North Weald railway station
| North Weald | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Place | North Weald |
| Area | Epping Forest |
| Coordinates | 51°42′42″N 0°09′42″E / 51.7117°N 0.1617°ECoordinates: 51°42′42″N 0°09′42″E / 51.7117°N 0.1617°E |
| Grid reference | TL496036 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Great Eastern Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Great Eastern Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway |
| Operated by | Epping Ongar Railway |
| Platforms | 1 originally; 2 from 1949-76; 1 from 1976-94; 2 from 1994-2004; 1 from 2004-07; 2 since 2012 |
| History | |
| 24 April 1865 | Station opened |
| 25 September 1949 | Transferred to Central line |
| 18 November 1957 | Line electrified |
| 6 January 1964 | Goods yard closed |
| 30 September 1994 | Closed |
| November 2004 | Reopened in preservation |
| 2007 | Closed |
| May 2012 | Heritage services opened |
| Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
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North Weald is a former London Underground station in North Weald, Essex, that is open today only as part of a private heritage railway. Located between Epping and Blake Hall on the Central line, North Weald is now on the Epping Ongar Railway.
The station was opened in 1865 and closed to regular services in 1994.
North Weald station was opened by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) on 1 April 1865, serving principally as a goods yard, taking agricultural produce from the nearby farms into London. During World War II it was frequently used by airmen travelling to and from the nearby North Weald Airfield. Steam locomotives operated by British Rail for the London Underground ran a shuttle service from Epping to Ongar (stopping at North Weald) from 1949 to 1957, when the track was electrified and taken over by the Underground's Central line.
While the Epping to Ongar branch was normally operated as an isolated section of the Central line, for two days every year trains were run from London to terminate at North Weald: these trains served the North Weald airshow on the Saturday and Sunday of its opening at the aerodrome almost adjacent to the station. The normal Epping to Ongar shuttle dovetailed with this service passing the terminating train on the adjacent line during its southbound journey.
The line from Epping to Ongar is a single track line with the exception of North Weald station which functioned as the only available passing place for trains travelling in opposite directions. In 1888, however, the eastern end of the loop was severed and it was used only as a siding. The loop was restored in 1949 after transfer to London Transport, and a second (westbound) platform was built at this time, and both platforms were used from 1949 until 1976, the westbound track being lifted in 1978. Until this time, access to the two platforms was controlled from the original Eastern Counties Railway signal box still sited on the southbound platform to this day. Until this occurred, North Weald was the last section of the Underground network to be signalled using mechanical semaphore signals. Although disused, the illuminated track diagram in the signal box continued to show the progress of trains until its closure.
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Wikipedia