to Ongar. The voltage drop along the end-fed line was too great to support full-length trains, and the short platforms were not long enough to support eight-car trains. Hence the Epping to Ongar branch was normally operated as an isolated extension of the Central line, with a few through workings south to Loughton. However, for two days every year there were through trains from London to North Weald, for the North Weald airshow, on the Saturday and Sunday of its opening at the aerodrome almost adjacent to the station. The normal Epping to Ongar shuttle dovetailed with this service, passing the terminating trains on the adjacent line during its westbound journey. The through trains were operated as extra trains on the normal weekend Central line timetables, only four cars long due to the restricted platform length at North Weald. Cutbacks and closure From the late 1960s, it became clear that the line's patronage was not growing as had been expected, mainly due to restriction of development in what was now designated Metropolitan Green Belt land. Even at its peak in 1971, the 650 passengers daily hardly made the line an economic proposition. London Underground tried to close the entire line in 1980, but a reduced service was implemented instead, along with the closing of Blake Hall on Sundays. North Weald's platform one was closed in 1976; then the passing loop/westbound track was lifted in 1978. Until that time, the station was controlled from the original Eastern Counties Railway signal box, which is still sited on the westbound platform, now fully restored. North Weald was the last section of the London Underground to be signalled with mechanical semaphore signals. When Blake Hall was closed in 1981, it was said to be handling only six customers a day. The station building survives as a private dwelling. On 30 September 1994, the line was closed. It was making a loss of £7 for each passenger journey and was in need of some expensive maintenance work. At the time of closure the line was carrying a mere 80 passengers a day. Local lore had it that the line was being kept open in case the Cabinet needed to be evacuated to the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker at Doddinghurst. The track was left intact along with the stations, but not maintained. The last Underground train used on the branch, a three-car unit of 1960