The Epping Ongar Railway: The Disused Tube Line You Can Ride

[@PreNeanderthal]

I took severance from London Transport (buses) in 1992 and, in my last week I decided that, whilst I still had my staff pass I would ride parts of the system I'd never been to before. I went straight from work (at Fulwell bus garage) and eventually travelled out to Ongar. I'd intending having a wander around the town to see what was there but, on enquiring of the only staff member on the platform (the driver) what time was the last return train, he replied that: 'This is it'. That put an end to any exploring but, as as he noticed I was in LT (admittedly bus) uniform, the driver invited me to join him in the cab for the return journey to Epping. At North Weald we stopped and he instructed me to pull the lever I was leaning against and there was a rumbling sound. Then I was told to push it, with the same sound. Apparently I had opened and closed the doors. We also slowed to walking pace as we crossed the golf course because on the journey up he had spotted some half-decent balls on the line and, if they were still there, he was going to stop and retrieve them. He was out of luck as they'd gone. It was one of only three cab rides I've managed to blag my way into making on an 'Underground' train (one in the early 2000s on the 'automated' Central Line and one in Dortmund when exhibiting at the Intermodellbau model exhibition).

[@ukmusichero]

another shout out for Fulwell (i also left in '92} .

[@ArthurMorgan-mo7lh]

Wonderful little anecdotes like this make the original video even better. Thanks for sharing.

[@SilverScroll]

Oh, you've been along in the cab on the Dortmund underground? How did you manage that, may I ask? As a curious local resident.

[@donohirst]

Love the golf ball story, that's the sort of thing that makes up this fine island we live on (admittedly not a lot of people feel it's very fine atm but even if the next lot are total incompetents then it's a step upwards!!) Epping Forest is a lovely part of the world, we used to visit my gran in chingford and go for a walk round this lovely lake. I grew up in Dartford, which wasn't so nice, but lots of the outskirts of greater London hide some real beauty spots I reckon.

[@mattheweagles5123]

This reminds me of my favourite newspaper headline. After a fire destroyed the library the local paper went with "Book lack in Ongar".

[@scatterkeir]

My favourite thing I know about this line is that in 1976 a driver who was working with the cab door open because of the hot summer was attacked by a rabbit which got in at Blake Hall.

[@Krzyszczynski]

Not the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog?! A long way from home, wasn't he?

[@deliabartlett3076]

“Death waits in the dark, with nasty big teeth……..”

[@gerardmorvan2232]

@@Krzyszczynski No, that was the rabbit that attacked Jimmy Carter. Still, very far from its usual haunts.

[@ArthurMorgan-mo7lh]

He probably thought it was just a harmless little bunny rabbit, and didn't bring his HHG to work that day.

[@stuartburton1167]

I travelled on the line a couple of years before the end. I was the only passenger on the whole train. It was pouring down so I went into a cafe had coffee and cake and went back to the station. I was devastated when I spotted another passenger waiting on the platform how dare they trespass on my train.

[@jrwtalbot]

I also travelled on it, though much closer to closure. There were a number of people on the service. One got off at North Weald, then a few got off at Ongar. The vast majority of us stayed on the train. We were all Underground nerds getting the journey in before the line closed.

[@ArthurMorgan-mo7lh]

I used to love that feeling when travelling the Underground very early morning or very late at night. Having the carriage to yourself and then looking either end and finding those empty too. Very cosy.

[@fosterfuchs]

When I grew up in Germany and started learning English, the textbook for the first couple of years featured some fictional people from Epping. During my first year of learning English, I moved to another place in Germany, and the grammar school I went to was in a city called Eppingen. Their twin city was (and I assume still is) Epping. I attended that school until I moved to the United States in 1986.

[@nathantew946]

Fun fact. There's a plaque at Ongar station to commemorate the last journey of Father Thomas Byles. He went from ongar all the way to Southampton, to meet his end on the Titanic.

[@AnythingOnRails]

Fantastic video! I’m a volunteer on the EOR and regularly work in the ticket office at Ongar. I recognised some faces in the video! I’m so glad you were impressed with the line. I will be sure to show this video to as many of my colleagues as possible, including the society chairman. I hope you come and visit again soon!

[@ShadowDragon8685]

To attract the Wild Jago, the trick seems to be to get some vintage rolling stock to show off (especially if it's vintage London Underground, but that's not entirely necessary; the wild Jago seems to also have a fondness for anything under steam), some quirkiness, some unusual records, and some general nerdiness. Vintage station paraphernalia also seems to work, but in a pinch replicas would do. Some benches harkening back to the station's early years might help, especially if you throw on some kind of 'Ongar in the Early Days' thing. Not just running the steam loco and such, but like, get the station cafe (or stand-up one on the platform for the day) serving 'vintage' railway meals out of the early 20th century era. (Heck, that sounds like something I'd wanna see if I wasn't broke and on the wrong side of the Atlantic Ocean.)

[@MisterTea74]

Nice video about a local place to me. There was a colony of scorpions living in the trap by the buffer stops at one point, legend had it that they had arrived in a consignment of bananas and settled there. In fact it was the station master or signaller that placed them deliberately. It was also in the news a few years back as it had been used to make a different sort of video, which wasn’t well received by the locals. Cheers Jago, you are the shuttle to my branch line.

[@glynwelshkarelian3489]

Around 1982 or 83 I I was living in Crouch End and working as a casual labourer. I went to Epping, changing at Onger. I then walked to Britain's oldest wooden church at Greensted; and got aggressively questioned by police in cars twice; the second pair at least radioed in to confirm that I had already answered all the impertinent questions the other pair had asked. It was annoying then, but Now-a-days I could have stolen the whole church and nobody would stop me.

[@iankemp1131]

Nice shots of the GWR Prairie tank L150 in London Transport red livery. It was overhauled at a workshop in the Forest of Dean, which coincidentally also overhauled and fully restored LSWR T3 4-4-0 No. 563 which returned to public service on the Swanage Railway on the day this video was released! (8 October 2023) 130 years old, first time it has steamed for 75 years, and it looks a picture! It was in the NRM at York for many years and also in two of the live Railway Children productions (Toronto 2011 and Kings Cross 2014-2017). It will be working regular trains there during October half term week.

[@mquietsch6736]

This is a very pleasant surprise. Some years ago I had been watching another video from Jago which mentioned (I think) Earl's Court. I wrote a comment mentioning that I had once been in a very old tube carriage going from Earl's Court to one station city-wards (I forget which it was), which stopped there for some time and (to my surprise) then returned to Earl's Court. Somebody replied to my post explaining that I had happened to get onto an Olympia shuttle. I asked about Olympia and said I thought I should see that next time when I got to London, to which my correspondent answered "Oh no, do something better. Visit the Epping-Ongar Railway!" and told me how to get there. Well, this summer I did! I went to Shenfield by the Elizabeth Line and got to ride on a Routemaster and this cute steam train. It was delightful, and if the person who told me about EOR is reading this: Thank you very much for your tip, I loved it!

[@Swaggerlot]

I vaguely recall riding this line many years ago, in fact very long ago, in the days when North Weald was home to the predecessors of the Red Arrows, the Black Arrows and their Hawker Hunters. I also remember watching a horse and trap delivering milk as I stood on the bridge over the line at Loughton.

[@davidgreenall6127]

The Hunter that sadly crashed a few years ago was based at North Weald

[@LittlewoodJunction]

I volunteer at the EOR with the steam department, and its lovely to see a proper video, thanks for posting.

[@roberthuron9160]

A piece of New York/Brooklyn transit trivia! The ultimate Zero point for all the Elevated lines of the BRT/BMT is from a point that no longer exists! That station was the Park Row,and it was on the Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge! And to make things even more crazy,there was another chaining Zero point located from another non-existent station- Broadway Ferry,which was located on the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge! A remnant of that chaining is found on the A[IND],subway line to the Rockaways,and it was part of the original Fulton Street Elevated,that went over both to both terminals at one time or another! It's an extremely complicated history,suffice it to say,you can add another oddity and trivia point,to a now,sideline in Elevated/Subway history! Oh,yes,that Epping-Ongar line is really beautiful! And have fun guessing what a London Transport milk train would look like,lol!! Anyhow,Jago,you do find things interesting in the extremities of London,and environs!! Thank you 😇 😊!! Thank you 😇 😊!

[@robbojax2025]

A friend of mine worked for London Transport (I think) in the late 70s or 80s and occasionally had to visit the line of maintenance of the signs and lighting etc. He had to tell the driver that he needed to get off at Blake Hall otherwise it would not stop. When he was finished he would have to wave an Epping bound train down.

[@joshslater2426]

As a GER fan, I’m waiting for the Epping and Ongar to have their F5 new build completed. Hopefully it’ll boost their popularity.

[@Flymochairman1]

I've tried to keep up with the progress with the E&O project. Here's wishing all the best for progress!

[@mistywolf312]

They are fund raising to cross the bridge and reconnect to Epping station one day, they had to buy the land up to the bridge first which they succeeded in doing a few years back, so one day you might be able to go back and travel the entire line Jago .

[@PokhrajRoy.]

It’s always nice to hear KZbinrs getting recognised 👏🏽

[@oldtechnobodycaresabout]

I didn't think jago ever showed his face so idk how they did

[@clickrick]

@@oldtechnobodycaresabout His face has been seen, just not on any video on his own channel 😉

[@Sim0nTrains]

@@oldtechnobodycaresabout Jay Foreman's videos about the Tube maps, Jago plays the part of Harry Beck in those two videos.

[@CarolineFord1]

@@Sim0nTrains he's also been on ITV news

[@Sim0nTrains]

@@CarolineFord1 I didn't knew that

[@JamesMoore-i9u]

This is a lovely railway and a great one for the kids. They do a Santa Express train at Christmas and North Weald becomes the North Pole!

[@peterwroath1166]

As an ex Central Line Guard, & then Motorman, in the 80's & 90's I well remember trips on this part of the line - especially drivers hitting pheasants on the way to Ongar & then stopping to pick up the dead bird on the way back to Epping. It was quite usual for guards operated the doors from the leading car - which was totally against the rules. Then they'd joined the "motorman" in the cab (it was always a motorman in control of an underground train back in the 80's - unless you were on the the Victoria Line, in which case they were an "Operator") I often took a train from Epping to Ongar or back & only had 2 passengers onboard. So no surprise the line closed. One thing not mentioned in the video is how the M11 bridge over the railway, build in about 1973, was built to "Tube Stock" gauge & the how the track there had to be lowered by about 3 ft before standard gauge stock would fit under it. If I remember rightly this was done as an "exercise" for the army.

[@andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Love the heritage bus replacement service. Long may they remain. 👏👏👍😀

[@andywalford7544]

I lived in Epping as a child/ teenager, and often caught the train from Epping to Blake Hall to fish (successfully) the farm pond a few hundred yards up the road from the station. Very happy memories!

[@dougmorris2134]

Hello Jago, thank you for this Tale from the Tube and a chance to see the Ongar-Epping line as it is today. Being as Ongar is the Zero point, and deserves something (slightly) appropriate. “To begin at the beginning. It is a spring, moonless night in a small town …” A small town called Ongar from where all distances are measured. Now that’s special.

[@PianoKwanMan]

I don't understand what the zero point means. Many google searches mention that it's the zero point and all distances measured from here. Does that mean the distance between london bridge and waterloo on the jubilee equals the distance from Ongar to London bridge - the Distance to Waterloo via some trigonometry, or something?

[@telhudson863]

@@PianoKwanMan If you ride most railways, there will be numbered posts every quarter mile. These give the distance from some notable point. It's for identification rather than measurement. Post 36 on the old Great Western main line for example is close to Reading station. It is of course 36 miles from Paddington. Similarly there is a 50 mile post near Swindon. There is also a 50 mile post after Hungerford on the Westbury Branch which is nowhere near the Swindon mile post. I haven't actually seen a physical quarter mile post on the London Underground but if they exist then they will show the distance to Ongar. I have no idea what route they use to come up with a distance but that's not important providing it is well defined. The point is that if you say Post 27 II Cockfosters Branch Piccadilly Line, then you will define a precise 440 yard stretch of track

[@timw.8452]

I think this is a great subject for another video. Why should there be only one zero point, and why would it it be be relevant for anywhere on the Victoria Line for example?

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

A great upload. A few interesting facts... the electrical equipment used on the line came from the Alexandra Palace branch (which had been fully equipped before the 2nd World War started)! As you know that line wasn't juiced up because of the Green Belt (in London???) but the equipment went out to leafy Essex instead.... stupidity regarding public transport has been around for decades! And the last Underground train from Ongar wasn't in the early hours as the service was peaks only, so it was around 19.00ish time...... The preserved line got it's major upgrade in 2007 as the line's owner had sold Blue Triangle Buses (who i worked for at the time) to Go-Ahead for a very large sum, part of which was invested in the line... thanks Go-Ahead!

[@countottovanshanoo822]

Way back our Scout group travelled Epping->Ongar on the Tube. Even as a trainee train nerd it was the most abysmal train journey ever.

[@jerryn9496]

I lived in Leyton until 1995 and always wanted to visit this part of what was the Central Line. Thanks for posting this.

[@brianartillery]

My paternal grandparents lived in Chipping Ongar, and I went to Epping with my Nan a few times in the 1970's. We went on the train, as the bus took ages. I believe Blake Hall station only existed, as the line ran over land owned by the incumbent of Blake Hall, who let the line be built if a station for his staff was built as well - It's right in the sticks, so low passenger numbers were a guarantee. As well as the airfield at North Weald, there is also a fascinating Victoria fort/redoubt/whatever right near the station.

[@stuarthall6631]

Wonderful video, Mr. Hazzard! Thank you! (You threatened this one ages ago. I have waited patiently.) I only ever travelled this line twice. Both occasions were in the 1970's and upon both journeys I used Blake Hall! Blake Hall was a short walk from England's oldest wooden church which was my reason for going. Obviously, not many other people were into wooden churches!

[@Krzyszczynski]

Ha ha, yes, I too visited Greensted in 1975 and wandered on from there to Blake Hall. But it was a bank holiday so of course the station was closed. At least I got a good look at it. It was a toss-up whether to slog on to Ongar (and maybe miss the last train back) or beat a strategic retreat to North Weald. Caution won.

[@ryanadams7869]

My great grandad used to work at Ongar station for the Eastern Railway, I've seen a lovely photo of him in the signal box in very much the style of the era. I think this was in the days when they used to supply housing for the staff too. I keep meaning to go and have a look myself.

[@austenhamilton7312]

In my youth (a long time ago) I used to explore the Underground a great deal - often while bunking off school. I alwayshad a soft spot for the Epping to Ongar section and am still pleased that I actually visited Blake Hall on one occasion. I seeem to recall that the way out was along a muddy footpath across a field to the road.

[@Gary0557]

I had a ride on the Epping to Ongar extension on it last month on the London Underground in September 1994. Very few passengers so it's a wonder it lasted so long really. The trains were 4 car 1962 stock in the final years.

[@michaeljohnson9421]

It's interesting that although the line has mostly been restored to a 'big railway' appearance, there are still a few items left from its years as an Underground line - like the fog repeater signal which appears a couple of times. Nice to see carriages in British Rail blue and grey, too. That's a historic livery now!

[@johnpotts8308]

As somebody who lives at the other end of the Central Line, I remember it running out to Epping and then with that funny extension to Ongar. I had no idea it had closed (but it doesn't surprise me)!

[@PlanetoftheDeaf]

It always annoys me that I never took the chance to travel on this before it originally closed. At least I didn't make the same mistake with Angel Road station, which I used on its last day!

[@robbiefstrains9083]

Thank you for another great video, Jago. I must admit this line is one of my favourites. I managed to get a ride on it in its last week of operation under London Underground control (though I didn’t get much of a view of the lovely woodland and countryside on that trip as it was early on a September evening and was almost completely dark!) -have made a few visits since EOR operation. Not long before LU closed the line a number of trips were made by an eight car 1992 stock train. Not completely sure why but partly to see if it was possible and to see how the train performed under the lower voltage at the Ongar end. Dad drove on a couple of these trips and on one occasion he drove the train all the way from Ongar platform to West Ruislip platform before putting the train away in Ruislip Depot. Although not confirmed, he’s pretty sure this is the only time an 8-car ‘92 has ever been driven from Ongar to West Ruislip (or an 8-car train of any stock for that matter)!

[@roberthill6216]

Even living in Blackpool, I know the zeeo mile marker for the London Underground is at the buffer stops at Ongar.

[@MGFDLR]

Whenever I visit my parents for christmas, me and my dad always go to the Epping-Ongar railway, the sight of it is delightful to see, even just a simple ride up and down to and from Ongar is lovely; and the gift shop gave me my favourite coffee mug, a GWR resealable one so hell yeah

[@PsychicLord]

Thank you for this, it brought back memories of being onboard the last, and crowded, train out of Ongar. Aldwych closed on the same day, so fans had to choose one or the other.

[@aw34565]

I had a grand day out when I went to the Epping-Ongar Railway. The trip on the Central Line to Epping, the vintage bus ride through Epping itself and then the steam train ride on the railway made for a superb 3-in-1 experience.

[@simonochana3189]

I remember the Air Shows at RAF North Weald, which included the Red Arrows, also the Vulcan Bomber landing there & when Pop Star Gary Numan did a fly pass!

[@dave771]

Grew up in North Weald and have been waiting years for you to do this! It really is a great railway and your video more than does it justice. Great stuff 😀

[@timhubbard8895]

I drove a Class 25 on this line 10 years ago. It was a great experience!

[@Alfie.w]

The chaps in the signal box at North Weald really are nuts. I am very grateful that nearly 10 years ago now on a visit they completely unprompted took me and two friends in to the box to show us round, as well as down amongst the trains parked up.

[@HwAoRrDk]

Interesting piece of trivia I remember reading about the EOR: when doing the track work to reopen the line, they had to lower the track bed under the bridge where the M11 motorway crosses over. When that bridge was at some point re-built during the line's days as a tube line, it provided enough clearance for tube stock, but not for mainline trains!

[@davemoore8759]

Hi Jago. I was one of the bus drivers on the day you filmed this, although I seem to have missed you and you missed me! I only know this because as you passed Blake Hall, you catch a glimpse of my motorhome. As I live in Cornwall, I only get up to Epping once or twice a year but it's always a highlight of my year.

[@TonyBanks21]

I have used the heritage railway,after the Central Line Service Ceased,a couple of years before the pandemic-I found it a very enjoyable experience !!!

[@BarrysViews]

I went there for the first time this year and I was very impressed and hope to go back very soon

[@serenityenderson]

Yay! I was born in Ongar, before it became fashionable and filled to the brim with poncy shops... 🤣

[@johnf5817]

When was that? I lived just outside Ongar from 89 to 95 and could never find anywhere to buy a poncy when I needed one!

[@steveosborne2297]

@@johnf5817 You obviously never looked old enough

[@johnf5817]

😂🤣😅

[@serenityenderson]

​@@johnf5817 I was born in '77, going to Chipping Ongar Prrimary School. I moved to London in '99

[@johnsowerby7182]

It's good to see a use for this line going forward, to ease local annoyance. Remember you can't look back in Ongar

[@ImmortalAbsol]

I love when a heritage line could be used for practical reasons. I would love to see the two services meet.

[@andrewhotston983]

I love the style of station building used by the Great Eastern at Ongar and North Weald - great to see trains still running between them.

[@julianaylor4351]

The heritage railway and the heritage rail replacement bus service. As a Londoner....love that joke. 😆 There is another piece of disused track, I know of, that has been put back into use, it's a branch line route in Croydon, which is being used by the Croydon tram system. North Weald has an annual air show, at the old airfield. I love watching the Railcam UK feed of Epping Tube station, watching for the train that will move first, which is recorded near the signal cabin. 😁 The fact that the was a voltage drop on the line, just shows how bad London Underground's financial support was at that time, and we all know where that lead.

[@pulaski1]

It led to a surplus of a's. 😀

[@hb1338]

North Weald airfield is quite busy. It is the base of the Essex air ambulance and the museum is well worth a visit. I spent a fortnight there testing the landing and take-off performance of a particular model of aircraft on "unimproved" runways.

[@julianaylor4351]

@@hb1338 It was used by the RAF in the Second World War, used as part of the Battle of Britain airfields, but I'm sure you know that. The disused line, now used by the Croydon trams, goes along, next to a park in Morden, that used to be another RAF Battle of Britain airfield, Morden Hall Park.

[@camenbert5837]

We have done this railway a few times. Never knowingly spotted a wild Jago, but still a good day out.

[@luckypup4686]

I went on the Epping to Ongar Railway in August while I was on vacation. I gotta say, it was quite relaxing compared to the chaos of central London. Also, I can’t believe I visited the railway before Jago did, even though I don’t even live in the UK.

[@librarian16]

My wife and I travelled over the line while it was being electrified. The powerrails were in along most of the line but it was still GE tanks and wooden coaches.

[@amethyst7084]

Really interesting video on this formr section of the Central Line. Thanks Jago. Having never had the opportunity to travel between North Weald and Ongar, this makes it more of an objective to try this heritage line. I only travelled the Hainault loop for the first time last month (September 2023)!

[@chrisbeynon8700]

7:30 always love a West Country shout out in a Jago Hazzard video

[@Ian-Steele]

Happy memories for me. I lived in Ongar for six months in the 1970 as a student on placement at the research station that belonged to May & Baker (another name from the past). I often took the underground from Ongar to Epping and then changed trains to go into central London at weekends.

[@luxford60]

Nice video. I have visited the Epping Ongar Railway a few times over the years, including one occasion when they were running a former Met Line loco with restored Met Line carriages.

[@Rishnotfishandnochips]

Hi, Eppinger here. I know somebody who actually used to use Blake Hall tube station a fair bit. Crazy, right?! Apparently the people who lived there requested to have a station there. Also, the leader of Pink Floyd apparently used to have planes at North Weald airfield!! I am so glad you finally did this railway!!!

[@iankemp1131]

Yes, Blake Hall was built because the local landowner wanted a station when the GER originally built the branch in the 19th century. It was literally in the middle of nowhere. Nearest village was about a mile away. It was the closest station to Greensted-juxta-Ongar with its unique wooden Saxon church - worth a quick visit on your way to Ongar.

[@eattherich9215]

@@iankemp1131: you probably know that Blake Hall station is now a private house. My dream is to buy an old station house and watch the trains pass by my windows.

[@davidgreenall6127]

Gary Numan used to have his stunt plane there.

[@Krzyszczynski]

@@eattherich9215 Poet Laureate John Betjeman once said he wanted to become stationmaster at Blake Hall. (It was an April Fool gag.)

[@DeathInTheSnow]

Shame it was never fully integrated. Its incomplete state means that the ever important _Enfield to Shenfield_ route remains untapped.

[@Eurobazz]

Can you elucidate please?

[@landtimforgot]

Jason Statham vs Chatham House Rule. Enfield to Eton might associated with Underground late running services.

[@Eurobazz]

@@landtimforgot I think you are detracting from Mr. Hazzard's very interesting subject matter by spewing forth utter bollocks.

[@SportyMabamba]

Mornington Crescent!

[@johnusher1921]

A good point! As a Denizen of Enfield, a rail link to Shenfield - or even Epping - across the Lea Valley to intercept the Central line and Cross/Purp/Liz line (cf Geoff Marshall..) would be of great help - who wants to go down to Stratford to go East by train from outer North London Then go West to Potters Bar and St Albans and on to Watford. Viola! Who needs the M25?

[@keithparker5125]

An interesting fact is that Ongar goods yard is the only place in Britain where scorpions live in the wild. How they got there no-one actually knows but it can be assumed that they escaped from a parcel there.

[@roderickmain9697]

I remember an interesting documentary on Scorpions many years ago where they actually watched scorpions crossing the platform at Ongar. For ref, they are/were about 3cm long and their stinger wouldnt penetrate your skin - just in case you come across one.

[@wyvernmodelrailway]

Actually scorpions also live on the sea walls at Tilbury. I saw it on BBC's Coast.

[@kevinm3586]

Not true. They also live in Sheerness Docks in Kent and have been featured in at least one TV wildlife program.

[@brianferguson7840]

​@@kevinm3586 Ah yes but, Sheerness isn't "wild" its quite nice realy 😂

[@billscarletravels2313]

Some rather large spiders live or lived in Sheerness Docks when I worked there, they came off the banana boats... and of course global warming must help.🙂

[@johnmilner2316]

A few years ago I used the service to get to North Weald to see the Tour de France which was passing through a remote part of France (Suffolk & Essex). Made for a pleasant change from normal.

[@NaturallyCuriousUK]

We went on the E&OR Light Fantastic special last December in very sub-zero conditions (-9 C) with snow on the ground. Despite them having to run diesel instead of steam due to the water being frozen it was brilliant! Doing it again this year! 👍🙂👍

[@phil69881]

Fun facts - 5521 (L150) operated in Poland for a number of years, hence the air braking equipment. 5521 also wears a cut down cab, reducing her height, from 13ft, to fit the smaller 12ft 4" to operate on LUL's sub surface routes.

[@brianfretwell3886]

I only used it one when in LT service. That was when I was ib Post Office telecoms and had a visit to th eold Ongar Radio Station. I visited agaon during a beer festival there and the highlight was th eappearance of the preserved "Captialcard" advertising bus, this had a DMS bus front (THM 515M), a tube train car section in the middle and a copy (?) of a class 321 EMU (321434-P) at the rear all on a Daimler bus chassis. A good day out!!

[@MrGreatplum]

I’d like to visit this one day - thanks for showing us around, Jago 👍🏻

[@vickielawless]

A great video Jago, on a brilliant and friendly heritage railway! Well worth a visit..

[@frglee]

Nice little video, a reminder I'll have to visit the E&O again when I 'm down south sometime. About 45 years back, on a sunny Spring day, I remember travelling with a friend to Ongar on the tube from South Ken just for a looksee of one of the extremities of the tube system. I don't think there were more than a dozen passengers on the tube train from Epping. I remember the last bit was all open countryside. There didn't seem much in Ongar to see, so we decided to take a little circular walk through some woods, by a stream, under a railway bridge then back round to the village. Within a short time, we were back on the tube train heading back. Nice enough countryside, I guess, but not very exciting really.

[@johncamp2567]

The “ZERO POINT” for mileage measurements for exact identification of stations? Thanks for sharing that nifty pice of pub trivia!! 🍻 (Gorgeous countryside!!)

[@ronalddevine9587]

That ta k locomotive is really cool. I wouldn't mind seeing a video dedicated to them. From New England, CHEERIO!

[@AlekosTheRealGreek]

Excellent and interesting. A well-told story, as always… many thanks 🙏

[@capabilityred3606]

The Epping Ongar Railway is great, the best time to visit is during the annual real ale festival, usually held in July. Beer, trains, buses, what else could one want?

[@CynicalPlatapus]

I love going to this little heritage railway, i support them whenever possible

[@brianparker663]

Old enough to have travelled the line a few times. I once spent a whole morning sitting at Ongar station doing research for a friend's university thesis - something about timetables and comparative studies. He's been a transport guru ever since so I suppose it was worth it!

[@paulsee2037]

Ah, The Epping Fryer, a well stocked bar and excellent fish and chips served at Ongar for the return journey to North Weald highly recommended yum!

[@fightersweep]

Great video! The only time I ever used this line was 21st June 1986 on the launch of Network Southeast during their "Network day". £3 to travel wherever you wanted, so that's what me and my mate did. We spent the day travelling around the network just for the sake of it. Naturally, we had to do Ongar being on the furthest reaches of the tube map.

[@alfyryan6949]

I’ll admit, I’ve always been delighted by the Epping-Ongar Railway ever since I first learned of it years ago as a boy, but one does wonder why London Transport chose to keep this route instead of the one between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace; more people in North London than rural Essex, after all. Also, it does speak of how cash-strapped they were that they couldn’t afford just one more electrical substation at Ongar edit - meant Finsbury Park when I said Highgate previously

[@simontay4851]

Substation transformers are very expensive.

[@kcnmsepognln]

@@simontay4851 Dad?

[@iankemp1131]

They never really wanted it that much. It took them from 1949 to 1957 to take it over after they electrified to Epping, and replace the residual steam shuttle service. It was retained due to lack of alternative transport which didn't apply to the Finsbury Park-Highgate-Ally Pally line, although if that had survived longer it would surely have been a useful link today (more logically as an alternative Piccadilly northern outlet rather than a continuation of the line from Moorgate as originally planned). And as you say, it really was electrified on the cheap. Rock bottom in fact, just the conductor rails. I travelled from Blake Hall in its last days in 1982 (cycling from Harlow) and still have the ticket.

[@ricktownend9144]

@@iankemp1131 I agree that the branch from Finsbury Park to Highgate would make an excellent second northern Piccadilly line route, balancing the two (or three, if you count Heathrow T4 and T5 as separate) termini in the west. Is Muswell Hill+Alexandra Palace really possible? - if not, it could extend from Highgate to Mill Hill East and hopefully Mill Hill Broadway, doing a similar job as the Victoria line does so successfully when it turns NE after Finsbury Park. Nice video by the way, Jago

[@MervynPartin]

It was a real shame that the line to Alexandra Palace was abandoned. The Muswell Hill area is quite densely populated and most of the infrastructure was in place. I can't remember if the conductor rails had been laid as I was quite young at the time, but I am sure that I saw the usual London Transport station signs on Highgate surface level station. I did make the mistake of parking at Ongar once in order to go to Roding Valley and it was a very long return trip.

[@annaeborall934]

Great video Jago. It was nice to see parts of the line in daylight. We went from Ongar last year on the winter illuminations train which was good.

[@tomhami]

Great vid, been waiting for you to do this little very local line to me. I'm a regular down there for their ale train days and have started volunteers on the bar too. The line and The London Bus Company are owned by the same chap, he's very much a bus man but its excellent he invested in the line. The 339 service is also a fully timetabled public service so anbody has hop on for the £2 fare, some carry on through Ongar to Shenfield mainline.

[@Suprahampton]

Isn't that the guy who owned EnsignBus?

[@davemoore8759]

Yes. Very nice chap@@Suprahampton

[@tomhami]

@@Suprahampton no, different chap. EO Railway guy used to own Blue Triangle but sold to GoAhead.

[@glenwooded8523]

Thanks Jago for a such a well researched commentary! We started things around 2001 to get the heritage service up and running.

[@johnmurray8428]

I spent a number odd days on the EOR on a number of visits to the UK, including my 75th birthday last October. A wonderful line and a great group who run it. Including the bus guys. Did you see the memorial on Ongar Platform to the RC Parish Priest, who departed there in early April 1912 to visit the USA, he never arrived and spent his last hours of his life giving absolution to the other passengers of the Titanic, waiting for his & their ultimate fate! Thank you for this, I look forward to being there for their pre-Christmas runs.

[@GNTel313]

Great video Jago 😊 a little fact regarding Blake Hall station. When London Transport closed the station in 1981 the very few passengers would ask the motorman to stop the train and allow them to alight. Well..... London Transport didnt like that...... so what did they do ?. They removed the plaform coping stones, what spoilsports 😮

[@toast99bubbles]

I want to go on this railway. As I mentioned in your recent bus video where you went to Harlow, my grandfather lived in Harlow, so I would go visit him using Epping station. Also used to go to North Weald Market often as a child. My grandmother currently is in a nursing home near Buckhurst Hill. I also have a tube map from 1977 (20 years before I was born) that includes this section of the Central Line.

[@Richardincancale]

Remember going to Ongar back in my student days in 1976 - staying in a research / hostel somewhere near the Roding river. Was there to examine the insect / invertebrate fauna. Remember finding a glow-worm by the side of a dark lane on the way back from the pub one night! And also an elephants head hawk moth in the woods! After that I escaped from Biology!

[@SmudgeThomas]

This is a nice video of what i think of as London's steam railway. Hopefully full interchange at Epping will come. As for getting to see a wild Jago, well, that's more of a win than being Stationmaster at Blake Hall, as John Betjeman aspired to

[@sIightIybored]

As a plus for getting the trains back to Epping, for once the right of way is still there, even the tracks. Suspect the main issue would be TfL not wanting anyone messing with the timetable.

[@planetalien]

I remember the 4 shuttle coming from Epping, all the way through to Loughton in the early 90's

[@rqstaffan]

The zero point observation is particularly wonderful

[@sockstarnik]

Visited myself a couple of years back. Also was there in 1991 when drove there with sone friends. Use to go on epic road trips when we first passed out driving tests and ended up there one night

[@johnforrest695]

I remember reading an article that Ongar (like neighbouring Harlow) was considered to be a New Town, and if that had happened, Ongar Station would have been completely rebuilt with 4 platforms - think Uxbridge or the like, I guess. Apparently the water supply was only sufficient for either Ongar or Harlow, and they chose Harlow. Ongar was always a little too rural for a commuter railway, but my guess is that if they had doubled the line to North Weald, that would have made more sense - green belt or no green belt, that seems to have grown somewhat over the years.

[@ArtJourneyUK]

After the Epping to Ongar line was closed, it still ran once a year to take passengers to the North Weald airshow.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

0:44 Omg this is awesome! Love a vintage bus 👏🏽

[@justinroebuck1719]

You definitely saved the most interesting bit for last with that tidbit on the system zero point. If there's enough material for a video I'd be interested to hear more about that. I love learning about zero points, triple points, etc.

[@Flange-lw9sp]

As a resident of Epping I hope you enjoyed your visit to our nice town!

[@hufforguk]

Spent many weekends between 2011 and 2015 under that signal box, up signal heads, and dragging cables up the line between loc's

[@eattherich9215]

Thank you for this little bit of nostalgia. Taking the ride from Epping to Ongar is on the list of things transport related that I would like to do. However, it will probably fall by the wayside just like going to Imber. Sigh.

[@Blade_Daddy]

Good coverage. Much appreciated.

[@Sim0nTrains]

I did visit the line once and really enjoyed it, on the day I went it was top and tailed with a Gresley N2 and a Class 31. Wouldn't mind another visit back to the Epping Ognar Railway

[@christianshields4164]

In a different world where this route stayed as part of the Central Line, we would be watching Geoff Marshall’s least used station on the Underground: Blake Hall