Alan Seedhouse of Dunstable, Beds, says: When I was a child I remember visiting an old aunt who lived in a Railway cottage at the back of Bushey and Oxhey station. You could get to the cottage from a path at the at the back of the station (minding the geese on the way!) or up a steep path at the side of the old power station building, just up the Road from the arches (going towards Northwood. The building was very old and was probably built with the station. My aunt lived mainly in the kitchen which had a large black cooking range. It had not changed since the day it was built. She used to keep geese and chickens in the grounds and as children we used to collect the eggs for her. The remains of the old hen houses can still be seen. There was no electricity, only gas lighting. It seemed very strange when I was a small child in the mid fifties. I recently visited the site but the cottage has been knocked down and some work is being carried out on the site. A couple of friendly builders let myself and my sister have a look around. I would dearly love to obtain a photograph of the cottage and any other information about it that is still available.

Four points to follow up

• The site Old maps should be able to give you a map showing the cottages in the early 1880's - assuming they were there then - which seems very likely if they were built shortly after the railway opened in 1837
• Bushey Museum is an excellent local museum, and they may have a photograph in their archives - especially as anything associated with railways tends to be collected. You could also try the Watford Central Library - which has a very good local collection, possibly including relevant street directories and large scale maps.
• The weekly newspaper, the Watford Observer, publishes a weekly Nostalgia column, which regularly published such questions.
• Finally - don't be shy of giving names (at leastwhen they are dead). There may be some people who remember your Aunt, and even have a photograph of her at her house or in her garden, who would respond to the name. (I had an aunt who lived in Oxhey in about 1950 and have photographs of the family sitting in her garden. I would instantly recognise her name - but would struggle to remember the address.) If you tell me your Aunt's  name I can add it to the title of the message and repost - which might attract comments (and even photographs) from others.