The Great Eastern Railway, The Early History, 1811–1862

This book is the first of two which covers the history of the Great Eastern Railway and its predecessors from the first proposal for a railway in the eastern counties in 1811 for a railway from Islington to Wallasea Island and Mucking to its absorption into the LNER under the 1923 Grouping of Railways. This volume covers the period from 1811 up to the formation of the Great Eastern Railway in 1862. The book makes use of both previously published works on the GER and its predecessors, but also contemporary documents such as the Directors' reports to shareholders of the Eastern Counties Railway, timetables, reports in local and national newspapers as well as extracts from selected peoples' diaries. Incorporating these other sources means the book sheds new light on the Railway's history.