 Consequently, although the road and canal follow the easier valley route, the railway company was forced to build an expensive tunnel under Leavesden to the north of the town.Watford's original railway station opened in 1837 on the west side of St Albans Road, a small, single-storey red-brick building.It closed in 1858 when it was replaced by a new, larger station at Watford Junction approximately further south-east.