The branch lines – London to Ely
We now return to the London area to take in the secondary and branch lines along the route.
The station at Hackney Downs was opened on 27th May 1872 when the GER commenced operation on the first part of its new line from Enfield Town to Stoke Newington. This was an exercise to provide new routes to the expanding suburbs of north-east London and to give a faster journey time to Enfield, whose trains at that time were routed via Stratford and Angel Road. Just under a month later, another line opened linking Hackney Downs to Coppermill Junction just south of Tottenham Hale on what was then the main line to Cambridge. This new route offered a reduction in journey time for Cambridge and relieved congestion at Stratford. The route to Edmonton (on the existing Enfield branch line) fully opened on 1st August 1872 and the Chingford line was opened in November 1873. When the station opened it had two platforms and two centre roads. The station layout was changed in 1894 when the line between Bethnal Green and Hackney Downs was increased from two tracks to four tracks. The layout was changed to a four-platform pattern having two signal boxes. Ordered by the LNER from Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn Ltd (RSH), Class N7/1 No 69659 entered service as their No 940 in November 1927. Renumbered as 6959 in August 1946 it gained its BR number in March 1948 whilst allocated to Stratford from where it was withdrawn on 19th January 1959. The locomotive was reclassified as an N7/5 when its original boiler was replaced by one of a round top design, see image below, in place of the original Belpaire version.
R. C. Riley (RCR12955)
The footplate crew are looking out of the cab towards Dick Riley – perhaps they were forewarned of his presence – as their train departs from Hackney Downs station. Another product from RSH the following month No 69668 entered service as LNER No 970, being renumbered 6998 in December 1946. Rebuilt from the original N7/1 specification as an N7/5 in October 1950, No 69668 also spent its BR career at Stratford, being withdrawn on 10th September 1961. The lines through Hackney were electrified in the late 1950s with electric services commencing operation on 21st November 1960. The original 1872 signal box was replaced by a new one located on platforms 2 and 3 in May of the same year.
R. C. Riley (RCR12956)
On 12th July 1959 the Locomotive Club of Great Britain ran its Eastern Counties Ltd rail tour using Class D16/3 No 62613 for the Fenchurch Street-Cambridge leg. The train is seen here as it rounds the South Tottenham-Seven Sisters curve. After visiting a number of lines around Cambridgeshire and Norfolk No 62613 returned the train to Liverpool Street from Ely. No 62613 commenced life as a Class D16/1, No 1782, in June 1923. It was renumbered to 8782 in 1924, rebuilt as a Class D16/2 variant in May 1931, renumbered as 2613 in November 1946. To be rebuilt as a Class D16/3 and gained its BR number in December 1948. At the time of the rail tour it was allocated to Peterborough Spital Bridge depot, moving to March shed the following February to be withdrawn on 25th October 1960. A. E. Bennett (AEB5004)
The line between Kentish Town and Tottenham was opened by the Tottenham & Hampstead Junction Railway in 1868, that became a joint Midland / Great Eastern line in 1902. At Tottenham it connected with the former N&ER with a triangular junction, enabling a north/south connection. A train from the London Midland Region has Class 4P 2-6-4T No 42383 at its head. The locomotive was constructed at the Derby Works of the LMS, entering traffic on 7th July 1932. At nationalisation it was allocated to Kentish Town, leaving for Saltley in November 1954. It was withdrawn from Toton shed in October 1961, and was to survive for almost a year before scrapping in August 1962. R. E. Vincent (REV64C-3-2)
East into Essex
Immediately to the west of the major workshop and engine shed complex at Stratford was Channel Sea Curve junction that gave access to the Transit shed and carriage sidings to the north. With Liverpool Street having an intensive service an ‘easy’ way was required to move empty coaching stock (ecs) and locomotives; in this case two locomotives double-head an ecs working tender first. The leading locomotive, No 61603 Framlingham, was built by the NBL as a LNER Class B17/1 No 2803 that entered service on 13th December 1928. It was renumbered to 1603 in October 1946, having been rebuilt to B2 specification at Darlington earlier in the year. It gained its BR number in January 1949, whilst allocated to Cambridge, from where it was withdrawn on 8th September 1958. The second locomotive was a member of the ‘Claud Hamilton’ ‘D15’ class entering service in March 1904 as GER No 1858. It went through the usual LNER renumbering sequence – 8858 (1924), 7728 (January 1943) and 2549 (March 1946) before gaining its BR number in February 1949. It spent its LNER and BR careers wandering around East Anglia, being withdrawn off Cambridge depot on 12th December 1955. Seen early in the BR era both locomotives have the new company title spelt out on the tender. R. E. Vincent (REV52B-2-1)
Class J17 No 5508 at the head of a freight service heading in the Liverpool Street direction having passed through Stratford station. It entered traffic in November 1900 as Class J16 No 1158. It was renumbered to 8158 in 1924 and rebuilt as a Class J17 in June 1929. It gained the number seen here, 5508, in December 1946 becoming BR No 65508 in April 1951 – conveniently dating the image to this period. It spent is BR career allocated to Stratford depot from where it was withdrawn on 3rd June 1958. The leading mineral wagon carries Fife Coal branding. The Fife Coal Co was formed in 1872 to acquire the small Beath & Blairadam Colliery with its pits in Kelty, with its head office in Leven. For the whole of its operating life, the company was run by Charles Carlow and then his son C. Augustus Carlow. Output was expanded from an initial 70,000 tons a year to 4.3million in 1911 – becoming the largest coal company in Scotland. Post-World War 2 there were long term plans were for an ambitious increase in output to 6.25million tons by the early 1960s but this was soon overtaken by the nationalisation plans of the Labour Government. On the last day of 1946 the company was disestablished and the mining property and assets of the company were transferred to the National Coal Board the next day. The company was wound up in 1952. R. E. Vincent (REV52B-2-6)
Another of the first batch of Class B17/1s built by NBL was No 61605 Lincolnshire Regiment. Constructed as LNER No 2805 it entered service in December 1928, initially at Stratford before moving to Parkeston in January 1929. It was rebuilt to Class B17/6 specification in January 1948, gaining its BR number in April 1949, whilst allocated to Stratford from where it was withdrawn on 15th May 1958. The locomotive is at the head of a Liverpool Street-bound service with Stratford Works in the far distance. R. E. Vincent (REV58A-5-3)
At the head of an inter-regional freight service coming off the Lea Valley line is former Midland Railway Class 2441 (later Class 3F) No 47241. It was one of 20 built by Vulcan Foundry, entering traffic as 2762 in May 1902. It was renumbered to 1941 in 1907, and again by the LMS to 7241 in 1934. It gained its BR number in January 1950. The class had been built with a round-top boilers. These were later replaced by a Belpaire variation and raised cab roofs – the modifications were spread over the 1919-1942 period. Note the exhaust steam pipe from the smoke box to the doubleskinned side tanks where condensing takes place enabling the locomotives to work the underground sections of the Metropolitan Widened lines in London. Part of the control by which the driver selects condensing mode can be seen towards the bottom of the smokebox. The locomotive was allocated to the London Midland Region’s Kentish Town depot until late October 1960 when it was withdrawn from traffic. R. E. Vincent (REV58A-6-2)
The original THR line between Kirby Cross and Walton-on-the-Naze opened on 7th May 1867 and was operated by the GER who acquired the company and the adjacent Clacton-on-Sea Railway on 1st July 1883. The original route between Frinton and Walton was abandoned in 1929, being replaced by a line further in-land. The terminus is 70 miles 15 chains from London Liverpool Street. It was not until May 2007 that the station was renamed Walton-onthe-Naze to reflect properly the name of the town that it serves. Class N7 No 69732 stands at the head of a three coach local service on 7th September 1959. Constructed at Doncaster Works in December 1928 as LNER No 2630, it was renumbered as 9732 in November 1946. It gained its BR number in December 1949 whilst allocated to Stratford depot. The locomotive carries a 30E shed plate that shows it was allocated to Colchester depot, where it had arrived in November 1953 before departing for Parkeston Quay in November 1959. Transferred to Stratford shed in January 1960, it was withdrawn from there on 10th September 1961. S. Summerson (SUM169)
A busy scene at Walton-on-theNaze on 20th October 1956 with Class N7s to the fore. On the left No 69676 has arrived with a local service, whilst on the right No 69703 prepares to depart with the 3.55pm service. No 69676 emerged from Gorton Works in December 1927 as LNER Class N7/2 No 2636, being renumbered to 9676 in August and rebuilt to Class N7/3 specification the following month. It was withdrawn from Stratford depot on 16th February 1959. No 69703 was new from Doncaster Works, as a Class N7/3, in November 1927 as LNER 2601 and was renumbered to 9703 in September 1946, gaining its BR number whilst allocated to Ipswich. It was withdrawn from Stratford shed on 1st January 1959 as part of the cull that followed the introduction of electric services. The station lost its freight services on 7th December 1964.
L. R. Freeman (LRF2479)
The line to Brightlingsea was built by the Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea Railway that opened on 18th April 1866. The company was a separate organisation, but associated with the Tendring Hundred Railway that had built the line from Colchester to Wivenhoe. The GER soon negotiated to buy both the THR and the Clacton-on-Sea Railway, and they became part of the GER on 1st July 1883. The Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea was absorbed by the GER on 9th June 1893. Class J15 No 65468 is seen at the head of a mixed train having just crossed the swing bridge that gave access to Alresford Creek. Dating from May 1912, as GER No 570, the locomotive was renumbered to 7570 (1924) and again in November 1946 to 5468. It gained its BR number in March 1949 whilst allocated to Stratford. It moved to Colchester in June 1950 from where it was withdrawn on 30th September 1959. I. C. Allen (E4093)
Class J15 No 65432 waits for departure time at Brightlingsea on 3rd September 1956. The locomotive emerged from the Works during May 1899 as GER No 512, being renumbered as 7512 (1924) and then to 5432 in September 1946. It arrived at Colchester depot in August 1950 from where it was withdrawn on 10th March 1958. The line suffered from the floods of 1953 and was temporarily closed between 1st February and 7th December. As with many branch lines the service was identified for closure in the Beeching Report of 1963 and was eventually axed on 15th June 1964. This was supposedly prompted by the high costs of maintaining the railway swing bridge over Alresford Creek, which was necessary to allow boat traffic to the many sand and gravel pits in the area. S. Summerson (SUM168)
This volume follows on from the author’s Steam on the Great Eastern: Norfolk and Suffolk, taking in the lines to the north and east from London’s Liverpool Street station looking through the lenses of various photographers during the post World War 2 era. Along with the former Great Eastern Railway main lines, inter-regional, secondary and branch lines are covered, all of which contributed to the varied nature of steam operations during the period covered. Services covered range from passenger and freight originating from the industrial midlands, to the continental traffic with boat trains to Harwich Parkeston Quay. Also of importance to the GER, and its successors were the ‘Jazz’ services reaching into the suburbs from Liverpool Street. With frequent services to the East End of London, the Docklands and the capital’s eastern suburbs, these had a much greater proportion of those working in manufacturing industries, general labourers and lower-ranking office workers than other companies serving London. The suburban network to the north of London including the lines to Buntingford and Ongar are covered – together with those further serving the countryside. This volume is a fitting companion to the author’s earlier work on former Great Eastern lines.
Published by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd.
£14.95
