 Lord Ebury's vision was to construct a railway running southbound from Watford to on the Great Western Railway's Uxbridge branch, eventually providing a new route from Watford to via Uxbridge and .The GWR offered to put up £20,000 towards the project and in 1863, Parliamentary authorisation was obtained to construct an extension from Rickmansworth to Uxbridge.The GWR later withdrew its offer of funding and the scheme foundered.