Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway Shield composed of central shield and the city and town shields of principal destinations

The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923.

Overview

The GER formed in 1862 by amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway with smaller railways: the Norfolk Railway, the Eastern Union Railway, the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway, the East Norfolk Railway, the Harwich Railway, the East Anglian Railway and the East Suffolk Railway among others. In 1902 the Northern and Eastern Railway was absorbed by the GER, although it had been worked by the Eastern Counties Railway under a 999-year lease taken on January 1 1844 whereby the Eastern Counties would work the Northern and Eastern in return for an annual rent and division of the profits.

Memorial to the staff of the Great Eastern Railway who sacrificed their lives in the first world war at London Liverpool Street

Among towns served were Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Lowestoft, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea, and East Anglian seaside resorts such as Hunstanton (whose prosperity was a result of the GER's line being built) and Cromer. It also served a suburban area, including Enfield, Chingford, Loughton and Ilford. This suburban network was, in the early 20th century, the most heavily used steam-hauled commuter system in the world.

The majority of its locomotives were manufactured in Stratford works, on the site of today's Stratford International station. The GER owned 1,200 miles of line and had a near-monopoly in East Anglia until the opening of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway in 1893.

The Great Eastern name has survived, being used both for the Great Eastern Main Line route between London and Norwich, and also for the First Great Eastern train operating company which served much of the old GER route between 1997 and 2004.

References

• Allen, Cecil J. (1955). The Great Eastern Railway. London: Ian Allan. ISBN N/A. 

See also

• Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway

External links

• Great Eastern Railway Society
• Archived copy of a page containing comprehensive details of those railways
• Shipping interests of the company
• Manningtree Rail Users Association