Watkin was an experienced railwayman and already on the board of several railway companies, including the South Eastern Railway (SER), and had an aspiration to construct a line from the north through London to that railway.
Watkin var en erfaren jernbanemand og allerede i bestyrelse hos adskillige jernbaneselskaber, herunder South Eastern Railway (SER), og havde en forhåbning om at anlægge en bane fra nord gennem London til denne jernbane.