Epping Ongar Railway - Early Workings

Early Workings

The connection to Ongar was made in 1865 by the Great Eastern Railway, as an extension to its line from Stratford to Loughton (opened in 1856 by its predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway). The extension was single-track, but whereas the Loughton to Epping section was doubled in the 1890s, the eastern section of the line, between Epping and Ongar, was always single, apart from a passing loop that was included at North Weald upon opening. However, the eastern end of this loop was severed in 1888, converting it into a siding. Approximately 14 trains each day went as far as the Ongar terminus, 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 Railways). 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; for eight years, one could see the unusual sight of steam trains and London Underground electric multiple units side-by-side at Epping. The steam shuttle was hired by the London Transport Executive from British Railways, as it was felt there was no justification for electrification as far as Ongar unless patronage of the branch rose. Upon taking over the branch in 1949, London Transport converted the siding alongside the through track at North Weald station into a passing loop and also built a second platform to serve the second, new (westbound) track.

The 1950s saw attempts to improve the service on the branch, and eventually the line was given light electrification in 1957. The low-cost nature of the electrification meant that although the branch could only support eight car trains as far as North Weald a maximum of four cars could only be run to Ongar. The volt drop along the end-fed line was too great to support full-length trains, and the short platforms on the branch line were not long enough to support eight-car trains. Hence the Epping to Ongar branch was normally operated as an isolated branch of the Central Line, with a few through workings south to Loughton. However, for two days every year, through trains were run from London, terminating at North Weald. These trains served the North Weald airshow on the Saturday and Sunday of its opening at the aerodrome almost adjacent to the station. The normal Epping to Ongar shuttle dovetailed with this service passing the terminating trains on the adjacent line during its westbound journey. The through trains were operated as extra trains on the normal weekend Central Line timetables but were only four cars long due to the restricted platform length at North Weald.