The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated in 1893. It was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway, and those companies had long sponsored and operated the predecessor companies.

The area directly served was agricultural and sparsely populated, but seaside holidays had developed and the ran many long-distance express trains to and from the territory of the parent companies, as well as summer local trains for holidaymakers. It had the longest mileage of any joint railway in the United Kingdom.

In the grouping of 1923, the two joint owners of the were absorbed into two separate companies (the Midland into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the Great Northern into the London and North Eastern Railway). The maintained a distinct identity which only formally ended with nationalisation in 1948. After 1945 the profitability of the network declined steeply, worsened by the seasonality of the business. It was duplicated by other lines and the decision was taken to close it. Most of the network closed in 1959, although some limited sections continued in use. Only a short section near Sheringham is in commercial use today, but the North Norfolk Railway is active as a heritage line.

First railways The area eventually served by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, taken as south Lincolnshire and north Norfolk, was late to be supplied with railway connections due to being sparsely populated fenland. The Great Northern Railway (GNR), running north through Huntingdon, Peterborough and on to Grantham, so forming the western edge of the area, was not authorised until 1846 and not opened until 1848 between Peterborough and Lincoln. The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR), authorised in 1836, aspired to reach Norwich and Yarmouth, but ran out of money and stopped short.

In frustration local people obtained authority for the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway in the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c. lxxxii). Running via Reedham it opened to the public on 1 May 1844. In 1845 railway mania was underway, and a myriad of railway schemes was put before Parliament. Many of these foundered there, or were authorised but failed to generate investors' commitment.

By 1850 the had recovered from its financial difficulties of 1836 and had connected practically every town of importance in East Anglia into its system. For some years the had successfully resisted the promotion of independent railways in its area but this could not continue indefinitely, and some local lines began to obtain authorisation.

The East Anglian Railway Company was an amalgamation of three earlier companies, the Lynn and Dereham Railway, the Lynn and Ely Railway and the Ely and Huntingdon Railway. The company became bankrupt early in 1851 and the , operating the East Coast Main Line at Peterborough, leased the line. Using running powers between its line at Peterborough and March over the , it intended to connect to King's Lynn via the Wisbech line of the East Anglian Railway. However the powers acquired from Parliament did not include a short section between the two companies' stations at Wisbech, and the scheme foundered. The sold the line on to the in 1852.

The financial performance of the declined over the years and in 1862 it was absorbed into the new Great Eastern Railway (GER).

Constituents of the M&GNJR

The ultimate formation of the resulted from the fusion of numerous local schemes, though they did not at first aspire to form a connected railway.

Norwich and Spalding Railway

On 4 August 1853 the Norwich and Spalding Railway obtained its an act of Parliament, the (16 & 17 Vict. c. cxxiv), for a line from Spalding to Sutton Bridge, and from there to Wisbech. Notwithstanding the company's title, reaching Norwich was an (unfulfilled) aspiration for later rather than an immediate intention. The act stipulated that the other parts of the proposed Norwich and Spalding system could not be opened unless genuine progress was being made with the Wisbech connection.

In fact at this time the money market was particularly difficult, partly because of the Crimean War, and the company was unable to attract enough investment. It only managed to build from Spalding to Holbeach, , opening to Holbeach for goods on 9 August 1858 and for passengers on 15 November 1858. The Wisbech stipulation appears to have been overlooked for the time being.

The line connected with the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at Spalding and the agreed to work the line for three years. There were four trains daily except Sundays, with one extra on Tuesdays.

The company obtained a further authorising act of Parliament, the (22 & 23 Vict. c. cxviii) to extend from Holbeach to Sutton Bridge, as the earlier powers had expired. Wisbech was omitted this time, but the act stipulated that no dividend might be declared unless the company proceeded with the promotion of the Wisbech line in Parliament. This was attempted in 1860 but rejected in Parliament, and again in 1862 and 1863. The agreed to extend the working arrangement to ten years from 1 November 1861 for 50% of receipts and to carry out some permanent way improvements on the original section. The Sutton Bridge station was on the site of the later goods station, west of the River Nene. The extension to Holbeach was completed and opened on 1 July 1862.

Peterborough, Wisbeach and Sutton Railway

The line connecting Wisbech to Sutton Bridge was considered important because Sutton Bridge was an important inland port further downstream on the River Nene than Wisbech port. Wisbech would have been reached by a southward branch of the Norwich and Spalding Railway, but now an alternative means of making the connection was brought forward. On 28 July 1863 the (26 & 27 Vict. c. ccxxii) authorising the Peterborough, Wisbeach and Sutton Railway (PW&SR) was passed. Capital was to be £180,000.

In 1871 Richard Young a local shipowner (and later director of the Great Eastern Railway) was chairman of the company.

The Eastern Counties Railway had just been transformed into the Great Eastern Railway (GER), and powers were to be sought by the to connect to the line at Wisbech. The Norwich and Spalding Railway was given running powers between Sutton Bridge and Wisbech. It was the Midland Railway (MR), not the , that secured the contract for operating the new railway for 50% of receipts.

Extending to Wisbech

The Peterborough, Wisbeach and Sutton Railway now got authorisation in the (27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxl) to make a connecting line at Wisbech to the line, and to the harbour. The connection to the was in fact not made. On 1 August 1866 its main line opened for traffic. At Peterborough it started from the Midland Railway lines, on the west side of the main line, and crossed both the Midland and track by a bridge. The line was in length, to a junction at Sutton Bridge. The Midland Railway worked the trains, working to and from the GER station at Peterborough and calling at the GNR station en route.

Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway

The next section of the future to be built was the Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway, which was authorised by the (24 & 25 Vict. c. ccxlv) on 6 August 1861 with capital of £100,000. It was to connect with the Eastern Counties Railway (soon to be ) at South Lynn, near the major port of King's Lynn. The authorisation obliged the company to construct a new rail and road bridge at Sutton Bridge, but this was modified by the (26 & 27 Vict. c. cxciii) which permitted the railway to purchase the existing road swing bridge, built in 1850, and adapt it for railway use as well. The line was opened for goods traffic throughout in November 1864 from a junction some distance south of King's Lynn station. Passenger trains provided by the began on 1 March 1866.

Spalding and Bourn Railway

On 29 July 1862 the Spalding and Bourn Railway was authorised by the (25 & 26 Vict. c. cxcix), also with capital of £100,000. This line was to make an end-on junction at Bourne with an offshoot of the , the Bourn and Essendine Railway. The line was opened on 1 August 1866. It ran through practically unpopulated terrain. The worked the line.

Rivalry between the GNR and the GER The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed on 7 August 1862, from the Eastern Counties Railway and other concerns. The made it clear, not least by bitter parliamentary struggles, to get authorisation for its own line or for running powers to get to Doncaster. Considerable quantities of coal were being brought south from the South Yorkshire Coalfield by the , and the sought to take a share of the traffic. Fearing that this might happen, suddenly giving the a monopoly of the coal traffic to East Anglia, the started to sponsor friendly railways in the area itself.

Midland and Eastern Railway

The Lynn and Sutton Bridge Railway and the Spalding and Bourn Railway amalgamated to form the Midland and Eastern Railway in 1866; the intention was to push westward to Saxby and join the Midland Railway there. This plan was opposed by the Great Northern Railway and the compromise was that the scheme was dropped, but that the Midland Railway was given running powers from over two -sponsored lines: from Bourne to Essendine, and (by reversing there) from Essendine to Stamford; this was not a direct or fast route. The arrangement was agreed, and ratified by the (29 & 30 Vict. c. cclxv) of 23 July 1866. The Midland and Eastern Railway was operated by the and the Midland jointly, authorised by the (30 & 31 Vict. c. clxxxv).

The Midland and Eastern Railway leased the Norwich and Spalding line, but the remained nominally independent until the (40 & 41 Vict. c. lxxxix) took effect on 1 July 1877. It needed to go to Parliament to plead that it had, in good faith, tried to make a Sutton to Wisbech line, but had been prevented; and that the line had in fact been pre-empted by the ; this was accepted and the was released from the prohibition on declaring a dividend. The Midland and Eastern Railway now effectively controlled the whole of the western section of the future , except for the Peterborough to Sutton Bridge line, which was still controlled by the Midland Railway.

The Midland and Eastern was jointly owned by the and the Midland Railway, but it operated more or less independently. The joint committee did not meet between 1867 and 1880; trains of the two owning companies ran their own trains on the lines. In this period the network was referred to as the Bourne and Lynn Joint Railway.

GN and GE Joint Line

For several years the Great Eastern Railway had been trying to get access to northern districts, and had been frustrated by the Great Northern Railway's opposition. Nevertheless, the repeatedly presented bills for such lines, and the calculated that it was only a matter of time until it was successful. This policy came to fruition in April 1878 during parliamentary hearings on a bill, and negotiations were set in place to establish what became the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line, forming a through route from Doncaster to March via Lincoln.

The and the Midland Railway had hitherto dominated the southward flow of Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire coal, and saw that the dominance was vulnerable. This led the and the Midland to look favourably at further development of the Bourne and Lynn Joint Railway (Midland and Eastern Railway).

Sutton Bridge Dock failure