Oracle
In memoriam
RIP 2012
Writing is such sweet sorrow: like heck it is!
Posts: 3,234
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Post by Oracle on Dec 6, 2011 8:51:05 GMT
Didn't the station also get busy after the programme aired about foreign invading animals that featured European Scorpions at Ongar?
I only traversed the line once, as there was a BMW motorcyle dealer, Ongar Motorcycles along the road from the station. I travelled from Hounslow to get there!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2011 9:35:17 GMT
That was a chap called Fred (cannot recall his second name). He ended up as Revenue Control Inspector at Leyton. He would happily recall the story to anyone who showed an interest. In 1979 he lived near Ongar station and was at the time the Station Foreman. While he was working there, LT announced the decision to close the line. So Fred concerned about the loss of his Station, cooked up a plan to attract attention to Ongar station.
Fred travelled to Camden and bought some non poisonous Scorpions. He placed them near the headwall end of the platform while no one was looking. Then when passengers, arrived proceeded to make a fuss as if he had discovered a rare species of Essex Scorpions.
Soon the local paper caught the story and decided to run with it as their front page article. Fred was most pleased! The story was then picked up by the BBC who decided to send David Attenborough to Ongar to film them for a segment on the Wildlife On One show. Fred claims that by then the scorpions had died off, so the crew bought their own along and faked the shots for telly.
Despite bringing their own Scorpions the film crew were entirely unaware that they had been duped.
For many years the hoax remained a secret. And I think it still regularly appears when TV shows discuss well orchestrated hoaxes.
Fred retired from LUL in the early 90s. Soon after that Ongar closed.
Dean
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Post by redsetter on Dec 8, 2011 10:02:00 GMT
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