neilw
now that's what I call a garden railway
Posts: 284
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Post by neilw on Nov 14, 2008 13:38:59 GMT
Browsing through "Branch line to Ongar" by Jim Connor, I notice from the 1914 OS map that the old above-ground line to Stratford follows exactly the same alignment as the current tunnel ramp does. I always believed the Central alignment was to the East of the GER line, but comparing the OS map with current on-line maps, the gardens on Westdown Road appear the same length today as they were then, as if the old line was taken but "buried". Anyone have any clues?
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Post by ribaric on Nov 14, 2008 13:48:30 GMT
I believe the BR link was slewed over to the west to make space for the tunnel ramp. If you stand on top of the tunnel portal (maybe not nowadays though) and look south, it looks like there used to be an alignment which leads straight to the portal, my guess is that would be the original alignment for the Loughton branch.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2009 16:09:11 GMT
The alignment is indeed almost identical. The surface alignment was last used by an operational train in 1971, before being taken out early 1972. Interestingly, passenger trains outlived freight, 1965/6 for freight and 1971 for passengers.
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