The Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway Through Time

The M&GN was formed in 1893 by joining up many smaller local railway lines. It gave the Midland and Great Northern railways access to East Anglian ports and holiday traffic from the Midlands to east coast resorts. The main line ran from Peterborough to Great Yarmouth. Known affectionately as the 'Muddle and Go Nowhere', its 180 miles made it the longest joint railway in the UK. At the Grouping of 1923 the railway was jointly managed by the LMS and LNER. The M&GN fell victim to British Railways rationalisation and almost all was closed in 1959, making 2019 the sixtieth anniversary of closure. A small section of the M&GN remains open between Cromer and Sheringham as part of the national network and the North Norfolk Railway has preserved the line from Sheringham to Holt. Many traces of the railway survive, including the swing bridge at Sutton. Much of the Marriott's Way footpath follows the trackbed of the M&GN's Norwich line.