Will an Underground train operate again to Ongar?

AREDUNDANTIsleofWight tube trainmaybe givenathird lease of life back in serviceonaformer part of London Underground.

The newly- formed London Transport Traction Group ( LTTG) wants to acquire one of the soon- tobe- withdrawn 1938 tube stock units from the Island Line and run it on the EppingOngar Railway ( EOR).

While the electrified rails from the heritage line were lifted following its purchase by Pilot Developments in 1998, the group aims to run the selected unit under battery or other internal power, rather than operate it as locomotive- hauled stock.

Island Line has six Class 483 units, but just one is now in regular use, with one recently taken out of service and the others used to scavenge for spare parts.

The aim is to save one of the two complete trains, subject to the cost of shipping it to London.

A group statement said: “The preservation of a Class 483 unit is the reasonwhy the group was established in the first instance. Negotiations are currently ongoing.

“We are nowworking with the EOR to provide a place for a preserved unit to operate in an appropriate environment. As well as telling the story of the Class 483 units and the 1938 stock, this will celebrate the EOR’s tube heritage and provide exciting new opportunities for both organisations.”

Introduction

Underground tube trainswere famously introduced to the Isle ofWight following the withdrawal of steam traction and the closureof the Ryde to Shanklin line onNewYear’s Eve 1966.

While the line was closed, the trackbed in Ryde Tunnel was raised to reduce flooding and decrease gradients. The tunnel ceiling was left 10in too low for standard national network vehicle types to clear and so the tube stock with its lower height was chosen.

The units were refurbished between 1989- 92 and recategorised as Class 483. However, in September 2019 it was confirmed that a

£ 26 million investment in the island’s railways would see five Class 484 replace the life- expired Class 483s, which had become unreliable. The new trains are being built by Vivarail as third- rail units using Underground D78 stock bodyshells. The track will be upgraded, too.

The northernmost section of the Central Line from Epping to Chipping Ongar had been seen as uneconomic from the late 1960s, and even at its highest point of 1971, only 650 passengers used it each day. When the intermediate station of Blake Hall was closed in 1981, it was handling only six passengers a day. The section finally closed on September 30, 1994.

Following the sale to Pilot, which had said it would reintroduced commuter services, the line reopened between 2004- 7 with a volunteer- run Class 117 DMU service between Ongar and Coopersale.

A change of ownership in 2007 led to the line being restored as a heritage steam railway.

Links

The lastUnderground train used on the branch, a three- car 1960 stockunit, has been preservedbyCravens Heritage Trains. It returned to the line in 2014, to mark the 20th anniversaryof the line’s closureby the Underground.

An EOR spokesman said: “Given our strong links with the Underground, we’re very excited about the possibility of seeing a unit like this run under its own power.

“We have had informal discussions with the LTTG and look forward to seeing more details soon.

“Though we are some way away, the concept of bringing tube rolling stock back to our line is something that we support – after all we did just that in 2014!”