Epping Ongar Railway

An historic and long-forgotten artefact discovered underground and covered in asphalt at McCarthy & Stone’s construction site on Station Approach in Chipping Ongar, has helped provide an apt new name for the specialist housebuilder’s forthcoming Assisted Living development, adjacent to the historic Ongar Railway station.

The complex, which is to be located where the former Ongar Goods Yard was based until 1968, will now be known as “Weighbridge Court” following the unearthing of a long-lost Great Eastern Railway (GER) cart weighbridge that dates back to 1889.

After cleaning by the EOR team, the 1889 weighbridge revealed all its original detail - the asphalt had excellently preserved the treads.

Simon Hanney, General Manager at the neighbouring Epping Ongar Railway, had alerted the McCarthy & Stone construction team about the possibility that the artifact could still be located under the site, having noticed it mentioned in historic railway documentation. He said: “We knew it had been ordered by the GER, but due to its size it would have fallen out of use after the withdrawal of the horse and cart, and its fate was unknown. We had hoped that it would still be buried somewhere on the site, and are very grateful to McCarthy & Stone’s site manager for accommodating our request to keep an eye out for both this, and any other items of interest.

“When it was found, the site team took great care to remove the cast iron weighbridge, and we were delighted when they also chose to donate it to our heritage railway. Our specialists have since removed the many layers of asphalt, to reveal the original detailing, including the manufacturer’s name and date which exactly matches the date it was ordered. We have installed it adjacent to one of our Grade II listed buildings, to form a fitting entrance to the platforms which are also currently being renovated for passenger use.”

The weighbridge has been installed, complete with original cobbles, adjacent to the main platform at Ongar, so visitors will be able to see this when the railway resumes passenger services on 25th May

“Protecting the proud heritage of the communities in which we build is something that is very important to us,” added Sharon Callcut, marketing manager for McCarthy & Stone. “We always aim to select names for our development that reflect the culture and history of area, and in this case, Weighbridge Court seemed to be a very fitting title.

“We very much support the ongoing endeavours of the Epping Ongar Railway in its restoration of Ongar Station, and are extremely proud to have been able to contribute something to the project. Once the steam and diesel hauled passenger trains are back up and running, we’re sure that they will provide our future residents with the perfect nostalgic backdrop to their comfortable new McCarthy & Stone lifestyles.”

Visitors will be able to see the restored weighbridge in its new location when the railway resumes passenger services on 25th May. Discounted tickets for this special weekend are now available to purchase online: http://eorailway.co.uk/your-visit/booking-online/

EOR was pleased to welcome the Essex County Council Procurement Services Department down today (25th April) as they undertook a day of volunteering to help the railway.

Despite the rain (torrential at times!), they did an excellent job working on cleaning down the paintwork of the station interior, removing all the “builder’s dust”, deep cleaning coaches and (in between showers) tidying the picnic and viewing area at Ongar.

Essex CC Procurement Services Department, after a busy (and wet!) day helping clean Ongar Station

On behalf of all the team at EOR, we would like to say many thanks for their help and well done on making the station look so tidy and smart as we get ready for 25th May, and we look forward to welcoming them down again (when hopefully we can offer them a steam train ride in return for all their hard work).

The community of Ongar has come together to remember a hero, who has become immortalised in many of the films and documentaries about the Titanic.

Father Thomas Byles, the Rector of St Helens Ongar, boarded a train from Ongar Station on 10^th April 1912, before embarking on board the Titanic at Southampton on his way to officiate at his brother’s wedding in America. During the journey he wrote to his housekeeper at Ongar, commenting that he had left his umbrella behind on the train!

Father Thomas Byles

During the voyage he held mass for 2^nd and 3^rd class passengers, and reminded those gathered of the need to have a lifebelt in the shape of prayer and the sacraments to save their souls when in danger of being lost in a spiritual shipwreck.

On the fateful night, he gave solace and comfort to many of the passengers, giving blessings, hearing confessions and reciting the rosary. He helped load the lifeboats, but twice refused offers to take a place in a lifeboat. He continued to offer spiritual comfort to those left on board, continuing and leading prayers as the ship succumbed to the ocean, this self-less act reported in witness statements has been immortalised in many of the films and documentaries on the tragedy.

Members of OMHS, Father Hurley, OTF & Epping Ongar Railway mark Father Byles' life (Pic Dorreen Gilmour)

To mark the life and last journey of Father Byles, Ongar Millennium History Society has joined with Father Hurley (St Helens) and Epping Ongar Railway. A blue plaque dedicated to the memory of Father Byles was unveiled on 10^th April and will be displayed at the heritage station.

In the 150^th year since the Great Eastern Railway was formed the Epping Ongar Railway, the longest heritage railway in Essex, will be resuming steam and heritage diesel hauled passenger trains on the branch.

As the volunteers work towards concluding the restoration on the buildings, track, signals and rolling stock on the former end of the Central Line, the railway will be running services commencing a special weekend from Friday 25^th May.

Regular services will be running every weekend and Bank Holidays (including the Jubilee bank holidays) until the summer, then daily during the Olympics at nearby Stratford.

On each operating day, the railway intends to operate steam hauled passenger services between Ongar and North Weald, a diesel shuttle from North Weald into Epping Forest, and a heritage bus service connecting to Epping LUL Station and High Street.

Further details of timetables and gala opening weekend fares will be released in due course. Tickets will be available shortly on this website. Advanced booking for the first weekend is strongly recommended.

EOR is delighted to welcome a new arrival to its engineering fleet, in the shape of “F362″.

F362 is a 1951, GRCW built flatbed vehicle and is on long-term loan to the railway, from our friends at London Transport Museum. The vehicle had previously carried the historic Met coach No 353, and following a Heritage Lottery Fund award, the coach is now undergoing extensive restoration so it feature in the LU150 celebrations next year.

Following a successful arrival inspection, this vehicle has immediately been pushed into service by our track teams. These vehicles were nicknamed ”Bedsteads” by LU engineering teams due to the flat area in the middle and raised ends for the brake wheels!

F362 arrives on the low-loader from Acton depot, being made ready to take its first steps onto EOR...

The low height of the base of F362 makes it easier for the teams to lift materials on and off, and the vehicle has already been pushed into service to carry rail as part of  the re-laying of North Weald’s down yard, as we replace a piece of temporary track put in during Spring 2010. This track relaying will see the yard once again have a similar layout of sidings to the original, which will be one of the last pieces of the jigsaw coming into place as we work to return the station back to its period charm.

The original yard at North Weald, pictured May 1938, showing the sidings spreading out to the north of the running line (Pic Courtesy of LTM Archives).

A group of apprentices has been recruited in partnership with Transport for London to maintain the Epping Ongar Railway heritage line and as work continues towards providing passengers with a connection to the London Underground.

The group, which started work on 9^th January 2012, has been employed by Manchester-based Vital Rail, which has set itself an ambitious target to recruit and train 270 apprentices across the UK by June 2012.

Each of the 270 apprentices will complete an Intermediate Apprenticeship in Rail Engineering with Vital Skills Training – a qualification for those who want to work in the rail transport industry that combines theoretical work with hands-one training in a realistic work environment, leading to a Level 2 NVQ.

Vital Skills Training apprentices hard at work

Part of Vital Services Group, Vital Skills Training is one of the largest suppliers of training services for the rail, energy, mechanical & electrical and construction sectors and the success of current projects has prompted the company to invest further in Apprenticeships.

In Manchester, 50 young people will complete an Apprenticeship, as will a group of 24 apprentices who will work on a project in Staffordshire to restore part of the Foxfield heritage railway at Stoke-on-Trent.

Lawrence Dobie, operations manager at Vital Skills Training, explains why the company has set itself such an ambitious target: “The rail industry needs an injection of fresh, young talent in order to prepare for forthcoming major infrastructure projects, such as HS2,” he said.

“With an increasing number of young people looking for an alternative route to university, Vital is committed to plugging the rail sector skills gap, as an expert training provider in that field.  The advancement of theUK’s rail network is essential to the country’s economic and environmental development which is why we are investing on this intensive recruitment programme to secure a strong workforce of the future.”

Chris Marsack, Infrastructure Manager at Epping Ongar Railway, added: “We are pleased to welcome Vital and the apprentices to Epping Ongar Railway on this ‘win-win’ project. The railway provides an ideal real-life classroom, enabling the students to learn and practice skills and the safe practices needed to advance their careers, with the added benefit that the works they undertake helps our volunteer teams as we maintain the closest heritage railway to London.”

The apprentices will undertake track work on EOR, furthering their skills as they work towards a nationally recognised qualification to further their careers

For further information on Vital Skills Training’s Apprenticeship programme visit www.vital-skills.com, email apprenticeships@vital-skills.com or call 0161 836 7024.

EOR were pleased to welcome Steve Scruton from BBC Essex down to the railway, to see first-hand the progress being made towards the railway once again running steam and diesel hauled passenger trains.

You can hear how he got on, including learning more about the track maintenance works being undertaken, news on the two steam engines recently announced (Pitchford Hall and 4141) and meeting several of our volunteers on his Friday afternoon show (27th Jan). You can listen online on the BBC iplayer or 95.3 or 103.5 FM.

Our Department Diary page has recently been updated with the very latest progress update from many of the departments, as the volunteer teams work towards getting passenger trains running later this year.