The Epping Ongar Railway is a heritage railway in south-west Essex, England, run by a small number of paid staff and a team of volunteers. It was the final section of the Great Eastern Railway branch line, later the London Underground's Central line from Loughton via Epping to Ongar, with intermediate stations at North Weald and Blake Hall. The line was closed by London Underground in 1994 and sold in 1998. It reopened between 2004 and 2007 as a preserved railway, offering a volunteer-run Class 117 DMU service between Ongar and Coopersale. A change of ownership in 2007 led to the line being closed for restoration to a heritage steam railway, which opened on 25 May 2012. Early workings The line to Ongar was opened in 1865 by the Great Eastern Railway, as an extension to its line from Stratford to Loughton that had been opened in 1856 by its predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway. The extension was single-track, but whereas the Loughton to Epping section was doubled in the 1890s, the section between Epping and Ongar always remained single, apart from a passing loop at North Weald on opening. The eastern end of the loop was severed in 1888, converting it into a siding. About 14 trains each day went to Ongar; the rest terminated at Loughton or Epping. This remained the case until 1949, when the London Passenger Transport Board's New Works scheme extended the Central line to Epping using electric trains, taking over the railway from British Railways. The Epping-Ongar branch lost its through trains to London, and there was a shuttle service between Epping (to connect with trains to London) and Ongar; for eight years, there was the unusual sight of steam trains and London Underground electric multiple units side by side at Epping. The steam shuttle was hired by London Transport from British Railways, as it was felt there was no justification for electrification to Ongar unless patronage of the branch rose. Upon taking over the branch in 1949, London Transport re-converted the siding at North Weald into a passing loop and built a second platform to serve a new westbound track. In the 1950s, there were attempts to improve the service on the branch, and it was electrified in 1957. Due to the low-cost electrification, although the branch could support eight-car trains as far as North Weald, a maximum of four cars could run