AT the end of the war most of the L.M.S staff returned to Euston House, London, although one or two departments remained at The Grove until the early 1960's.

One of the last departments to leave was the Audit Department, which is now accommodated at Melton House, near to Watford Junction station.

When nationalisation took place, in January 1948, The Grove came under the control of The British Transport (BTC) Commission, being used as the Staff College of The Road Haulage Executive (also part of BTC).

In 1957 The Grove became The British Transport Commission's Work Study Training Centre.

At that time, work study techniques were being pioneered within British Railways, and before long four courses were being run concurrently.

Later these activities were increased to cover other aspects of productivity training, and the name of the centre changed accordingly, to become The Productivity Services Training Centre.

At the end of the 1950's The British Railways Board was formed and The British Transport Commission abolished. The Grove once again came under railway control.

Once work study had become established, and productivity training had passed its peak years, the training centre was used additionally for training computer staff as part of the implementation programme.

Productivity Services merged with Computing Services to form the Management Services Department, and the name of the centre changed to Management Services Training Centre.

By the mid-1970's, centralised computer courses were no longer necessary, as training could be undertaken by other means by the services concerned.

Once again, The Grove assumed a new role, being used for management training. This resulted in the name Management Training Centre being adopted.

In addition to management training, The Grove plays host to a wide variety of conferences and seminars on railway matters.

The Civil Engineering Training Centre was set up in 1968. Situated on the west side of the estate, behind the mansion, it utilised several of the old wartime huts which have been considerably rebuilt internally.

This has resulted in a modern, self-contained training centre, with facilities for plant and machinery, works (buildings and structures) and permanent way training; the latter having its own length of track in the grounds.

Under the ownership of The British Railways Board, much work on the house has been undertaken.

In the peak years of productivity training, extra sleeping accommodation was required.

The then chairman, Dr Richard Beeching, sanctioned the building of an additional accommodation block.

With the setting up of management training in the mid-1970's, another extension was added. Recently, further work has been carried out. This has involved redecoration and refurbishing to modern standards, yet at the same time preserving the architectural features for which The Grove is renowned.

One or two parts of the estate have been sold off, the most notable being the sale to The Department of Transport of land for the extension of the North Orbital Motorway.

So the story comes up to date. It is a story without an ending, for tomorrow, new history will be made. One can only hope, that the future of The Grove will be as interesting as its past.

NB Can anyone fill in the intervening years between 1984 and its purchase as a prospective hotel and golf course?

January 27, 2003 15:30