Now in our twenty-sixth year, Cravens Heritage Trains is the successor to the Cravens Preservation Group.
Created in 1995 our purpose was to purchase from London Underground the three car Cravens Unit that operated the Epping to Ongar shuttle in its final days, prior to closure at the end of September 1994. In conjunction with the Ongar Railway Preservation Society, the plan was to operate a hybrid railway service. During the weekdays provide a commuter and community service and at the weekends run a heritage railway, subsequent events did not follow this plan. However, the Cravens unit was in safe hands and stabled initially at Hainault Depot before being moved to Ruislip Depot.
Between 1995 - 2003 we successfully ran a number of rail tours over a wide range of the Underground network and even provided the Sunday morning service on the Chesham branch, took over the Mill Hill shuttle service and ran a whole night rail tour during what would have been Engineering Hours on the Central Line, this was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Central London Railway (CLR).
With the withdrawal of the 1962 Tube Stock from the Central Line we purchased a four-car unit, which is the only silver tube stock still in existence.
By 1999, it was time to formalise the group and Cravens Heritage Trains Limited was incorporated as a company, we have no shareholders and are constituted as a company limited by guarantee.
In 2001 Cravens Heritage Trains Leased the former signal cabin at Epping Station which has now been restored and features a working Lever Frame together with a number of railway exhibits. A key part of the operation at Epping is L11, the former LUL Acton Works shunting locomotive. Our operations at Epping are run by a sub group of Cravens Heritage trains focusing on activities there.