In September I visited the Epping and Ongar Railway for their autumn diesel gala and thought I would write about the trip.
The day started early with a departure from Fenny Stratford on my usual commuter train which is the 07:08 to Bletchley. During the week the train leaves at 07:03 but he later Saturday departure means a reduced connection opportunity id going northwards. Anyway soon enough 150107 trundled over the canal bridge and wheezed into the station before squuuuuueeeeeking to a stop. I was the only passenger who boarded for the short journey to the junction with the WCML.
I changed my plans slightly here as I discovered 47830 was due through hauling a Derby - Ramsgate stock move so I hung about for its arrival. I didn’t miss my train as the first connection north on a Saturday from the Marston Vale line is the 07:54 which was formed this day of 377701. Yes that right, heading north to pick up a south bound Virgin train. This morning the 07:59 was operated by 390115 which sped me to London in double quick time. Early Saturday morning at Euston saw 90/86’s but unlike the old days they were limited to Sleeper stock workings. With so little to distract me I was soon stomping along to Euston Square and a quiet Circle line train to Liverpool Street.
Here I varied my route slightly and took a TfL rail service, formed of 315829 to Stratford. The run past the Olympic stadium is always nice with the ArcelorMittal Orbit looking very nice in the sunlight although East London always throws up contrast between the haves and the have nots, dominated as it is by the vast temple of consumerism, Westfield. In the shadow of such rampant capitalism I changed trains for the central line service to Epping.
Past Stratford the central line beings to take on the feel of a much older country branch line with that felling increasing with every mile east. It might surprise you to know that the section between Leyton and just south of Loughton is the oldest railway alignment in use on the current London Underground system, having been opened on 22 August 1856 by the Eastern Counties Railway so that branch line feeling is not far from the truth! It also feels like a branch line out here because that is exactly what it was until LU took over the line from the LNER after the Second World War.
The fact that the stations out here look like “proper stations” and have a solid rural feel all add to the sensation of being slightly out of place although the large fox rooting through a bin at Leytonstone reminds you the city is really all around you.
After a pleasant run through increasingly open country side the tube train ground to a halt at the current terminus of the line at the very smart Epping Station. The station is very well looked after and has really bright livid floral displays and must be staffed by people who are proud of their station.
Here I had a short wait before a very snazzy green vintage double decker bus appeared to whisk us off to North Weald station. To me this was a routemaster type bus but I was informed by a fellow passenger, with a withering look of utter contempt, that this was a AEC Regent III RT. Whatever, it was big, green and smart and from the top deck I had a great view of Epping which looked like a decent enough market town.
On the outskirts of the town and just before the station is North Weald airfield, today a small general aviation aerodrome but 75 years ago something very different. In 1940 the hurricane squadrons based here were part of the front line in the Battle of Britain and paid a heavy price for their stout defence of the airspace of southern England. Day after day that summer they were called upon to repel Luftwaffe attacks. The two squadrons to be based here in the first phase of the battle took a terrible beating but hung on until the end of August. 56 Squadron lost 11 aircraft in five days and 151 was reduced to ten Hurricanes. They were replaced on 1st September by 249 and 46 squadrons who continued to trade blows with the Nazi forces. As the bus pulled up to the station it was worth a moment to contemplate how many of those men made their final journeys to this station and to give thanks for their sacrifice.
After buying a £15 gala ticket on the bus (which included return travel to and from Epping) I was able to rush onto the first available service. This was the 10:55 train from North Weald to Ongar and was formed of DEMU 205205 hauled by 08836 which was kindly on loan to the railway for the gala.
Sadly the thumper wasn’t thumping but did look resplendent in its Network South East livery and I quickly jumped aboard and grabbed a seat in the rear coach. The unit quickly filled after a train pulled in from Ongar and for that real south east commuter terrain feel it was soon standing room only!
I had worked out my moves on the bus and hoped to cover all 5 of the locomotives in action with a gap in the middle for a butty. With an intensive 3 train service (the 08 hauling the Thumper, and 2 loco hauled sets) there would be lots of leaping off trains, rushing about and shuttling back and forth but it was a lovely day and trains would run late into the evening. With no rush I sat back enjoyed the ride on a type I am not familiar with as the train trundled slowly towards Ongar.
We arrived into Ongar roughly time and I alighted to watch the 08 run round which was a mistake as more gricers piled on and I ended up sitting in the floor of the luggage compartment at the rear of the train for the 11:30 run back to North Weald which was once again handled by the smart looking FGW (or is it GWR?) shunter.
At North Weald I piled off the train and rushed over to the other platform where 47635 “Jimmy Milne” was waiting to haul the 11:55 back to Ongar. This was formed of a rake of 4 coaches and I was able to find a seat. As the sun was over the yard arm ( whatever that means!) I decided to treat my self to a bottle of ale for the buffet which helped to pass the time. I left my half drunk pint on the train once we arrived at Ongar and watched class 14 D9539, which was visiting form the Ribble Steam Railway, roll out of the headshunt onto the front of the train to haul us back to down the line. This was to be an interesting run as the train ran non stop from Ongar to Epping Forrest omitting North Weald. The remains of the pint were waiting for me (Bishop Nick – Revelry for those of a similar persuasion) and went down very well!
Both locomotives were under power as we rolled into the Essex country side into the wooded tunnel of the forest and the noise reverberated bounced of the trees although the run was brought to a premature and sudden halt deep in the woods by some kind of brake failure. After a few minutes the brakes were fixed and we were on our way towards the end of the line somewhere near Coopersale. A few toots on the horn and the 47 soon had us plunging back into Epping forest for the run back to North Weald where we dropped off the teddy bear and the timetable offered a 30 minute break.
This gave me time to visit the mkII former Aglia railways buffet coach and buy a couple of rolls, some kit kats and a beaker of tea which I sat in the sun and ate. I also had some time to look around the station at North Weald which has been restored to a 1940’s LNER feel. The facilities are limited to a booking office and some toilets but the building is in good nick and looks well cared for. The station also boasts a completely restored and working signal box complete with the original 1888 lever frame and the platforms boast flower beds, baskets and borders along with period style lamps. A footbridge has recently been erected but is not yet in use so to reach the opposite platform you must use the level crossing.
North Weald is also the main maintenance and stabling base of for the line and stabled in the station area were 31438 which is out of service awaiting a trip to the wheel lathe for tyre turning, 45132 which is undergoing an overhaul and needs attention to it generator,. At the other end of the station were a pair of 03’s (03170 & 03119) which are used in the station yard but were having a rest while the gala was in full swing. Also with them was GWR 5101 Large Prairie, No. 4141 which is currently out of traffic. As this was a diesel gala the kettle wouldn’t be needed so could have a long rest.
It was soon time to board the 47 hauled rake and head for Ongar once again on the 13:35 service and with a good blast on the horn we were away and rolling through the countryside. On arrival the 47 was unhooked and headed for the headshunt while 33202 “Dennis G Robinson” dropped onto the back of the train. There was just time to have a nose around the station which has been restored to a Great Eastern Railway style of around 1920/30. Ongar Signal Box, a GER type 7, was recovered from Spelbrook via Mangapps Railway Museum and erected on custom made metal legs in 2010. The box also incorporates the original Ongar frame that was recovered from a private owner and signals trains in the station area.
Soon the 33 was plumbed in and ready to haul our train back to Ongar. The Crompton sounded fantastic and seemed to be in really top notch condition and made light work of the gradients. Again the timetable had a long gap so I got my self another ale form the bar, this time on tap (Sawbridgeworth Brewery: "is it yourself") and sat out in the sun reading my book and finishing my rolls.
I could have had another run with the 08 and thumper combo but that would have meant not getting in any 37 haulage and I couldn’t have that! After an hour (and perhaps another ale ;-) ) it was time to join the 15:15 service to Epping Forrest worked by 37029 and 33202. The 37 driver was keen to test the loud handle (is it mandatory in order to be signed off as competent? ) and his loco responded with an impressive display through the forest and particularly as we ran under the concrete M11 motorway flyover. On the return leg the driver of the 33 was keen not to be outdone and put on an equally impressive show and we were sound bursting out of the mottle dark green light of the forest into the bright sunshine of a late summer day in Essex
On the return to North Weald there was a little time to kill so I decided on taking advantage of a great offer by the railway: A cab ride for £5. I was told that it was designed to help pay for the fuel costs of the visiting locos and seemed like a really good idea to me. I climbed up into the cab of 33202 and was ushered into the second mans seat for the trip to Ongar. The driver and his mate (who might have been the owner) were very proud of their loco and they had every right to be as it was in excellent condition both decoratively and mechanically following a comprehensive overhaul which must have cost an absolute fortune.
The crew were very chatty and seemed pleased to welcome visitors, they knew their loco and the line and gave a running commentary on performance of the train and the track. It has to be said that sitting up front gave a completely different perspective on the line and let you see how the line has changed little over the years. Inspired by their knowledge I set out a brief history of the line and locomotive.
The line to Ongar was opened in 1865 by the Great Eastern Railway, as an extension to its line from Stratford to Loughton opened in 1856 by the Eastern Counties Railway. The extension was always single-track except for a passing loop at North Weald. This remained the case until 1949 when the Central line was extended to Epping with London Undergrond taking over the line from British Railways. However it was not considered economically viable to electrify the line from Epping to Ongar so for eight years a steam shuttle was hired by London Transport from British Railways and ran on this section of line. In 1957 the full route was electrified but the low-cost nature of the electrification meant that the branch could only support four car trains due to the lack of voltage and limited station infrastructure. This meant that the Epping to Ongar branch was normally operated as an isolated shuttle rather than an integrated part of the central line
Quite how the line survived as long as it did escapes me as even at its peak in 1971 there were only 650 passengers using the line on a daily basis. In 1980 LU tied to close the whole line but somehow failed to score in what must have been a gigantic open goal instead settling on a reduced service, cutting one platform at North Weald, shutting Blake Hall on Sundays and closing the signal box at North Weald, the last mechanical box on the underground. When that didn’t stop the rot LU closed Blakehall entirely in 1981 when it was said to serve six (!) passengers a day. The station building still survives as a private dwelling but even after closure drivers insisted on stopping there and letting people off until London Transport got wind of this and destroyed the platform!
Eventually the end came in September 1994 when the line was closed: it was said to be making a loss of £7 for each passenger journey and was in need of some expensive upgrade work. At the time of closure the line was carrying a mere 80 passengers a day although local folklore suggest that the line was kept open in case the Cabinet needed to be evacuated to the nearby Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker! If the continuation of our government and way of life depended on reaching rural Essex by central line train I dread to think what would have happened!
Luckily the track and stations were left intact and the line was, controversially, purchased by Pilot Developments (later Epping Ongar Railway Ltd) in 1998. The line was reopened by the Epping Ongar Railway Volunteer Society in 2004 and the line came into the hands of the current owner in 2007. Since then the route has been rebuilt and was closed between 2007 and 2012 to allow this to happen.