which is on the outskirts of the town, whereas the actual station is in the centre of town. When the Leeds-Liverpool canal was built, various factory owners fought hard and paid large sums of money for the canal to go past their premises - did such things happen on the London railways ?

[@toekneebcc]

My favorite KZbinr comes to my home town 😂 seems so odd I'm so used to you doing other parts of the tube. You need to do a story about how the tube was going to past Aylesbury at one point if you haven't already

[@robhorne3048]

I used to live in nearby Berkhamsted and not once did I ever use Chesham station. I'll have to add it to my bucket list.

[@obelic71]

So Chesham evolved to a gem on the network because time stood still 😁

[@neilbain8736]

I've always had a soft spot for Chesham. I don't know why. I had a girlfriend with that as a surname, but even before that I had an irrational thing about Chesham. I do have a friend in Amersham, and Chalfont always brings back memories of stifling childish giggles though I damn near fell off my bike the day I discovered Little Chalfont on the way to Amersham. For those of an unenlightened disposition, Chalfonts are asymetrical rhyming slang for haemorrhoids.

[@rjjcms1]

Perhaps either St Peter or St Giles went down with a nasty case of them.

[@neilbain8736]

@@rjjcms1 It'll be sitting on those marble steps during quiet spells I expect.

[@michaelwhite8908]

I visited Chesham in 1995,and chatting to the driver ,was treated to a cab ride back to Chalfont and Latimer. He told me that a driver did a week long stint on the shuttle.

[@aarthoor]

Very interesting, nice to learn new things about my town

[@Robslondon]

Nice video Jago. As a Metroland kid I’ve got a lot of love for the Met 😉

[@thesnowman9474]

My old home town, lovely video!