The Epping Ongar Railway is a heritage railway in south-west Essex, England, run by a small number of paid staff and a team of volunteers. It was the final section of the Great Eastern Railway branch line, later the London Underground's Central line from Loughton via Epping to Ongar, with intermediate stations at North Weald and Blake Hall. The line was closed by London Underground in 1994 and sold in 1998. It reopened between 2004 and 2007 as a preserved railway, offering a volunteer-run Class 117 DMU service between Ongar and Coopersale. A change of ownership in 2007 led to the line being closed for restoration to a heritage steam railway, which opened on 25 May 2012.
British Railways 2-6-4T Class Standard Four No. 80072 at Ongar
The little-used Blake Hall station, rumoured to be used by only six customers a day at the time, was closed in 1981 and converted into a private residence.
The station building at Ongar
The booking office at Ongar Station
Central line (London Underground)
The Central line is a London Underground line that runs through central London, from Epping, Essex, in the north-east to Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip in west London. Printed in red on the Tube map, the line serves 49 stations over 46 miles (74 km), making it the longest line on the Underground. It is one of only two lines on the Underground network to cross the Greater London boundary, the other being the Metropolitan line. One of London's deep-level railways, Central line trains are smaller than those on British main lines.
A 1992 stock Central line train leaving Theydon Bois
Harry Bell Measures designed the surface buildings for the CLR, such as this one at Oxford Circus.
Loughton station was rebuilt in the 1930s, with a central track accessed by two platforms for the Central line extension. Opening in 1940, it was not served by Central line trains until 1948. Today, the station is a listed building.
Image: West Ruislip stn building
