The East Anglian Railway was an English railway company that operated in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

from 1847 to 1852. The company was formed on 22 July 1847 by the ( 10 & 11 Vict. c. cclxxv) which authorised the merger of three railways: the

Lynn and Dereham Railway The Lynn and Dereham Railway was a standard gauge single track railway running between King's Lynn and Dereham in the English county of Norfolk. The Lynn to Dereham line opened in 1846 and closed in 1968, although the section between Middlet ...

, the

Lynn and Ely Railway King's Lynn railway station is the northern terminus of the Fen line in the east of England, serving the town of King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is from and measured from London Liverpool Street. The station and all trains calling here are opera ...

, and the

Ely and Huntingdon Railway Ely or ELY may refer to: Places England * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Rural District, a former district surrounding Ely, Cambridgeshire on the west and north ** Ely Urban District, a former district con ...

.East Anglian Railway 1847 - 1851

Science Museum Group The Science Museum Group (SMG) consists of five British museums: * The Science Museum in South Kensington, London * The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester * The National Railway Museum in York * The Locomotion Museum (formerly the Na ...

online catalogue. Accessed 2024-09-29 The company soon found itself in financial difficulties and, on the verge of bankruptcy in June 1850, its property was taken over by the receiver. The receiver leased the EAR to the Great Northern Railway for 60% of the receipts. The GNR had running powers over the

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on the first at the London end. Co ...

line between Peterborough, March and Wisbech (opened 1847). Unfortunately, they had not applied for running rights over the line that linked the ECR and EAR stations at Wisbech and the ECR refused access so that the passengers had to change stations by horse-bus. This, together with shareholder opposition within the GNR and EAR, led the GNR to withdraw from the arrangement. This left the way clear for the Eastern Counties Railway to take over operation of the EAR, which it did so, effective from 1st January 1852. This arrangement continued until the company was absorbed by the ECR in 1862 along with a number of other lines to form the

Great Eastern Railway 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 R ...

References

{{Train-stub Rail transport in Norfolk Railway companies established in 1847 Railway companies disestablished in 1862 1847 establishments in England 1862 disestablishments in England