Chingford Branch Line
| Chingford branch line | |
|---|---|
Highams Park station, looking north towards Chingford
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| Overview | |
| Type | Suburban rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | Greater London |
| Termini |
Chingford Clapton Junction (connects to WAML) |
| Stations | 5 |
| Services | 1 |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail (Anglia Route) |
| Operator(s) | London Overground |
| Depot(s) | Ilford Sidings at Chingford |
| Rolling stock |
Class 315 Class 317 |
| Technical | |
| Number of tracks | 2 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead lines |
| Operating speed | Below 75 mph (121 km/h) |
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The Chingford branch line is a railway line between Clapton Junction (just west of Clapton station) and Chingford station. Services currently operate between Liverpool Street station and Chingford. The branch is currently part of the Lea Valley Lines network.
By the middle of the 19th century Walthamstow had a population of 5,000 people and was a rural retreat for London businessmen. The nearest railway station was at Lea Bridge and a horse bus service ran from Walthamstow to meet the train services. The 1860s saw the beginnings of suburban development in the area encouraged by a number of developers hoping to attract the middle classes to the area. The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was promoting a scheme in 1864 but this found little favour with one developer James Higham who promoted a competing scheme which would have run from a junction just north of Stratford station. However, by 1867 the GER was in financial difficulties and although construction work had started on the branch it had ceased by 1868. Housing construction was continuing apace and Higham approached the GER board with money to build the line. Time was running out on the 1864 act but parliament extended this and instructed the GER it should build a branch from its main line between Stratford and Tottenham Hale to Walthamstow.
The GER managed to raise funds and a single-line branch was built from just north of Lea Bridge station to a temporary station at Shern Hall Street with intermediate stations at St James Street and Hoe Street.
In 1870, a line was opened from Lea Bridge Road to Shern Hall Street station (a temporary station located west of the present day Wood street station) and a shuttle service operated commencing traffic on 24 April 1870. The train service was not operated as a through service and passengers had to change for trains to Bishopsgate station (this was the destination before Liverpool Street opened).
The line between Hackney Downs and Church Hall Junction opened on 1 August 1872 and direct services to Bishopsgate commenced as a result. In 1873 the line was extended to a temporary terminus at Chingford (where the engines refilled from a farm pond). This extension saw the closure of Shern Hall station and the opening of Wood Street and Hale End (since renamed Highams Park).
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Wikipedia