Great Eastern Railway
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
Among towns served were Cambridge
, Chelmsford
, Colchester
, Great Yarmouth
, Ipswich
, King's Lynn
, Lowestoft
, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea
, and East Anglian seaside resort
s 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 original London terminus was opened at Shoreditch
in east London by the Eastern Counties Railway
(ECR) on 1 July 1840 when the railway was extended westwards from an earlier temporary terminus in Devonshire Street
, near Mile End
. The station was renamed Bishopsgate
on 27 July 1847.
The Great Eastern attempted to obtain a West End
terminus, alongside the one in east London, via the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway, formed by an Act of Parliament
of 28 July 1862. Plans to extend the western end of this line via a proposed 'London Main Trunk Railway', underneath Hampstead Road, the Metropolitan Railway
(modern Circle line) and Tottenham Court Road, to Charing Cross
, were rejected by Parliament in 1864.
A new London terminus, Liverpool Street Station
was opened to traffic on 2 February 1874, and was completely operational from 1 November 1875. From this date the original terminus at Bishopsgate closed to passengers, although it reopened as a goods station in 1881.
The majority of the Great Eastern's locomotive
s 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.
.
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
British railway company, whose main line
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
linked London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
to Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
and which had other lines through East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. The company was grouped
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
into the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
in 1923.
Overview
The GER was formed in 1862 by amalgamation of the Eastern Counties RailwayEastern Counties Railway
The Eastern Counties Railway was an early English railway company incorporated in 1836. It was intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then on to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in late March 1837 on the first nine miles, at the London end of the line.Construction was...
with smaller railways: the Norfolk Railway, the Eastern Union Railway
Eastern Union Railway
The Eastern Union Railway was an early English railway, initially sanctioned by Act of Parliament on 19 July 1844, with authorised capital of £200,000 to build from Ipswich to Colchester. Further Acts of 21 July 1845 and 26 June 1846 authorised further increases in capital of £50,000 and £20,000...
, the Newmarket and Chesterford Railway, the East Norfolk Railway
East Norfolk Railway
The East Norfolk Railway was a standard gauge 25 mile, mostly single track, railway running between Norwich Thorpe railway station and Cromer in the English county of Norfolk. It opened in 1874, reaching Cromer three years later, and remains mostly operational...
, the Harwich Railway, the East Anglian Railway and the East Suffolk Railway among others. In 1902 the Northern and Eastern Railway
Northern and Eastern Railway
The Northern & Eastern Railway operated one of the two main lines which eventually became the Great Eastern Railway: the other being the Eastern Counties Railway....
was absorbed by the GER, although it had been worked by the Eastern Counties Railway
Eastern Counties Railway
The Eastern Counties Railway was an early English railway company incorporated in 1836. It was intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then on to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in late March 1837 on the first nine miles, at the London end of the line.Construction was...
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.
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
, Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Lowestoft
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
, and East Anglian seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
s such as Hunstanton
Hunstanton
Hunstanton, often pronounced by locals as and known colloquially as 'Sunny Hunny', is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, facing The Wash....
(whose prosperity was a result of the GER's line being built) and Cromer
Cromer
Cromer is a coastal town and civil parish in north Norfolk, England. The local government authority is North Norfolk District Council, whose headquarters is in Holt Road in the town. The town is situated 23 miles north of the county town, Norwich, and is 4 miles east of Sheringham...
. It also served a suburban area, including Enfield
Municipal Borough of Enfield
Enfield was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1850 to 1965.The parish of Enfield adopted the Public Health Act 1848 in 1850, and formed a local board of health of 12 members to govern the area. The local board's area was reconstituted by the Local Government Act 1894, and...
, Chingford
Chingford
Chingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
, Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
and Ilford
Ilford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
. This suburban network was, in the early 20th century, the most heavily used steam-hauled commuter system in the world.
The original London terminus was opened at Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
in east London by the Eastern Counties Railway
Eastern Counties Railway
The Eastern Counties Railway was an early English railway company incorporated in 1836. It was intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then on to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in late March 1837 on the first nine miles, at the London end of the line.Construction was...
(ECR) on 1 July 1840 when the railway was extended westwards from an earlier temporary terminus in Devonshire Street
Devonshire Street railway station
Devonshire Street railway station was a station in the parish of Mile End Old Town, in the East End of London. It was opened on 29 June 1839 as the temporary terminus for the Eastern Counties Railway from Romford prior to the construction of Bishopsgate...
, near Mile End
Mile End
Mile End is an area within the East End of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross...
. The station was renamed Bishopsgate
Bishopsgate railway station
Bishopsgate station was a railway station located on the eastern side of Shoreditch High Street in the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets; the western edge of the East End. It was in use from 1840 to 1964 when it was destroyed by fire...
on 27 July 1847.
The Great Eastern attempted to obtain a West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
terminus, alongside the one in east London, via the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway, formed by an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of 28 July 1862. Plans to extend the western end of this line via a proposed 'London Main Trunk Railway', underneath Hampstead Road, the Metropolitan Railway
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
(modern Circle line) and Tottenham Court Road, to Charing Cross
Charing Cross railway station
Charing Cross railway station, also known as London Charing Cross, is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern...
, were rejected by Parliament in 1864.
A new London terminus, Liverpool Street Station
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street railway station, also known as London Liverpool Street or simply Liverpool Street, is both a central London railway terminus and a connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, England...
was opened to traffic on 2 February 1874, and was completely operational from 1 November 1875. From this date the original terminus at Bishopsgate closed to passengers, although it reopened as a goods station in 1881.
The majority of the Great Eastern's locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s were manufactured in Stratford works
Stratford Works
Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. It was opened in 1847-1848 by the GER's predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway...
, on the site of today's Stratford International station
Stratford International station
Stratford International station is a main line railway and Docklands Light Railway station located in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham in northeast London, United Kingdom...
. 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
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway in eastern England, affectionately known as the 'Muddle and Get Nowhere' to generations of passengers, enthusiasts, and other users.The main line ran from Peterborough to...
in 1893.
The Great Eastern name has survived, being used both for the Great Eastern Main Line
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
route between London and Norwich, and also for the First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern
First Great Eastern was an award-winning train operating company that operated suburban, local and medium distance train services from London Liverpool Street via Romford to Essex and Ipswich in the United Kingdom on the Great Eastern Main Line railway.First Group gained the Great Eastern...
train operating company
Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
which served much of the old GER route between 1997 and 2004.
Ships
The Great Eastern Railway operated a number of ferriesFerry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
.
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 969 | Sold for scrapping in 1896 | |
| 1894 | 1,745 | Scrapped in 1928 | |
| 1920 | 2,957 | Scrapped in 1951 | |
| 1910 | 2,570 | Bombed and sunk off east coast of Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... in 1941 |
|
| 1865 | 670 | Sold in 1888 to Earle's Shipbuilding, Hull | |
| 1894 | 1,745 | Sank at Hook of Holland, 1907 with loss of 112 lives | |
| 1871 | 718 | Scrapped in 1905 | |
| Brightlingsea | 1925 | Launch used between Harwich Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south... and Shotley Shotley Shotley may refer to several place:*Shotley, Suffolk, a village in England*Shotley Bridge, a village in County Durham, England* Shotley peninsula, a peninsula in Suffolk, England named for Shotley village... and Felixstowe Dock |
|
| 1920 | 2,949 | Bombed and sunk at Le Havre Le Havre Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total... in 1940 |
|
| 1902 | 1,380 | Captured by Germany 1916, scuttled 1918, repaired 1920, scrapped 1929 | |
| 1886 | 1,196 | Sold in 1912 to Anglo-Ottoman Steamship Company | |
| 1893 | 1,635 | Sold in 1910 to the Great Western Railway Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838... and renamed Bretonne |
|
| 1875 | 922 | Sold in 1897 to the City of London City of London The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of... |
|
| 1899 | 1,160 | Captured by Germany in 1916, grounded at Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the... in 1918 and scrapped in 1919. |
|
| 1907 | 2,570 | Torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea North Sea In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively... in 1917 |
|
| 1897 | 1,805 | Requisitioned by the Admiralty Admiralty The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy... in 1915 and renamed Louvain. Torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus... in 1918 |
|
| Epping | 1914 | Small launch used between Harwich Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south... and Shotley Shotley Shotley may refer to several place:*Shotley, Suffolk, a village in England*Shotley Bridge, a village in County Durham, England* Shotley peninsula, a peninsula in Suffolk, England named for Shotley village... |
|
| PS Essex | 1896 | Sold in 1916 | |
| 1903 | 1,419 | Previously Kilkenny | |
| Hainault | 1914 | Small launch used between Harwich and Shotley | |
| 1864 | Withdrawn 1873 | ||
| 1883 | 1,067 | Sold in 1906 to Shah Steam Navigation Co, Bombay. | |
| 1903 | 1,419 | Purchased in 1917 from City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, renamed Frinton in 1919. | |
| 1880 | 995 | Sold in 1893 to Earle's Shipbuilding, Hull | |
| 1921 | 2,969 | Laid up 1945, scrapped 1948 | |
| 1908 | 2,570 | Requisitioned in 1918 and renamed St Denis, retaining that name on return to GER. | |
| PS Norfolk | 1900 | Withdrawn 1931 | |
| 1883 | 1,062 | Sold in 1905 to Channel Drydock & Shipbuilding Company, Harwich | |
| 1873 | Sold in 1890 for scrapping. | ||
| Pinmill | 1912 | Small launch used between Harwich and Shotley. Withdrawn from ferry service in 1925, converted to work boat. Still in service in 1985. | |
| 1878 | 1,098 | Scrapped in 1896 | |
| 1871 | 718 | Renamed Brandon in 1890 | |
| 1894 | 1,753 | Scrapped in 1930 | |
| 1908 | 2,570 | Scuttled in 1940 at Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... . Salvaged by the Germans and repaired. Scrapped 1950. |
|
| 1906 | 2,456 | Purchased from the Canadian Pacific Railway Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001... in 1919. Scrapped in 1929. |
|
| 1864 | Withdrawn in 1878 | ||
| 1878 | Sold in 1900 | ||
| 1910 | 2,570 | Renamed Archangel in 1916. | |
| PS Suffolk | 1895 | Withdrawn 1931 | |
| 1894 | 1,753 | Renamed Roulers in 1920 | |
| 1864 | 613 | Scrapped in 1887 |
See also
- Locomotives of the Great Eastern Railway
- Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint RailwayGreat Northern and Great Eastern Joint RailwayThe Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway was a joint railway owned by the Great Northern Railway and its rival, the Great Eastern Railway. It was established in the early 1880s, and the joint company built a new, primarily freight, route between Cambridge and Doncaster, a distance of...