The Great Eastern Main Line is a 114.5-mile (184.3 km) major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Shenfield, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. Its numerous branches also connect the main line to Southminster, Braintree, Sudbury, Harwich and a number of coastal towns including Southend-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Lowestoft.
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.
Westerfield railway station is on a branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line, in the East of England, serving the village of Westerfield, Suffolk. It is 3 miles 41 chains (5.7 km) down the line from Ipswich and 72 miles 25 chains (116.4 km) measured from London Liverpool Street. It is situated at a junction of the Felixstowe Branch Line to Felixstowe and the East Suffolk Line to Lowestoft. Its three-letter station code is WFI.
Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is 68 miles 59 chains (110.6 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between Manningtree to the south and Needham Market to the north.
The Eastern Union Railway (EUR) was an English railway company, at first built from Colchester to Ipswich; it opened in 1846. It was proposed when the earlier Eastern Counties Railway failed to make its promised line from Colchester to Norwich. The businessman John Chevallier Cobbold and the engineer Peter Bruff were prominent in launching the company. The allied but nominally independent Ipswich and Bury Railway built a line onwards to Bury St Edmunds, also opening in 1846, and soon amalgamated with the EUR.
The Ipswich–Ely line is a railway line linking East Anglia to the English Midlands via Ely. There is also a branch line to Cambridge. Passenger services are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. It is a part of Network Rail Strategic Route 5, SRS 05.07, 05.08 and part of SRS 07.03.
Stowmarket railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the town of Stowmarket, Suffolk. It is 80 miles 9 chains (128.9 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Needham Market to the south and Diss to the north. It is also the junction where the Ipswich to Ely Line joins the GEML. Its three-letter station code is SMK.
Marks Tey railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the village of Marks Tey, Essex. It is 46 miles 49 chains (75.02 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and on the GEML is situated between Kelvedon to the west and Colchester and to the east. Marks Tey is also the southern terminus of the Gainsborough Line to Sudbury. Its three-letter station code is MKT. The "up" (London-bound) platform 1 has an operational length for nine-coach trains, the "down" (Colchester-bound) platform 2 can accommodate 11-coach trains and platform 3 has an operational length for two-coach trains.
Shenfield railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Shenfield, Essex. As well as being a key interchange for medium- and long-distance services on the main line, it is also the western terminus of a branch line to Southend Victoria and the eastern terminus of the stopping "metro" service to and from London Liverpool Street operated by TfL Rail. It is 20 miles 16 chains (32.51 km) down the line from Liverpool Street and is situated between Brentwood and either Ingatestone on the main line or Billericay on the branch line. Its three-letter station code is SNF.
The Mayflower line is a railway branch line in the east of England that links Manningtree, on the Great Eastern Main Line, to Harwich Town. During peak times, many services connect to or from the main line and its London terminus at Liverpool Street. The Mayflower line has six stations, including the two termini, and is situated within the county of Essex.
Sudbury railway station is the northern terminus of the Gainsborough Line, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Sudbury, Suffolk. It is 11 miles 67 chains (19.05 km) down the line from the southern terminus of Marks Tey and 58 miles 32 chains (93.99 km) measured from London Liverpool Street; the preceding station on the branch is Bures. Its three-letter station code is SUY. The platform has an operational length for two-coach trains.
Peter Schuyler Bruff was an English civil engineer remembered primarily for his part in establishing the East Anglian railway networks between the 1840s and 1860s. His contribution to the region's infrastructure and development extended far beyond the railways, however, and included the renovation of the Colchester water supply (1851-1880) and the Ipswich sewerage system, the development of the town of Harwich and the Essex resorts of Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton on Sea, and the late Victorian revival of the Coalport porcelain factory in Shropshire, which he purchased in 1880.
Colchester railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, and is the primary station serving the town of Colchester, Essex. Its three-letter station code is COL. It is 51 miles 52 chains (83.1 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and on the GEML is situated between Marks Tey to the west and Manningtree to the east. Colchester is also the location of a major junction where the GEML links to the Sunshine Coast Line, which runs south to Clacton-on-Sea and, via a short branch, to Walton-on-the-Naze; services to and from Colchester Town also join the GEML at the Colchester junction. The junction is grade-separated so trains branching to and from Colchester Town or the Sunshine Coast Line do not cross the main line.
Manningtree railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) in the East of England, serving the town of Manningtree, Essex. It is 59 miles 35 chains (95.66 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between Colchester to the west and Ipswich to the east. The three-letter station code is MNG. It is also the western terminus of the Mayflower Line, a branch line to Harwich Town. The following station on the branch is Mistley.
Bury St Edmunds railway station serves the town of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. The station is on the Ipswich–Ely line and all trains calling there are operated by Greater Anglia.
Elmswell serves the village of Elmswell in Suffolk, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are today operated by Greater Anglia.
Forncett railway station was a railway station in Forncett, South Norfolk located 104 miles from London Liverpool Street. It was opened in 1849 when Norwich and Ipswich were connected by the Eastern Union Railway in 1849. Between 1881 and 1951 it was a junction for a short route to Wymondham and was closed as a result of the Beeching Axe with other smaller stations between Norwich and Ipswich.
Haughley railway station was located in Haughley, Suffolk on the Great Eastern Main Line between Liverpool Street Station and Norwich. It opened on 7 July 1849 named Haughley Junction and was a replacement for a station named Haughley Road which had been in service from 1846 to 1849 at location TM 02981 63319 on the line to Elmswell.
Ipswich engine shed was an engine shed located in Ipswich, Suffolk on the Great Eastern Main Line. It was located just south of Stoke tunnel and the current Ipswich railway station. Locomotives accessed the site from Halifax Junction which was also the junction for the Griffin Wharf branch of Ipswich docks. The depot opened in 1846 and closed in 1968 although the site remained in railway use for a further thirty years.
Frederick Barnes (1814–1898) was a British architect who is best remembered for his work on railway stations in East Anglia.
