View source for Ongar railway station

{{Short description|Former London Underground station}}
{{For|the railway station in Pakistan|Ongar (Pakistan) railway station}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Ongar
| type                = Station on [[heritage railway]]
| image               = Ongar_station_building_2012.JPG
| caption             = Ongar station after re-opening in 2012
| borough             = [[Chipping Ongar]], [[Epping Forest (district)|Epping Forest]]
| country             = England
| coordinates         = {{coord|51|42|32|N|0|14|34|E|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline,title|format=dec}}
| grid_name           = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position       = {{gbmapscaled|TL550034|25|TL550034}}
| operator            = [[Epping Ongar Railway]]
| platforms           = 1
| original            = [[Great Eastern Railway]]
| pregroup            = Great Eastern Railway
| postgroup           = [[London and North Eastern Railway]]
| years               = {{start date|1865|04|24|df=y}}
| events              = Station opened
| years1              = 25 September 1949
| events1             = Transferred to LT Central line
| years2              = 18 November 1957
| events2             = Electrified
| years3              = 18 April 1966
| events3             = Goods yard closed<ref name=UN591>Hardy 2011, pp. 175-183.</ref>
| years4              = 30 September 1994
| events4             = Station closed
| years5              = November 2004
| events5             = Reopened in preservation by Epping Ongar Railway Volunteer Rail Society
| years6              = December 2007
| events6             = Station closed
| years7              = 25 May 2012
| events7             = Reopened by Epping Ongar Railway
}}
'''Ongar railway station''' is a station on the [[Epping Ongar Railway]] [[heritage railway|heritage line]], and a former [[London Underground]] station in the town of [[Chipping Ongar]], [[Essex]]. It was opened in 1865 by the Great Eastern Railway, and became part of [[London Transport Executive|London Transport]] in 1949. Until its closure as such in 1994, it was the easternmost point of the [[Central line (London Underground)|Central line]] and the eastern buffers remain the point from which all distances on the London Underground are measured.

==History==
[[File:Ongar Station, with push-&-pull train to Epping geograph-2361941-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|left|9 March 1957, Ongar station still served with steam traction]]
[[File:Ongar 4 77.jpg|left|thumb|Ongar station in April 1977]]
[[File:Ongar railway station in 1980.jpg|left|thumb|London Underground train calls at the station in 1980]]
[[File:Ongar Tube Station.jpg|left|thumb|Ongar station, with the sign of the present operator, Epping Ongar Railway (EOR)]]
The station was opened by the [[Great Eastern Railway]] on 24 April 1865,<ref name=CULG1>{{cite web |first=Clive |last=Feather |date=31 March 2011 |url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/central.html#dates |title=Central line, Dates |work=Clive's Underground Line Guides |access-date=18 March 2008}}</ref> serving principally as a goods station taking agricultural produce from the nearby farms into central London. On 25 September 1949, London Underground services took over the operation of the station from [[British Rail]]ways when services were extended from [[Loughton tube station|Loughton]].<ref name=CULG1/>

Although the rest of the branch was [[Railway electrification system|electrified]] by London Underground before operations were taken over from British Railways, trains on the section north of [[Epping tube station|Epping]] continued to be hauled by [[steam locomotive]]s as a separate shuttle service. The service was operated by British Railways for the Underground until 18 November 1957, when the line was electrified and electric trains took over from steam.<ref>Lee 1970, p. 31.</ref> The low power supply prevented the Epping to Ongar section being fully integrated into the line and it continued to operate as a shuttle service.<ref name=CULG2>{{cite web |first=Clive |last=Feather |date=31 March 2011 |url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/central.html#history |title=Central Line, History |work=Clive's Underground Line Guides |access-date=18 March 2008}}</ref>

The entire Epping to Ongar branch was a [[Single track (rail)|single track]] line with one [[Passing loop|passing place]] at [[North Weald railway station|North Weald station]], although this loop was taken out of service between 1888 and 1949, and again from 1976. Between 1949 and 1976 two Tube trains could use the branch, although they were limited to four cars in length because of the restriction on the available traction current, as well as by the restricted platform lengths at North Weald and Blake Hall. The service was reduced to one train after the southbound track at North Weald was lifted. It was therefore never suitable for heavy use, and the line was reportedly never profitable. For much of its latter years, the service only operated during Monday to Friday peak hours, and London Transport closed [[Blake Hall tube station|Blake Hall station]], the least used on the entire system, in 1981. The line itself continued in use and there was a brief re-introduction of all day services in 1990. However, a system wide cost-cutting exercise saw the service return to peak hours soon afterwards, with an even more skeletal service than before. The line was under threat of closure for many years, and it was finally closed on 30 September 1994.

==Epping Ongar Railway==
[[File:Epping Ongar Railway Line Map.svg|thumb|left|Ongar station as part of the Epping Ongar Railway]]
{{main|Epping Ongar Railway}}

The station and the line are now in the ownership of a private company, Epping Ongar Railway Ltd who, at time of purchase, publicly stated their intention to run commuter services again, but the claimed lack of platform availability at London Underground's Epping station at the west end of the line has to date proven an insuperable obstacle to this. The Epping Ongar Railway Volunteer Rail Society ran heritage trains on Sundays over the former Epping and Ongar line from 2004 until 2007, when the line was closed following a change in ownership.<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Skinner |year=2011 |url=http://eorailway.co.uk/your-visit/history/ |title=Epping Ongar Railway - Line history |access-date=5 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422181605/http://eorailway.co.uk/your-visit/history/ |archive-date=22 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[File:Ongar EOR Roundel.svg|right|thumb|EOR totem]]
The line was reopened to the public on 25 May 2012.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thomas |first=Cliff |date=July 2012  |title=Essex railway becomes Britain's newest steam line |journal=[[The Railway Magazine]] |volume=158 |issue=1335 |page=9 |location=Horncastle |publisher=Mortons Media Group |editor-first=Nick |editor-last=Pigott |editor-link=Nick Pigott |issn=0033-8923 }}</ref>

Ongar Station, as with the rest of the 6.05-mile branch reaching to the outskirts of Epping station, is currently{{clarify timeframe|date=January 2017}} undergoing significant improvement and infrastructure works. These are designed with the long-term future of the branch and to enable the use of locomotive-hauled trains (hauled by steam and diesel locomotives), all in keeping with its use as a heritage railway.
The station itself has been extensively restored by the teams of volunteers, with all the rooms being restored to their original layouts, opening up bricked up doorways and windows, and restoring the station to Great Eastern Railway colours (believed to be the only original operational GER station in its original colours). Within the station the former Parcels Office will be a museum and educational display.

In addition a GER signalbox, originally located at [[Spellbrook]], has been rescued and rebuilt to replace the Ongar signalbox demolished by LU in the 1980s, and the platform is being improved to facilitate access.

Local bus services connecting Ongar railway station to [[Brentwood, Essex|Brentwood]], [[Chelmsford]], [[Epping, Essex|Epping]] and [[Harlow]] are provided by [[NIBS Buses]], Central Connect and [[First Essex]]. The station is also occasionally served by heritage bus route 339, operated by the Epping Ongar Railway, which serves the [[Shenfield railway station|Shenfield]], Ongar and Epping stations using a fleet of preserved London Transport buses.<ref>{{Cite news|last=O'Brien |first=Zoie |url=https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/10389922.vintage-bus-returns-routes/ |title=A bus which used to run the 339 route in Epping Forest is to return, this weekend |work=East London and West Essex Guardian Series |date=30 April 2013|access-date=28 December 2022}}</ref>

==Other information==
The sand drag at the very end of the rails — intended to help slow trains that overshot the stopping mark — was said to be home to a breed of harmless [[scorpion]] and featured in a 1979 episode of the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Wildlife on One]]''. They had been released there by a station foreman who was a keeper of exotic pets.<ref>{{cite web |first=James |last=Lyons |date=20 January 2007 |url=http://www.eohistory.bravehost.com/few.html |title=Epping Ongar Railway History - Ongar station |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708091522/http://www.eohistory.bravehost.com/few.html|archive-date=8 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=David|last=Bowen |date=9 July 1995 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/theres-life-in-the-old-track-yet-1590512.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/theres-life-in-the-old-track-yet-1590512.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=There's life in the old track yet |access-date=28 September 2014 |work=The Independent }}</ref> The sand drag has since been removed. A scorpion has since been sighted in the wild, ten miles north of Ongar, in April 2010, although this is thought to be unrelated.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Snow|first1=Keith|title=Scorpion found in the Ongar area|journal=Ongar Wildlife Society|date=August 2010|issue=16|url=http://www.ongarwildlifesociety.org.uk/documents/newsletters/newsletter-16.pdf|access-date=16 February 2015}}</ref>

In 1971–72 the London underground network was remeasured in kilometres using Ongar as its zero point.<ref name=CULG3>{{cite web |first=Clive |last=Feather |date=2 April 2011 |url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/intro.html |title=Introduction - Kilometrage |work=Clive's Underground Line Guides |access-date=22 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|title = London Underground, 10th edition
|first1 = John
|last1 = Glover
|publisher = Ian Allan
|year = 2003
|isbn = 0-7110-2935-0
|page = [https://archive.org/details/londonsundergrou1000glov/page/109 109]
|url = https://archive.org/details/londonsundergrou1000glov/page/109
}}</ref><!-- Gives the year--><ref>{{cite book
|title = London Underground, 11th edition
|first1 = John
|last1 = Glover
|publisher = Ian Allan
|year = 2011
|isbn = 978-0-7110-3429-7
|page = 100}}</ref>

The Royal Navy's [[Mark 24 Tigerfish|Tigerfish torpedo]] was known as Project ONGAR during development.<ref>Public Record Office ADM 290/289</ref>

There were various ill-fated attempts mainly by the [[Great Eastern Railway]] later the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] to extend beyond Ongar station in the past including to [[Great Dunmow]], [[Bury St Edmunds]] via Great Dunmow and back on to the GER mainline at [[Chelmsford railway station|Chelmsford]] by way of [[Margaretting]]. There were also a few light railway schemes like the Hedingham & Long Melford Railway and others that proposed a route from Ongar to [[Yeldham railway station|Yeldham]] at [[Great Yeldham]] via Great Dunmow, [[Haverhill, Suffolk|Haverhill]] and [[Shenfield]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Alan A |title=London's Local Railways |date=22 March 1999 |publisher=Capital Transport Publishing |isbn=1854142097 |edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Abercrombie |first1=Patrick |title=Greater London plan 1944 |date=January 1, 1944 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Off}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=THE COLONEL 65 Winter 2001 |url=https://colonelstephenssociety.co.uk/onewebmedia/Colonel%2065.pdf |website=Colonel Stephens Society}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of former and unopened London Underground stations]]

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite journal |editor1-first=Brian |editor1-last=Hardy |title=How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago |journal=Underground News |date=March 2011 |issue=591 |pages=175–183 |publisher=London Underground Railway Society |issn=0306-8617}}
* {{cite book |last=Lee |first=Charles Edward |year=1970 |title=Seventy Years of the Central |location=London |publisher=London Transport |isbn=0-85329-013-X}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ongar railway station}}
* {{cite web |first=Clive |last=Feather |title=Central Line |url=http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/central.html |work=Clive's Underground Line Guides |access-date=18 March 2008}}
* {{cite web |first=James |last=Lyons |date=20 January 2007 |title=Epping Ongar Railway History |url=http://www.eohistory.bravehost.com/index.html |access-date=22 May 2011 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708091712/http://www.eohistory.bravehost.com/index.html |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web |first=Paul |last=Skinner |year=2011 |url=http://www.eorailway.co.uk/ |title=Epping Ongar Railway |access-date=5 July 2010}} Epping Ongar Railway's Official Website
* [http://www.ltmcollection.org/photos/results/results.html?IXsearch=ongar&button=GO%21 London Transport Museum Photographic Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416002412/http://www.ltmcollection.org/photos/results/results.html?IXsearch=ongar&button=GO! |date=16 April 2016 }}
**{{LTM archive|1998-87132|Ongar station when operated by the London and North Eastern Railway, 1935}}
**{{LTM archive|2001-16576|View of platform, 1980}}
* [http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/Ongar_Branch_2.html#Ongar London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Ongar station]
* [http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/Ongar_Branch.html London's Abandoned Tube Stations - Epping to Ongar branch]

{{Adjacent stations|noclear=y
  |system1=Heritage railways/UK
    |line1=Epping Ongar Railway|left1=North Weald
  |header2=Historical railways
  |system3=London Underground
    |line3=Central|note-mid3=Epping-Ongar branch|left3=Blake Hall|to-left3=Epping
  |note-row4={{rail line|previous=[[Blake Hall tube station|Blake Hall]]<br /><small>Line open, station closed</small>|route=[[Great Eastern Railway]]<br /><small>Loughton-Ongar</small>|col={{GER colour}}}}
  }}

{{closed london underground stations}}
{{Central line navbox}}

[[Category:Disused London Underground stations]]
[[Category:Heritage railway stations in Essex]]
[[Category:Transport in Epping Forest District]]
[[Category:Former Great Eastern Railway stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1865]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1994]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2004]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 2007]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2012]]
[[Category:Former single platform tube stations]]
[[Category:Epping Ongar Railway]]
[[Category:Chipping Ongar]]