Dictionary of Meaning

<<Back
Please select a letter:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-9

Epping Ongar Railway

*** Shopping-Tip: Epping Ongar Railway
The '''Epping Ongar Railway''' operates on a preserved railway along the final section of the old Great Eastern Railway and Central Line London Underground Central Line branch line between Epping and Ongar, with an intermediate station at North Weald tube station North Weald. The line was reopened in late 2004 after 10 years of closure, presently operating a Sunday service using a Diesel multiple unit Diesel Multiple Unit train. The service is provided by volunteers who maintain the line as well as run the trains. More information may be found at the official website, listed below in the External Links section. NB: On reopening '''Ongar station will be closed''' due to overrunning maintenance work. Passengers will only be able to board and leave the train at North Weald station. When details are finalised of the new timetable the 'Service Pattern' section will be updated to reflect this. Image:EOR_Map.png right

Heritage Railway Information

Service Pattern
At present the line runs an hourly service each Sunday, beginning on the hour at Ongar and arriving at North Weald North Weald tube station at 13 and 33 minutes past the hour on the outgoing and return journey respectively, with the first train leaving Ongar at 11:00, and the last returning at 15:00 (16:00 between April and September).

Fares
Prices currently stand at: Adults: £5.00
Concessions: £3.00
Family (2 adults, 3 children): £12.00
Children under 5 travel free These tickets are valid for journeys on as many trains as timetabled on the day of purchase.

Rolling Stock
*'''Passenger Working''' **'''Diesel Multiple Units''' ***British Rail BR British Rail Class 117 Class 117 unit 51342+51384 *'''Non-Passenger Working''' **British Rail Class 04 Drewry Shunter - Works number 2566 ***Named 'Heather' upon arrival at the railway and given the number D1995 **Ruston 88 RH 512572 diesel

Future plans
*'''Epping Glade''': It is intended to extend trains to Epping, terminating at a new station near to the present London Underground Epping station, called Epping Glade. *'''Coopersale Halt''': It is intended to build a halt at Coopersale village where the train presently stops. *'''Service Expansion''': It is intended to extend running days to Saturday and eventually create a weekday commuter service in the future when the railway has the manpower to do so. *'''North Weald''': It is intended to rebuild to passing loop here. This may in future mean an increased frequency.

Volunteering
The railway is always in need of new volunteer volunteers, both those with trade skills and those without (but are willing to learn!). Membership forms are available at Ongar station on running Sundays for those interested.

History
The connection to Ongar was made in 1865 by the Eastern Counties Railway Eastern Counties/Great Eastern Railway. The line to Ongar was always single track, and approximately 14 trains each day went as far as the rural station, with the rest terminating at Epping or Loughton. This remained the case until 1949 when the London Transport Passenger Board's New Works scheme extended the Central Line to Epping using electric trains (taking over the railway from British Rail). The Epping-Ongar branch lost its through trains to London, and a shuttle service between Epping (to connect with trains to London) and Ongar was implemented. The steam shuttle was hired by the London Transport Executive from British Rail, as it was felt there wasn't justification for electrification as far as Ongar unless patronage of the branch rose. The 1950's saw attempts to improve the service on the branch, and eventually the line was given light electrification in 1957. The low-cost principle of this project meant that the branch could only support 2x4 car trains or 1x8 car train, but the short platforms at North Weald, Blake Hall Blake Hall tube station and Ongar meant that 8 car trains were not a realistic option, and the patronage on each train didn't support this either. From the late 1960's onwards it became ever clearer that the line's patronage wasn't growing as had been expected (mainly due to restriction of development in what was now designated Green belt Green Belt land), and its level of use in off-peak hours led to a reduced service being implemented along with Blake Hall Blake Hall tube station station being closed on Sundays, before being permanantly shut in 1981 (it's said that the station, before closure, handled 6 customers per day). The passing loop and signal box were taken out of commission at North Weald, these were taken out of commission in 1976. In 1994, the heavily-loss making line was finally closed to the public, with the Central Line Central Line now terminating at Epping station. However, the track was left intact along with the stations (albeit in an unmaintained state).

Reopening
The branch, under its current owners (Epping Ongar Railway Ltd.) and running group (Epping Ongar Railway Volunteer Society), reopened on Sunday 10th October 2004, providing an hourly service between Ongar and North Weald. The line was shortly after extended to Coopersale, although no alighting facilities as yet exist here. On Sunday 9th October 2005 the line celebrated its 1 year running anniversary, with a large number of people visiting on the day.

See also
*Central Line London Underground Central Line *Epping tube station Epping Underground station *North Weald tube station North Weald Underground station *Blake Hall tube station Blake Hall Underground station *Ongar tube station Ongar Underground station

External links

- Epping Ongar Railway official website More information can be found at the official site *http://www.eohistory.bravehost.com An unofficial site by one of the members of the Volunteer Society on the railway's history. {{British heritage railways}} Category:Epping Forest Category:Visitor attractions in Essex

*** Shopping-Tip: Epping Ongar Railway