Fairlop is a

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

station in

Fairlop Fairlop is a district in the north of Ilford, part of the London Borough of Redbridge in east London. The district consists of fields, forestry and open land providing space for sport/ activity centres (Redbridge Sport Centre), some houses, far ...

east London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which is on the Central line of the

. It has been in

Travelcard Zone 4 Fare zone 4 is an outer zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. It ...

since 2 January 2007. It is on the north side of Forest Road, in

, just north of

Barkingside Barkingside is an area in Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes the major road junction of ''Fullwell Cross'' which also gives its name to the locality near that roundabout. The area is situated 10.6 miles (17km) north east of ...

History

The station was opened on 1 May 1903 as part of the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

's (GER)

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

to Ilford "loop" or branch line (the

Fairlop Loop The Hainault Loop was originally opened as the Fairlop Loop, a branch line of the Great Eastern Railway (GER). It once connected Woodford on the Ongar (now Epping) branch to Ilford on the Main Line, with an eastward connection for goods, ex ...

). This line, designed to stimulate suburban growth, had a chequered career. As a consequence of the 1921

Railways Act Railways Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to railways. List India * The Indian Railways Act, 1890 * The Railways Act, 1989 Malaysia *The Railways Act 1991 *T ...

, the GER was merged with other railway companies in 1923 to become part of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

(LNER). As part of the 1935 – 1940

New Works Programme The New Works Programme of 1935–1940 was the major investment programme delivered by the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB), commonly known as London Transport, which had been created in 1933 to coordinate underground train, tram, trolley ...

of the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

, the majority of the loop was to be transferred to form the eastern extensions of the Central line. Although work commenced in 1938, it was suspended on the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939 and work only recommenced in 1946. Steam train services serving Fairlop were suspended on 29 November 1947 and electrified Central line passenger services, to Central London via

Gants Hill Gants Hill is an area of Ilford in East London, England, within the borough of Redbridge. It is a suburb east northeast of Charing Cross. It lends its name to a central roundabout where five roads meet. History The name likely originated f ...

, finally commenced on 31 May 1948. The line from Newbury Park to Hainault through Fairlop had been electrified for empty train movements to the new depot at Hainault from 14 December 1947. Few alterations took place during this transfer, and the station remains a fine example of an

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

railway station including canopies that still bear the GER symbol in the bracketry. The station has toilet facilities, a car park, and a waiting room on both westbound and eastbound platforms.

Connections

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

route 462 serves the station.

Gallery

File:Fairlop north.JPG, Looking north, with GER bracketry visible beneath the canopy File:Fairlop south.JPG, Looking south File:Fairlop roundel.JPG, Roundel on eastbound platform File:GER bracketry Fairlop.JPG, Close-up of GER bracketry still visible beneath the platform awnings

References

External links

London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
** ** ** {{Central line navbox Central line (London Underground) stations London Underground Night Tube stations Tube stations in the London Borough of Redbridge London Underground stations located above ground Former Great Eastern Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1903 William Neville Ashbee railway stations