The Great Eastern Railway: ‘Rarely other than Idiosynchratic’

Following the openings, in successive years, of the significant London main line stations at London Bridge, Euston and then Paddington, there followed a minor station in Mile End as the terminus of a railway planned to link the capital to Norwich via Colchester and Ipswich. Another early railway was to use the same terminus, but connect London to York via Cambridge and Lincoln. This second line ground to a halt halfway to Cambridge, but was piggy-backed by the first, who used it to gain Norwich via Cambridge and Ely, so deserting the shorter route via Ipswich. A rival concern from Ipswich then rapidly completed the direct route. Not only did East Anglia then have two disjointed main line routes to Norwich, but also other independent connections and a plethora of idiosyncratic rural branch lines, all of which amalgamated to form the Great Eastern who soon after opened a prominent terminus in the City. The story is told, and many of the routes are travelled in this presentation, one of a trilogy railways in the ‘Eastern Region’. Ray is a retired Chartered Engineer who has undertaken some rail tour management for both LCGB & a worldwide rail travel company. Widely travelled, much of which has been independent, around the 5 continents of the world plus Aus and NZ. Visited parts that most others haven’t e.g., North Korea, Pakistan, Eritrea, Paraguay, Syria & Ukraine. His talks use both his own photo material plus items from a photo collection and research from his own comprehensive specialised library.