Although dominated by the lines built for and inherited by the Great Eastern Railway, East Anglia was also the preserve of one of the country's most important joint railways, the Midland & Great Northern; as well as a number of minor railways, such as the Mid-Suffolk and the Southwold. The extreme south of the area, along the Essex Coast, the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway, later a subsidiary of the Midland Railway, was a significant operator. For a variety of reasons, including electrification of the suburban lines out of Liverpool Street and closure of virtually the entire M&GN system in 1959, East Anglia was one of the first parts of BR to see steam eliminated, with the last vestiges being withdrawn in the early 1960s. Colour views of steam operation in the area, particularly unpublished views, are therefore; less common than on those areas and regions that retained steam for longer. This book portrays the evolution of railway operation in East Anglia from the Modernisation Plan of 1995 through to the mid-1970s. It encompasses the gradual elimination of steam, the closure of many of the rural branches and secondary routes, the introduction (and withdrawal) of the railbuses and the arrival of the diesel-electric classes. The locations illustrated are: Liverpool Street, Stratford, Cambridge, Romford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and Peterborough.
