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Maldon, Witham And Braintree Railway
All photographs of this railway in date order.
![An evening visit to Cressing on 27th May 1976 finds evidence of building work at the previously run down station. Unusually for such a branch line in the 1970s, electrification was under way and the platform was being upgraded and extended as one of the first stages. Electric trains finally replaced DMUs between Witham and Braintree in October 1977. [Ref query 521]<br><br>[Mark Dufton 27/05/1976]](/images/57000/57866.jpg "Cressing")
![A pre-electrification scene at Braintree on October 9th 1976. The DMU driver and conductor are enjoying a brew up in the signal box, which still bore the full name “Braintree and Bocking”. A year later, EMUs had taken over and the box had been demolished. <br><br>[Mark Dufton 09/10/1976]](/images/40000/40881.jpg "Braintree")
![Electric trains were still a novelty at Braintree when this photo was taken on 5th November 1977. Previously worked by DMUs and signaled with semaphores, the new electric service to Witham had only been fully introduced on October 3rd. A rare example of 1970s modernization, the stark contrast in fortunes of this branch compared to that from Witham to Maldon remains a subject of wonder (or suspicion?) given that both were earmarked for closure in the Beeching Report.<br><br>[Mark Dufton 05/11/1977]](/images/32000/32855.jpg "Braintree")
![In the 1970s, derelict signal boxes on closed lines were quite common around Essex and East Anglia. This example on the Witham to Maldon line used to control the level crossing just outside Maldon East station and the junction for the line to Maldon West and Woodham Ferrers. The view is towards the station, which lies over the road underpass bridge and to the right. The attractive station building has been preserved, but the majority of this scene has been transformed into a busy road and roundabout. [See image 37713]<br><br>[Mark Dufton 13/11/1977]](/images/26000/26158.jpg "Maldon East")
![Unseen since the 1970s has been this Witham-facing elevation of Maldon East station. At the time of this photo in 1977, foundations were being laid (visible in the foreground) for a large timber storage shed which soon blocked the view. Part of the platform had also been cut away to make room. By the 21st century, the attractive station building, though still extant, had become hidden away within a cluster of industrial units. [See image 41272]<br><br>[Mark Dufton 13/11/1977]](/images/37000/37845.jpg "Maldon East")
![The railway reached Braintree in 1848 and this wooden building served as the town's terminus for 21 years until a connecting route to Bishop's Stortford was constructed via a junction some distance away. A new, more substantial, station was then built on the through line that skirted the town to the south while the first became part of Braintree's main goods depot. The replacement station is still in operation, but as a terminus once again. The original building became a coal merchant's office and was surviving in good repair when this photo was taken on 21st January 1978. The depot was then still open for general freight, but the facility was withdrawn that August leaving only private UKF traffic for a few more years. All the sidings and the original station have now gone.<br><br>[Mark Dufton 21/01/1978]](/images/27000/27464.jpg "Braintree")
![Seen only a couple of months after electric services commenced, Braintree station hosts a Class 302 unit on 21st January 1978. The disused platform on the right reveals the history of a former through station and passing point.<br><br>[Mark Dufton 21/01/1978]](/images/47000/47795.jpg "Braintree")
![Immediately beyond the exit from Maldon East station was a level crossing on a busy main road (the B1018), and beyond that the station signal box. At times of freight shunting, the gates could be shut some considerable time, and it was necessary to provide an underpass for pedestrians and light traffic. Headroom was only 9 feet. This view, recorded 12 years after final closure, shows the underpass, overbridge and derelict signal box before all was swept away for a new roundabout. [See image 26158]<br><br>[Mark Dufton 15/07/1978]](/images/37000/37713.jpg "Maldon East")
![The most notable engineering work on the former line between Woodham Ferrers and Maldon was the Chelmer viaduct that connected Maldon East and West stations. The central span was demolished using explosives in the mid 1960s, but the masonry survived until a new bridge was built to carry the A414 town bypass (opened in 1990). This view, recorded in 1978, shows the viaduct brickwork as it appeared from the Maldon West side of the river. <br><br>[Mark Dufton 23/07/1978]](/images/37000/37820.jpg "Maldon")
![The imposing former station building at Maldon East and Heybridge in Essex, seen here in 1979. The station lost its passenger service in September 1964 and survives today as office accommodation. [See image 37845]<br>
<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1979]](/images/34000/34164.jpg "Maldon East")
![The canopy at Maldon East in 1979 [see image 34164].<br><br>[Ian Dinmore //1979]](/images/41000/41272.jpg "Maldon East")
![312 782 calls at Cressing on 17 February 1991 with a BR Network SouthEast Liverpool Street - Braintree service.<br><br>[Ian Dinmore 17/02/1991]](/images/35000/35370.jpg "Cressing")
![From the late 1970s onwards, the former Maldon East station was largely hidden from view by the large industrial units that were built around it. By 2016, these units had served their time and been demolished, such that the station and its notable architecture stood revealed once more. All rail traffic had ceased in April 1966.<br><br>[Mark Dufton 13/07/2016]](/images/57000/57251.jpg "Maldon East")
