EXTRA INFO
PHOTO VISITING HERITAGE STEAM ENGINE AT ONGAR RAILWAY STATION THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY LOUGHTON BRANCH LINE OPENED ON 22ND AUGUST 1856. IT RAN NORTH-EAST BETWEEN THE SMALL VILLAGES OF LEYTON AND LEYTONSTONE REACHING THE RODING VALLEY AT WANSTEAD. IT THEN FOLLOWED THE WEST SIDE OF THE VALLEY TO REACH LOUGHTON WHICH WAS THEN A VILLAGE OF 1500 PEOPLE. AT THE TIME EPPING WAS A SMALL AGRICULTURAL TOWN OF JUST OVER 2000 PEOPLE ALONG THE NEWMARKET ROAD AND FIVE MILES TO THE EAST WAS THE TOWN OF CHIPPING ONGAR. AN ELEVEN AND A QUARTER MILE EXTENSION BEYOND LOUGHTON WAS OPENED AS A SINGLE LINE EXTENSION FROM LOUGHTON THROUGH EPPING TO ONGAR ON 24TH APRIL 1865. A DOUBLE TRACK WAS COMPLETED AS FAR AS EPPING IN JANUARY 1893. AT THE OPENING OF THE LOUGHTON BRANCH MOST TRAINS TERMINATED AT FENCHURCH STREET BUT FROM 1874 MOST TRAINS WERE DIVERTED TO LIVERPOOL STREET.BY THE OUTBREAK OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR MUCH OF THE LAND BETWEEN EPPING FOREST AND THE RIVER RODING WAS COVERED WITH HOUSES AS FAR AS LOUGHTON BUT THERE WAS MUCH DISCONTENT WITH THE LNER STEAM SERVICE. TUBE TRAIN OPERATION OF THE BRANCH WAS FIRST MOOTED IN THE EARLY 1930S AND A MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF THE 1935-1940 LONDON RAILWAYS NEW WORKS PROGRAMME WAS TO GIVE THE EASTERN SUBURBS OF LONDON A MORE DIRECT LINK TO THE WEST END. THE CENTRAL LINE WOULD BE EXTENDED BEYOND STRATFORD TO LEYTON WHERE IT WOULD TAKE OVER THE WORKING OF THE ONGAR LINE. THE NEW RAILWAY STATION AT LOUGHTON WAS OPENED ON 28TH APRIL 1940 BUT LNER STEAM TRAINS SERVED IT UNTIL 1948. WORK RESUMED IN 1945 AND TUBE TRAINS REACHED LEYTONSTONE ON 5TH MAY 1947. LOUGHTON RECEIVED ITS ELECTRIC TRAINS ON 21ST NOVEMBER 1948. ELECTRIFICATION WAS CARRIED THROUGH TO EPPING ON 25TH SEPTEMBER 1949. GER TANK ENGINES RAN THROUGH TO ONGAR FOR A FURTHER EIGHT YEARS UNTIL IT WAS DECIDED TO ELECTRIFY THE SINGLE LINE AND TUBE TRAINS ARRIVED AT THE REMOTE ONGAR RAILWAY STATION ON 18TH NOVEMBER 1957. AFTER TUBE TRAINS ARRIVED EPPING SOON SHOWED SIGNS OF SUBURBAN GROWTH. HOWEVER MUCH OF THE LINE BEYOND WAS RURAL AND BECAUSE OF LOW USAGE AND PROSPECTIVE HEAVY ENGINEERING WORK LONDON TRANSPORT SOUGHT TO CLOSE THE EPPING ONGAR SECTION IN 1970. HOWEVER TRAINS CONTINUED TO RUN UNTIL 30TH SEPTEMBER 1994 WHEN THE LINE WAS FINALLY CLOSED. THE TRACK REMAINS THOUGH AND HERITAGE TRAINS ARE NOW RUN BY THE EPPING ONGAR RAILWAY LONDON UNDERGROUND ALTERATIONS HAVE NOW BEEN REMOVED FROM ONGAR RAILWAY STATION AND IT HAS BEEN RETURNED TO THE ORIGINAL GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY ARCHITECTURE. PERIOD FITTINGS HAVE BEEN SOURCED AND THE BUILDINGS DECORATED IN GER COLOURS OF THE 1880S. THE ORIGINAL SIGNAL BOX AT ONGAR WAS DEMOLISHED AND SO A REPLACEMENT HAD TO BE FOUND. THE ONE SEEN HERE CAME FROM SPELLBROOK SOUTH OF BISHOP'S STORTFORD. IT WAS SAVED AND ORIGINALLY MOVED TO MANGAPPS RAILWAY MUSEUM NEAR BURNHAM-ON-CROUCH BEFORE BEING BROUGHT HERE.THIS WAS LONDON TRANSPORT WEEKEND AND THIS FORMER METROPOLITAN LINE STEAM ENGINE WAS VISITING. AS CAN BE SEEN IT WAS BEAUTIFULLY RESTORED. 2017 COPYRIGHT (Photograph and text in Extra Info) MARATHONPHOTO PAPER THICKNESS NORMAL PHOTOGRAPH THICKNESS
NOTES
REF NO MARATHON-1671
PHOTO SIZE SIZE 6 X 4 inches
CONDITION: SOME CROPPING OR WHITE LINES TOP/BOTTOM MAY OCCUR DUE TO PHOTO RATIO
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