Press

In the first instance, all press enquiries should be directed to our railway switchboard on 01277 365 200. During weekdays, we are normally able to answer questions and provide comments or interviews between 9am to 5pm. Alternatively please email press@eorailway.co.uk. We aim to reply to all press enquiries within 2 working days.

Press releases regarding all aspects of the railway's operation and announcing major developments are on our News page.

You can subscribe to our RSS feeds, Twitter (@eorailway) or become our friend on Facebook, which are regularly updated with the latest news.

There are regular updates on the huge variety of works being undertaken by volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to restore and preserve the railway on our "Department Diary". Please contact the railway switchboard, where we can put you in touch with the project leaders or individuals involved for comments and quotes.

High resolution pictures are always available covering all aspects of the railways work, latest developments and historic pictures of the branch from our archives team.

We are pleased to accommodate pre-booked photographers onto site. Please get in touch with the railway, using the details above, to arrange a mutually convenient time for their visit. Due to health and safety photographers need to sign in and be escorted when in the "line-side" areas (outside of the public areas). We would also appreciate an indication of the publication date or a copy, for our archives team to hold a copy of the article.

Background Information for Editors (to be read in conjunction with press releases):

  • Epping Ongar Railway owns and operates the railway between Ongar, through North Weald, to the boundary adjacent to the London Underground Central Line.
  • The railway was opened in 1865, operated by London Underground from 1949 and passenger services were withdrawn by LU in 1994.
  • EOR is committed to once again enabling people to travel by rail from Epping to Ongar, providing both services for visitors and for local people, run by local people.
  • EOR operates a heritage bus link which connects North Weald to Epping tube station, to assist visitors arriving from London, and our buses link other local events and places of interest. These are also available for private hire, media events or corporate use.
  • Like other heritage railway's, the railway is predominantly staffed by volunteers, without whom the railway would be unable to operate heritage services.
  • EOR offers a wide range of volunteering opportunities, suited to all ages and abilities. The majority of our volunteers are not from a railway background, and the railway prides itself in having a diverse range of ages (from 18 to 80s) and rewarding tasks for both males and females; whether that is operating trains, working in the ticket offices, retail/catering or maintaining the infrastructure and lineside areas.
  • The station and signalbox at Ongar has been carefully restored into Great Eastern Railway period (1880-1930s), and is the only original, operational GER station in its original colours. The interiors have been painstakingly restored to return the rooms to their original layouts and, as far as practicable, original features incorporated.
  • North Weald station and signalbox has been restored into London & North Eastern and British Railways (Eastern) (1930-1960s) colours, again restoring the station back to its original layout to ensure an authentic visitor experience.
  • EOR aspires to operate a wide range of services, both to cater for a wide range of passengers as well as filming work, charter trains, visiting guest locomotives, Santa Specials, provide training facilities for the rail industry and fulfilling childhood dreams through red letter "driver experience" days.

Further details on our collection of rolling stock, signalling and infrastructure is available.

THANK YOUS

Sponsorship, Assistance and Donations: There are many local and some national companies who have very kindly assisted the railway as we work to once again run services to Epping. We would like to formally acknowledge the generous sponsorship and assistance of the following companies:

Website: Our website is hosted by Paul-Skinner.com and maintained by and Jackie Kelly. All opinions and statements on our web site are that of the volunteers and not Epping Ongar Railway Ltd.

For those in the know, this website is W3C web-standards compliant to the XHTML 1.0 Strict Doctype almost all the time, as well as the CSS 2.1 standard. We constantly do our best to make it accessible to all.

Sponsorship and Donations: We acknowledge the generous sponsorship and assistance of the following companies:

Carilion Rail: By far our biggest sponsors, Carillon Rail have donated over 700 tonnes of ballast and numerous rail sleepers and points.

Paul-Skinner.com, for hosting our website and general web assistance.

LimehouseLighting.com - Limehouse Lighting kindly made the lamps for Ongar's Grade II listed station, carefully making them the correct size and dimensions to match in with the original Great Eastern picture rail, emphasising the period feel to the station through careful "gas effect" lighting.

www.PeriodStyleLighting.co.uk - Period Style Lighting went to great efforts to adjust some of their excellent products to suit the lighting requirements at Ongar, and provided some excellent "gasolia" style globes, which when fitted with spiral low energy bulbs, really look like the gas light mantels that would have been originally fitted. This local firm even found and fitted "gas taps" to the dropper rods and donated an original street-lamp which the volunteers are restoring for use on one of the platforms.

Emerson Crane Hire
Emerson House, Freshwater Road,
Dagenham,
Essex. RM8 1RX
Tel: 020 8548 3900
Fax: 020 8548 3999
E-mail: info@emersoncranes.com
Website: www.emersoncranes.co.uk

Hornchurch Electrical Wholesalers Ltd, for discounted electrical supplies
63-65 Station Lane,
Hornchurch,
Essex. RM12 6JU
Tel: 01708 458 213
Fax: 01708 478 722

Hire One (St.Albans) Ltd, for hiring of equipment
204 Watford Road,
Chiswell Green,
St.Albans,
Herts. AL2 3EB
Tel: 01727 857395

Motor Parts Direct (for electrical engineering and motor parts)
1 Sovereign Park,
Cranes Farm Road,
Basildon,
Essex SS14 3HE
Tel: 01268 272318
Website: www.mpdonline.co.uk

Ashstead Plant known as A-Plant Rail (for discounted tools, equipment and advertising sponsorship)
Unit F4
Hubert Road Ind Estate
Brentwood
Essex. CM14 4JE
Tel 01277 848842
Fax: 01277 263805
Website: www.aplant.com

Ford Motor Company (Dunton) (for their personnel services)

MC Electronics Ltd. (for discounted Railway Safety Equipment)
61 Grimsdyke Road
Hatch End
Middlesex HA5 4PP
Tel:020 8428 2027
E-mail: ,
Website: www.mcelectronics.co.uk