EMU 710 106 on the "Liberty Line" at Romford.
As part of a few days travelling around London picking up required lines that have opened in the last few years it was also a chance to re-visit some of the more obscure lines as well.
A case in point is the route between Romford and Upminster depicted above. Technically this line is an isolated stand alone service linking Romford to Upminster with one intermediate station. The route is now known as the 'Liberty Line' as it's overseen by Transport for London. The title was bestowed on the line as it passes through a once rural area that was granted a Royal Liberty as far back as 1465 which exempted inhabitants from certain taxes. Now in the London Borough of Havering the line is firmly in commuter land. Transport for London have never gone for route numbers on the underground or more recently the expanded overground network so there were quite a few new names I wasn't familiar with for what were once parts of the London suburban network.
My records show I first covered the line on 31st March 1984 in a Craven's class 105 DMU when it was something of a Cinderella service. It has long since been electrified and now enjoys a decent half hourly frequency shuttle service using one class 710 EMU. The line is a single track branch as there is no physical connection at Upminster out of bay platform 6. Only empty stock uses the mainline connection at Romford and ECS workings to or from Ilford Depot all shunt at Romford Junction to access the bay platform. All Upminster trains thus operate out of isolated platform 1 at the eastern end of the station.
Here 710 106 is arriving with 2V25 the 11.55 ex Upminster.
EMU 710 106 on the "Liberty Line" at Romford.
As part of a few days travelling around London picking up required lines that have opened in the last few years it was also a chance to re-visit some of the more obscure lines as well.
A case in point is the route between Romford and Upminster depicted above. Technically this line is an isolated stand alone service linking Romford to Upminster with one intermediate station. The route is now known as the 'Liberty Line' as it's overseen by Transport for London. The title was bestowed on the line as it passes through a once rural area that was granted a Royal Liberty as far back as 1465 which exempted inhabitants from certain taxes. Now in the London Borough of Havering the line is firmly in commuter land. Transport for London have never gone for route numbers on the underground or more recently the expanded overground network so there were quite a few new names I wasn't familiar with for what were once parts of the London suburban network.
My records show I first covered the line on 31st March 1984 in a Craven's class 105 DMU when it was something of a Cinderella service. It has long since been electrified and now enjoys a decent half hourly frequency shuttle service using one class 710 EMU. The line is a single track branch as there is no physical connection at Upminster out of bay platform 6. Only empty stock uses the mainline connection at Romford and ECS workings to or from Ilford Depot all shunt at Romford Junction to access the bay platform. All Upminster trains thus operate out of isolated platform 1 at the eastern end of the station.
Here 710 106 is arriving with 2V25 the 11.55 ex Upminster.