Eastern Counties Railway

Eastern Counties Railway
Overview
Locale	East Anglia/East London
Dates of operation	1839–1862
Successor	Great Eastern Railway
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge (1844-1862)
Previous gauge	5 ft (1,524 mm) (1839-44)

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 nine miles at the London end.^[1] Construction was beset by engineering and other problems, leading to severe financial difficulties. As a result, the project was truncated at Colchester in 1843 but through a series of acquisitions (including the Eastern Union Railway who completed the link between Colchester and Norwich) and opening of other lines, the ECR became the largest of the East Anglian railways.

In 1862 ECR was merged with a number of other companies to form the Great Eastern Railway.

^ Gordon, D.PI. (1977). Thomas, David St John; Patmore, J. Allan (eds.). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain — Volume 5: The Eastern Counties (2nd ed.). Newton Abbott: David & Charles.

[1] Gordon, D.PI. (1977). Thomas, David St John; Patmore, J. Allan (eds.). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain — Volume 5: The Eastern Counties (2nd ed.). Newton Abbott: David & Charles.

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