Forecasting the in situ properties of coronal mass ejections ( CMEs ) from remote images is expected to strongly enhance predictions of space weather , and is of general interest for studying the interaction of CMEs with planetary environments . We study the feasibility of using a single heliospheric imager ( HI ) instrument , imaging the solar wind density from the Sun to 1 AU , for connecting remote images to in situ observations of CMEs . We compare the predictions of speed and arrival time for 22 CMEs ( in 2008-2012 ) to the corresponding interplanetary coronal mass ejection ( ICME ) parameters at in situ observatories ( STEREO PLASTIC/IMPACT , Wind SWE/MFI ) . The list consists of front- and backsided , slow and fast CMEs ( up to 2700 km s ^ { -1 } ) . We track the CMEs to 34.9 \pm 7.1 degrees elongation from the Sun with J-maps constructed using the SATPLOT tool , resulting in prediction lead times of -26.4 \pm 15.3 hours . The geometrical models we use assume different CME front shapes ( Fixed- \Phi , Harmonic Mean , Self-Similar Expansion ) , and constant CME speed and direction . We find no significant superiority in the predictive capability of any of the three methods . The absolute difference between predicted and observed ICME arrival times is 8.1 \pm 6.3 hours ( rms value of 10.9h ) . Speeds are consistent to within 284 \pm 288 km s ^ { -1 } . Empirical corrections to the predictions enhance their performance for the arrival times to 6.1 \pm 5.0 hours ( rms value of 7.9h ) , and for the speeds to 53 \pm 50 km s ^ { -1 } . These results are important for Solar Orbiter and a space weather mission positioned away from the Sun–Earth line .