Bishop's Stortford–Braintree branch line

Bishop's Stortford –Braintree branch line
Braintree branch line to Witham Braintree Rayne Bannister Green Halt Felsted Dunmow Easton Lodge Takeley Stane Street Halt Hockerill Halt Bishop's Stortford West Anglia Main Line

The Bishop's Stortford–Braintree branch line was an 18-mile-long (29 km) line connecting the towns of Bishop's Stortford, Dunmow and Braintree.

History

The line was originally one of several schemes promoted in the 19th century, which included north-south routes connecting Great Dunmow with Epping, Halstead and/or Saffron Walden. The route of the built line was proposed by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1859, the line from Bishop's Stortford, Dunmow and Braintree was eventually built by Great Eastern Railway who had since absorbed ECR. Construction started in 1864 and the route opened on 22 February 1869. The line initially served Takeley, Felstead and Rayne with Easton Lodge being added in 1894, Hockerill in 1910, and finally Stane Street and Bannister Green in 1922.^[1]

The line was almost entirely single track apart from at Bishop's Stortford, Dunmow, Takeley, Rayne and Braintree where there were passing loops. Goods sidings were provided at Hockerill Halt, Takeley, Easton Lodge (for supply of US Air Force bases at Stansted and Easton Lodge), Dunmow, Felsted (for general, and use of sugar beet factory) and Rayne.

Major features included a viaduct crossing the River Chelmer to the south of Great Dunmow which was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the A1256 Great Dunmow bypass.

Passenger numbers were at decent levels when the line first opened, but increasing competition from bus and road transport meant trains were running almost empty near the end of its serving life; it closed to passengers on 3 March 1952. The line remained open for freight until the end of 1971 before closing completely in 1972. Most of the line formation remains as the Flitch Way country park though the tracks have been taken up. It has become a favourite route for joggers and cyclists.^[2]

Future developments

There have been several proposals to reopen the line but none has come close to being realised.^[1]

References

Further reading

• Peter Paye, (2010). Bishop's Stortford, Dunmow and Braintree Branch. Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-708-2. 
• David Gridley, (2016). Lost And Found, Journey to a Forgotten Railway. Slowcoach Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9564128-1-2. 

External links

Railway lines in the East of England
Primary	North–South East Coast Main Line Hertford North Stevenage Peterborough Midland Main Line Luton Airport Parkway Luton Bedford West Coast Main Line Watford Junction London–Norwich Great Eastern Main Line Shenfield Chelmsford Witham Marks Tey Colchester Manningtree Ipswich Norwich
Secondary	Hertford Loop Line Lea Valley lines London, Tilbury and Southend Line Thameslink Watford DC line West Anglia Main Line Cambridge West London Route
Others	Abbey line Birmingham–Peterborough line Bittern Line Braintree branch line Breckland line Crouch Valley line East Suffolk line Ely–Peterborough line Felixstowe branch line Fen line Gainsborough line Hertford East branch line Hitchin–Cambridge line Ipswich–Ely line Marston Vale line Mayflower line Peterborough–Lincoln line Shenfield–Southend line Sunshine Coast Line Wherry Lines
Heritage	Colne Valley Railway Epping Ongar Railway Lincolnshire Wolds Railway Mid-Norfolk Railway North Norfolk Railway Mangapps Farm Railway Mid-Suffolk Light Railway