Wednesday 30 May 2012

Epping-Ongar heritage railway reopens after restoration

Photos of Epping Ongar Railway, Chipping Ongar
This photo of Epping Ongar Railway is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Epping-Ongar heritage railway reopens after restoration

Some pleasing local news (local inasmuch as it's in the same county, if not quite as close as I'd like!) in the form of the long-awaited reopening of the Epping-Ongar railway as a heritage line - the longest in Essex!

Closed in 1994, before which it was the easternmost branch of the London Underground Central Line, the Epping-Ongar Railway has since been converted into a tourist line until recently running only diesel and electric stock.

4953 Pitchford Hall, now in use on the Epping-Ongar Railway

Now with the restoration of the line complete, with new track laid and Ongar and North Weald stations revitalised, steam locomotives are now also in use and the line is close to realising its full heritage potential.  Work is still ongoing to link up with the western terminus of Epping but until then a vintage bus service takes passengers the last leg of the way, surely the next best thing!

Photos of Epping Ongar Railway, Chipping Ongar
This photo of Epping Ongar Railway is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Congratulations to the volunteers at Epping-Ongar Railway for reaching this important milestone after 18 years of tireless work.  I'm sure they will succeed in getting to Ongar and making an already excellent heritage line even better, and I wish them the best of luck in that regard.  This is one county-dweller who certainly is proud of this Essex heritage line, which I shall have to make every effort to get to at some point in the future.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds great. A friend of mine has a little lad and lives out there, might have to suggest a fun day out!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How exciting - All train services should be this lovely :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow how fabulous! I've not long moved in to Essex and had no idea about this railway at all, I will definitely be arranging a grand day out!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! Look at how far a little restoration can go! LOL! It does seem like a great way to spend a day though!
    Roof Restorations Adelaide

    ReplyDelete

Don't just sit there, type something! I enjoy reading all friendly and positive comments.

Followers

Popular Posts