The railway at Witham dates from 1843 and the branches to Braintree and
Maldon from 1848; the cross-country line to Bishop's Stortford was
opened in 1869. The passenger service on the Bishop's Stortford -
Braintree line was withdrawn in 1952 and, after the publication of the
Beeching Report in 1963, the same fate was scheduled for the other
branches. However the Braintree branch survived and, together with
Witham, is a busy commuter line. In this book we take a journey over the
line from Bishop's Stortford to Maldon via Braintree and Witham to view
what has changed over the last 165 years. Unusually for today the
Braintree branch line survives, and fortunately most of the
cross-country line is now designated the 'Flitch Way'. The Maldon line,
since closure, has been put to many other uses, including use as the
town's road bypass.