Elsenham & Thaxted Light Railway

The Elsenham & Thaxted Light Railway was a 5 1⁄2-mile (9 km) long light railway in Essex, England. The line was sanctioned in 1906, although did not finally open to traffic until 1 April 1913. It was the last rail line built in Essex until the construction of Stansted Airport railway station.[1]

The railway left the West Anglia Main Line at Elsenham. There were two stations (Sibleys[2] and Thaxted) and three halts on the Railway; all except Mill Road Halt (opened in 1922) were opened with the line. The line was never a commercial success, since all the stations were located at some distance from the settlements they served; Thaxted station was 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) distant from the town, since to construct a crossing of the River Chelmer would have been too costly. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is ELT.[3]

As a light railway it was limited to 25 mph (40 km/h) giving a journey time of 22–28 minutes. There were five down and four up trains per day on opening.[4]

Passenger services were withdrawn from 15 September 1952 and the railway finally closed on 1 June 1953.[5]

References
  1. Notes on the line
  2. "Subterranea Britannica - Notes on Sibleys station". Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  3. "Engineer's Line Reference".
  4. Michael R Bonavia (1995). The Cambridge Line. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2333-6.
  5. Notes on the line

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