Northern and Eastern Railway
| Locale | North East London and Hertfordshire UK |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1840–1902 |
| Successor | Great Eastern Railway |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Previous gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm) |
The Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER) was the British railway company that built what is now the West Anglia Main Line, one of the two main lines of the Great Eastern Railway, the other being the Liverpool Street-to-Norwich line built by the Eastern Counties and Eastern Union Railways. The N&ER and Eastern Counties Railway merged in 1844.
The N&ER was part of an 1833 scheme for a railway from Islington to York via Cambridge, Peterborough and Lincoln. The original "Grand Northern Railway" project, proposed by Nicholas Wilcox Cundy, floundered until adopted by the Lincolnshire landowner Henry Handley. He formed the N&ER and, in 1835, had the route re-surveyed by engineer James Walker.
On 4 July 1836 an Act incorporated the N&ER, and authorised construction between Islington in north London and Cambridge with a share capital of £1,200,000.
Difficulty in raising capital during the economic depression saw the decision in 1837 to scale back the initial section of the railway, to run between the Kingsland Turnpike (now Kingsland Road) near London and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. Late in that year the contract for construction was awarded to David Macintosh.
In March 1838 construction began, with Michael Borthwick as resident engineer. Although it was still hoped to build the railway as far as Islington, the directors approached the Commercial Railway (later the London and Blackwall Railway) with the intention of running through to London Fenchurch Street station. These negotiations failed, but in August agreement was reached with the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) to use its new Shoreditch terminus. The ECR needed the additional income to finance its main line to Colchester.
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