The Hainault Loop was originally opened as the Fairlop Loop, a branch line 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 ...

(GER). It once connected

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 ...

on the Ongar (now

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

) branch to Ilford on the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

, with an eastward connection for goods, excursions and stock transfers to

Seven Kings Seven Kings is a district of Ilford in London, England, part of the borough of Redbridge. Situated approximately two miles from Ilford town centre, Seven Kings forms part of the Ilford post town. Historically part of Essex, it was part of the ...

. The loop opened to freight on 20 April 1903 and to passengers on 1 May 1903. In 1923, the GER was "grouped" into the

London & North Eastern Railway London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

(LNER), who provided passenger services until December 1947. After this date, the route was electrified for

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 ...

services from both the Woodford and

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

directions (the latter via a pair of new tube tunnels), the link to Ilford (and, eventually, Seven Kings) closed, and today it forms the greater part of the Hainault Loop on the Central line, having been served by Tube trains since 1948 (Woodford and Newbury Park stations being served by December 1947).

History

The GER built the line to foster suburban growth in

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 ...

Ilford and Chigwell; the results were mixed. Hainault station had so few passengers that it closed between 1908 and 1930. The loop passed to 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) in 1923 after the

grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of railways into The Big Four. The LNER added a station at Roding Valley in 1936 to serve a housing development. Most of the route transferred to the Central line of the

London Transport Executive The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in Greater London, England between 1948 and 1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of ...

(LTE) during 1947 and 1948 as part of the war-delayed

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 ...

. The transfer brought fourth-rail electrification to replace steam and construction of a deep-level line connecting

on the Ongar branch with Newbury Park on the loop, together with severing connections between Newbury Park and Ilford and Seven Kings. First to go was the westward curve between Newbury Park Junction and Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction, on 30 November 1947. The other connection to Seven Kings West Junction was goods only and survived until 19 March 1956. The whole triangular junction disappeared under expansion of Ilford carriage sheds in 1959. Goods trains operated by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

continued using the loop via Woodford as far as Newbury Park until 4 October 1965. A short turn-back siding was provided on the former track-bed south of Newbury Park: after goods trains were withdrawn it was used by engineers' trains until 1992.

Layout

Woodford to Ilford

The Loop was double track and all six original stations had two 600 ft (183 m) platforms: the 1936 station at Roding Valley had 500 ft (152 m) platforms. Hainault station re-opened in 1948 with a third platformdue to rebuilding associated with construction of the nearby depot. () It is today used by terminating Central line trains. A fork at the northern end at Woodford Junction let trains leave or join the Ongar branch. A triangular junction at the southern end gave access to the main line, the site now occupied by Ilford carriage sheds and a maintenance depot run by Bombardier. The apex of the triangle was Newbury Park Junction (just south of Vicarage Lane), the western side was Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction, and the eastern side was Seven Kings West Junction. Grange Hill Tunnel west

The topography challenged engineers. The line was on the surface but 260 yards (238m) of tunnel was bored immediately north of . The line between Roding Valley and Chigwell was on an embankment, and a three-arch viaduct was built over the

River Roding The River Roding () rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames. Course The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a group of eight ...

. Further east, the embankment was bisected by the London end of the

M11 motorway The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans were considered throughout the 1960s ...

in 1977, a concrete bridge carrying the line over the road. Chigwell and Grange Hill were built in cuttings, Hainault and Fairlop on embankment, and most of the route south of Barkingside including Newbury Park was in a cutting. Only the platforms at Roding Valley and Barkingside (eastbound only) are accessible from street level. Works for accessibility to each of the platforms at Roding Valley were completed in 2009; hitherto there were a couple of steps to street level. Goods yards were at Grange Hill (closed 1965), Hainault (closed 1908), Fairlop (closed 1958), Barkingside and Newbury Park (both closed 1965). One of the former sidings at Newbury Park is now the eastbound through line, with the former eastbound line normally used only for reversing, though it retains the connection facing Barkingside. The sidings at Grange Hill now form part of the north-facing access from Hainault Depot. They extend parallel to the station platforms, and there are also sidings at the southern end of the depot next to the platforms at Hainault. East of Chigwell a short siding served Chigwell Nursery in GER days, but this was closed, probably before Grouping into the LNER (the nursery was sold in 1922 ).

Newbury Park to Leytonstone

The line between Leytonstone and Newbury Park is of standard twin-bore construction, with the three intermediate stations all having central platforms. The route diverges from the Ongar branch east of Leytonstone at Leytonstone Junction, with the tracks passing either side of the latter and immediately diving underground. The route heads mostly beneath the A12 Eastern Avenue as far as

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 ...

. East of here it turns southeast along Perth Road, then east to pass beneath Ley Street to the alignment of Wards Road, before curving northwards beneath Glebelands Avenue to reach the surface just south of Newbury Park, with the tracks passing to either side of the trackbed of the former line to Ilford: this explains the relatively long tunnel between Gants Hill and Newbury Park. The tunnels were essentially completed when 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 ...

broke out in 1939, and between March 1942 and the end of hostilities they were used as an underground

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, complete with its own 18 in (457 mm) railway, by

Plessey The Plessey Company plc was a British electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after World War II by acquisition of companies and formed overseas compani ...

, based in Ilford for many years. The factory extended almost 5 miles with about 300,000 sq. ft. of space. Redbridge is the shallowest "deep-level" station on the Underground, 26 feet (7.9 m) below street level, necessitating just a short of flight of stairs for entry. Gants Hill and Wanstead, due to their greater depth, have escalators, with additional ramps or stairs at the former.

Stations

Stations served

''From north-west to south-east'' * , opened 22 August 1856 by the

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English Rail transport, railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on t ...

(ECR), closed briefly, re-opening 14 December 1947. ''Fairlop Loop diverges from the Ongar (now

) Branch at Woodford Junction'' * , opened 3 February 1936 as Roding Valley Halt by the

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

, closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 21 November 1948. * , opened 1 May 1903 by the GER, closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 21 November 1948. * , opened 1 May 1903 by the GER, closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 21 November 1948. * , opened 1 May 1903 by the GER, closed 1 October 1908 to 3 March 1930. Closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 31 May 1948. * , opened 1 May 1903 by the GER, closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 31 May 1948. * , opened 1 May 1903 by the GER, closed 22 May 1916 to 30 June 1919. Closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 31 May 1948. * , opened 1 May 1903 by the GER, closed 29 November 1947, re-opening 14 December 1947 as part of the Central line. :''Former connection: Fairlop Loop joins Great Eastern Main Line via westward curve between Newbury Park Junction and Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction'' **'', opened 20 June 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway. Operated by

TfL Rail TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. On 24 May 2022, upon the opening of th ...

as of May 2015. Connection closed 30 November 1947.'' :''Former connection (freight-only): Fairlop Loop joins Great Eastern Main Line via eastward curve between Newbury Park Junction and Seven Kings West Junction'' **'' , opened 1 March 1899 by the GER. Operated by TfL Rail as of May 2015. Connection closed 19 March 1956. (not served by scheduled Fairlop Loop passenger trains)'' ''Remainder of Fairlop loop connects with Central line tube from Leytonstone (nowadays both parts referred to as the "Hainault Loop")'' * , opened by LTE 14 December 1947. * , opened by LTE 14 December 1947. * , opened by LTE 14 December 1947. ''re-joins the Ongar (Epping) Branch at Leytonstone Junction'' * , opened 22 August 1856 by the ECR, closed briefly, re-opening 5 May 1947.

Station architecture

Most of the surface stations on the Fairlop loop and the underground stations on the Hainault loop are notable for their architecture, dating from Edwardian to the London Transport style of the 1930s/1940s. The bus station shelter at Newbury Park won a

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

award in 1951, and both it and Barkingside station are Grade II

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s. The interior of Gants Hill was heavily inspired by the

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first unde ...

. Gants Hill lacks a proper station building, being directly underneath the busy A12 roundabout. Due to bomb damage to Grange Hill in 1944, and expansion of the A12 Eastern Avenue at Newbury Park in 1956, the original station buildings were demolished. They were almost identical to that at Chigwell. Newbury Park was meant to receive a replacement building but it was never built, and the only entrance is via the bus station. Hainault's original structure, prior to rebuilding due to the addition of Hainault Depot, was very similar to that at Fairlop. Roding Valley had rather basic buildings on opening, with a wooden shelter on the Woodford-bound side, replaced by more substantial structures when transferred to the Central line. Notable architects included Oliver Hill for Newbury Park bus station and

W. N. Ashbee William Neville Ashbee (1852 – 30 April 1919) was an English railway architect notable for railway station, stations on the Great Eastern Railway, including the London terminus at Liverpool Street Station. Career The son of John Ashbee, w ...

for the original six stations from Chigwell to Newbury Park (though the Listing authorities credit William Burgess for Barkingside, possibly erroneously). Renowned

architect

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

designed the three new underground stations that opened in 1947. File:Roding Valley stn building.JPG, (new building 1949) File:Chigwell stn building.JPG, File:Grange Hill stn entr.JPG, (new building 1949) File:Hainault stn building.JPG, (new building 1949) File:Fairlop stn building.JPG, File:Barkingside full stn building.JPG, File:Newbury Park stn bus shelter2.JPG, bus station File:Gants Hill stn southwest entrance.JPG, File:Gants Hill stn interior concourse.JPG, Gants Hill interior File:Redbridge station entrance east.JPG, File:Wanstead stn entrance.JPG,

Service pattern

Since 1947 (Central line)

Typical off-peak service pattern (as of 2007): * Through trains central

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

- - via : every 6-10 mins until c. 01:00. * as above but additionally Hainault - : every 20 mins until 24:00. * additional trains from to Newbury Park, every 20 mins.

Before 1947 (GER/LNER)

Typical service pattern by 1933 (LNER): * Half-hourly during the day, circular service typically London Liverpool Street - Stratford - Ilford - Woodford - Stratford - London Liverpool Street.

Rolling stock

Since 1947 (Central line)

Standard tube stock The Standard Stock title was applied to a variety of Tube stock built between 1923 and 1934, all of which shared the same basic characteristics, but with some detailed differences. This design is sometimes referred to as 1923 Tube Stock, 1923 St ...

1947-1963 (final withdrawal) * 1959 tube stock 1960-1964 * 1962 tube stock 1962-1995 (final withdrawal) * 1992 tube stock 1993–present * Hainault - Woodford shuttle service saw a variety of stock from the early 1960s in conjunction with experimental Automatic Train Operation (ATO), such as 1960 tube stock and trials of both 1967 tube stock and modified 1973 tube stock, prior to introduction of the 1992 trains.

Before 1947 (GER/LNER)

Steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

included Holden 2-4-2T

tank engines A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomo ...

and Hill 0-6-2T tank engines built by the GER, and

carriages A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

were usually of the short

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

type, up to 16 per train.

The closed connection today

The connection between Ilford/Seven Kings and Newbury Park is approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 km) long, and is still evident at ground level despite the track being lifted many years ago. From south to north, there are three road bridges - Vicarage Lane, Benton Road and Wards Road - crossing a missing alignment: much of the route was in a cutting that has been filled in since the line closed. South of Newbury Park, the inclines to/from the tunnel portals towards Gants Hill diverge away from the former route. Immediately to the south is an

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

off Glebelands Avenue. Further south there is derelict land followed by a small area of allotment gardens north of Wards Road, with more allotments to the south and north of Benton Road. South of Benton Road, an outbuilding of St Aidan's School and Friars Close blocks of flats occupy the alignment as far south as Vicarage Lane. South of there are Piper Way flats just north of Ilford Carriage Sheds, the expansion of which followed the initial severing of the Newbury Park Junction to Ilford Carriage Sidings Junction curve in November 1947. The route was abandoned when the connecting curve to Seven Kings West Junction was lifted in 1956, the site of which is occupied by the depot's "New Shed", opened in 1959. Little evidence remains for the junctions at the main line ends. File:Newbury Park south.JPG, The A12 Eastern Avenue crosses the Central line just to the south of Newbury Park, with the eastbound tunnel portal to the right of the remains of the old route to Ilford. File:Newbury Park portals.JPG, From the A12 looking south of Newbury Park showing the present route to Gants Hill diverging from the former alignment to Ilford and Seven Kings. An eastbound train has just emerged from the portal. File:Wards Road bridge.JPG, Bridge on Wards Road looking east. Newbury Park is a few hundred yards to the north: to the south and immediately to the north allotments occupy the alignment. The former route was in a cutting that has been filled in. File:Wards Road look south.JPG, Looking south from Wards Road along the former alignment. Allotments now occupy the route as far as Benton Road just visible in the distance. File:Benton Road bridge.JPG, Looking west towards the bridge on Benton Road, similar to that on Wards Road but with pavements on both sides. The former route here was in a cutting. File:Friars Close look north.JPG, Looking north from the new Friars Close towards Benton Road, St Aidan's School lying just beyond the fence. Most, but not all, of the residential buildings lie just off the old alignment, marked by these trees. File:Vicarage Lane lok south.JPG, Looking south from Vicarage Lane towards the flats of the eastern half of the Piper Way development, new in 2008. The block of flats nearest the camera occupies the site of the old Newbury Park Junction. In the distance on the extreme left, part of Ilford Car Sheds is visible. File:Vicarage Lane bridge course south.JPG, Looking north towards Vicarage Lane bridge from the blocks of flats on Piper Way, illustrating that the former route was still in a cutting this far south. The photo was taken on the site of the old Newbury Park Junction. Ilford Car Sheds lie directly to the south of this estate.

Ilford to Newbury Park: modern alternatives

The recent construction of residential blocks and the long-standing and ongoing use of the alignment for allotment gardens mean that there can be no re-instatement of the line between Ilford and Newbury Park. The Central line serves both Stratford and Liverpool Street, just as Fairlop Loop services did, and to travel by rail between Newbury Park and Ilford requires a change of trains at Stratford, or bus routes 296 and 396 serve both stations, and the 169 serves Ley Street and Horns Road, a few hundred yards west of Newbury Park. The 296 and 396 head west along the Eastern Avenue as far as Gants Hill before turning south, and the 169 is a less circuitous route.London Bus Routes - List of routes
/ref>

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite book , last1=Bruce , first1=J Graeme , last2=Croome , first2=Desmond F, title=The Central Line, year=2006, publisher=Capital Transport, isbn=1-85414-297-6

External links

Clive's UndergrounD Line Guides - Central lineTransport for London's London Underground websiteCravens Heritage Trains - History of the GER/LNER branch lines in LondonThe Great Eastern Railway SocietyThe London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) Encyclopedia
- view a 1946 map of the entire Fairlop Loop just prior to takeover by the Central line.
Heritage Gateway
- Online resources including searchable database of Listed Buildings Online Transport in the London Borough of Redbridge Transport in Epping Forest District Closed railway lines in London Great Eastern Railway Railway lines opened in 1903 History of the London Underground History of rail transport in London Railway branch lines