Churchleigh is a fictional town just north of Watford close to the West Coast Main Line. The L&NWR constructed a single-track branch from the main line to serve a mill in the centre of Churchleigh. Soon after it realise that the central location of this branch could encourage additional passenger traffic, so a simple single track station was built close to the mill and a shuttle service began to operate between the new town and Churchleigh Junction on the main line. Over the years the mill shut, but the branch survived to serve the town, and a small steam shed was built on the site where the old mill once stood. With the end of steam and the arrival of electrification on the WCML the branch as forgotten about and remained un-electrified. Traffic levels fell and the line was threatened by closure several times, but Churchleigh Town has been given a new lease of life as a mail terminal and has also received more modern locomotive service facilities. The station itself is a rather basic single platform with facilities located above the station on a retaining wall. In the fifties a lift was installed to facilitate the loading and unloading of mail from trains to road vehicles above. The station has a small park-and-ride car park, which is well used on weekdays. In front of the station are two sidings that regularly accommodate short engineers trains. Next to this is another short siding in which a Virgin Trains ‘thunderbird’ is often seen awaiting is next duty. Down at the opposite end of the layout is the depot, owned by EWS, which consists of a two road shed that carries out minor overhauls and exams, a busy fueller and stabling points for a small number of locos. The depot is administered from a grand two-storey building of L&NWR origins that is fortunate to have survived, and a small S&T training school operates out of a portacabin. Fuel and spares arrive by trip workings from Wembley. Today, Churchleigh Town is served by a regular Silverlink D.M.U., which shuttles between the Town and Junction stations. Churchleigh Town is also served by regular mail trip workings from Wembley consisting of three or four vans hauled by a 67 or a 47. Most of the traffic that flows down the branch line is, however, light engines making their way to and from the depot. Virgin often use Churchleigh Town as a site for a ‘Thunderbird’ hence regular appearances of a 47 in Virgin or Intercity Livery. Engineering trains do occasionally bring Freightliner or GBRf locos to Churchleigh Town too. Whilst electrification is ‘on the cards’ traffic levels do not currently justify the expense, particularly since a fair proportion of the branch is in a tunnel underneath Churchleigh which would require substantial modification if electrification were introduced