Loughton tube station

Loughton London Underground
Station entrance
Loughton
Location of Loughton in Essex
Location Loughton
Local authority District of Epping Forest
Managed by London Underground
Number of platforms 3
Fare zone 6
London Underground annual entry and exit
2013 Increase 3.17 million[1]
2014 Increase 3.26 million[1]
2015 Increase 3.27 million[1]
2016 Increase 3.45 million[1]
2017 Increase 3.58 million[1]
Key dates
1856 First station opened
1865 Second station opened
1940 Third (present) station opened
18 April 1966 Goods yard closed[2]
Listed status
Listing grade II
Entry number 1141221[3]
Added to list 17 May 1994
Other information
Lists of stations
External links
WGS84 51°38′29″N 0°03′19″E / 51.64138°N 0.05527°E / 51.64138; 0.05527Coordinates: 51°38′29″N 0°03′19″E / 51.64138°N 0.05527°E / 51.64138; 0.05527
London transport portal

Loughton is a London Underground station, some two miles north of the Greater London boundary, in the Epping Forest district of Essex.

It is served by the Central line and lies between Buckhurst Hill and Debden. It is the larger of the two Underground stations in the town of Loughton, with Debden station being the smaller.

For the purposes of fare charging it is in Zone 6.

History

View NE, towards Epping and Ongar in 1957

The original station was opened by the Eastern Counties Railway on 22 August 1856 and formed the terminus of the branch from London. The actual location was on the site of what is now Cafe Rouge, near the Lopping Hall in Loughton High Road, on a continuation of what eventually became the goods sidings, the line running across what are now the house sites and gardens on the west side of Station Road. The post 1865 goods and carriage sidings no longer exist and were located where the present car parks are. The pre-1865 station also had sidings and a coal wharf, extending almost to what is now St Mary's Church. This station is extensively documented in H W Paar and others, Loughton's First Station 2002 and in Pond, Strugnell and Martin The Loughton Railway 150 years on, 2006. There was also an excursion station or platform constructed along the westernmost edge of the goods yard site: this was used for the many thousands of excursionists who used Loughton as a base to visit nearby Epping Forest. The excursion station building, single-storey and brick built, was extant in 1935, but was demolished in the ensuing decade; it was replaced by a parcels and goods station, itself removed in the 1990s.

It was re-sited some 500 yards to the south on 24 April 1865 as part of the extension of the line to Epping and Ongar. A new station was opened on 28 April 1940 in readiness for London Underground trains, which took over the service from British Railways (Eastern Region) on 21 November 1948.

The station today

The current station is of notable architectural importance and is a Grade II listed building.[3] Designed by John Murray Easton for the London & North Eastern Railway, on behalf of London Transport, the main structure consists of a high, square block dominated by large arched windows at high level. The main elevation is flanked by symmetrical wings and, to the south, a single storey extension. The whole building, as well as the associated disused signal cabin and sub-station, is finished in carefully bonded, incised, gault bricks. The ticket hall takes the form of a lofty arched hall, from which leads a subway that gives access to the two island platforms. The platforms are dominated by graceful, gull-winged shaped reinforced canopies that were altered during 1980s renovations. Although some original platform furniture has been lost the timber platform benches, with the London Underground roundel forming the seat backs, survive.[4]

View of platforms

The station has four platform faces and three tracks, with the middle bi-directional track usually used for services that terminate at the station. Those eastbound services that terminate at Loughton mostly return to central London, although some go into Loughton sidings (usually after the evening peak and late at night) which can accommodate 10 trains. A traincrew depot ("the Powerhouse") was converted from the matching electrical substation to the north-east of the station in 2006.

Services and connections

Services

The station is served by the Central Line's Epping branch, between Buckhurst Hill and Debden stations. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:[5]

Connections

London Buses routes serve the station.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Multi-year station entry-and-exit figures" (XLSX). London Underground station passenger usage data. Transport for London. January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Hardy, Brian, ed. (March 2011). "How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago". Underground News. London Underground Railway Society (591): 175–183. ISSN 0306-8617.
  3. 1 2 Historic England. "Loughton London Regional Transport Underground Station with Associated Shops and Platforms (1141221)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Underground Architecture; David Lawrence; Capital Transport; London; 1994
  5. ↑ Clive, Feather (13 November 2017). "Central Line". Clive's Underground Line Guides. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "Loughton Station". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
Preceding station   London Underground   Following station
Central line
towards Epping
Central lineTerminus
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