In message
, MIG
writes

The Epping and Hainault lines were both originally branches from
Liverpool Street, with the latter running from where Ilford depot is
to Newbury Park (and the tunnel added later for the Central Line).

Some of the Hainault loop trains were to/from Fenchurch Street, but the
entire service was very sporadic, and Hainault station was closed soon
after the 1903 opening. Looking at the 1929 timetable, there were gaps
of an hour or more between trains during some parts of the day and the
number of through services to London declined, resulting in the need to
change at Ilford.

The real problems were the total lack of housing in the north of the
area before the building boom of the 1930s and the electric trams that
opened just before the railway to steal the potential traffic in the
south. Although most of the area is now built-up, I don't think the
northern part of the loop has ever recovered from the poor services in
the early days, and it has remained an area of high car-ownership.
--
Paul Terry