Covers the Great Eastern Railway from its beginnings to its absorption into the London and North Eastern Railway under the 1923 grouping of the railways. This volume covers the period from the first proposal for a railway in the East of England in 1811 up to the formation of the Company in 1862.

Shows how the Great Eastern Railway emerged from a series of separate companies, of which the most dominant was the Eastern Counties Railway, into one unified company.

Uses as its sources both existing published books, magazine articles, newspaper reports and extracts from contemporary diaries relating to the railways covered.

As well as describing the promotion and the building of the different railways also included are details of the methods of working them including both signalling and the electric telegraph. Closures are also mentioned. The human aspects are also not forgotten, both industrial relations including a strike, but also corruption at management level.

Contains illustrations showing the various aspects of the railways covered including an opening ceremony, stations, bridges, a tunnel locomotives and timetables.