The Epping and Ongar Railway
On 14 November our guest was Rodger Green to describe The Epping and Ongar Railway.
The story of the line includes the relationship of nineteenth century railway civil engineers,George Bidder, Thomas Brassey and Peter Bruff who were also involved with other projects in the east including routes through Ipswich and The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames. The Great Eastern Railway opened a route from Stratford to Loughton in 1856 and this was extended to Ongar in 1865 and although the section to Epping was doubled in the 1890s the remaining stub to Ongar remained single with a passing loop at North Weald.
In 1949 London Underground took over from BR and electrified the section to Epping but trains to Ongar remained steam worked by Class F5 Tanks and Class J15s for freight traffic. Patronage beyond Epping was low as it was a very rural area and there were planning constraints restricting housing development. Electrification to Ongar was authorised in 1957 with mainly a shuttle service to Epping using four car units but this failed to increase passenger numbers with fully manned Blake Hall station having only 6 passengers per day in 1981. The Epping to Ongar section was proposed for closure in the early eighties but was temporarily reprieved with eventual closure in September 1994.
A preservation group purchased the Ongar to North Weald section in 1998 and services recommenced in 2004 using a Class 117 DMU. Consideration was given for the line to be converted to five foot gauge but this was abandoned as being impracticable. After an extended period of maintenance the line reopened in 2012 with a mix of steam and heritage diesel traction in operation on passenger and freight services. A reconnection to Epping station is very unlikely at present.