Ipswich and District Historical Transport Society
Snippets:
NAMED EXPRESSES IN EAST
ANGLIA
Part 2
David Chappell
Editorial Note: Part 1 'The Eastern Belle' was published in Transport Matters, No 229, September 2010.
For many years, a number of named express trains ran on some tracks in East Anglia. This series of occasional articles looks back at some of the half- dozen titled trains, many, but not all, of which were steam-hauled. The second article covers the running of 'The East Anglian'.
The 'East Anglian' was the name given to a London Liverpool Street to Norwich express, introduced by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1937. It was one of few new named express trains which all had a common feature - they were hauled by streamlined steam locomotives. Two of the final batch of Nigel Gresley's class B17 4-6-0 locomotives No 2859 and 2870, already named Norwich City and Manchester City, were fitted with streamlined casings similar to the A4 class Pacific locomotives, such as 'Mallard'. The locomotives were then renamed 'East Anglian' and 'City of London' and were specially designated to work the new expresses. The streamlining was another example of the LNER flair for publicity as the timing of 140 minutes for the 115 miles over the Great Eastern main line between the two terminals hardly required the assistance of streamlining for its observance!
The 'East Anglian' train consisted of six centre- gangwayed coaches with meal service at all seats. The formation was brake third, restaurant first, first, third, restaurant third and brake third. They were typical Gresley bow-ended teak-bodied coaches and were very pleasing in appearance with armchair style seats and tables with hinged flaps.
The 'East Anglian' ceased to run when war broke out, but was recommenced on 7 October 1946, when two corridor third coaches were added to bring the load up to eight vehicles. In the 1949 timetable the 'East Anglian' left Norwich at 11.40am arriving in Ipswich at 12.34pm and Liverpool Street at 2.00pm. the return train left London at 6.40pm stopping only at Ipswich at 8.05pm and arriving at Norwich at 9.00pm. Class B1 4-6-0 locomotives usually were the motive power at this time.
The summer of 1951 saw a great improvement in the service between the two cities, with even interval fast trains, spearheaded by the new, superb 'Britannia' 4- 6-2 Pacific locomotives. 'Britannia' itself, No 70000, and the next dozen or so numbers of the class were then regular visitors to Ipswich. The 'East Anglian' then left Norwich at 11.45am arriving in London at 1.55pm, with the return journey leaving London at 6.30pm, again with a 2hr 10min schedule, stopping only at Ipswich. On leaving Liverpool Street, the formation was, from the engine backwards, a corridor second class coach, composite, brake second, first, kitchen first, open second (part used for restaurant purposes), second brake, composite and a final corridor second. What appears to be an untidy make-up had reason behind it; the purpose was to have the guard and luggage near the centre of the train, and so speed up the working at Ipswich. The livery of the coaches was the well-known crimson and cream with black and gold lining.
By 1954 the express had been speeded up by ten minutes in both directions and the timetable stated 'limited seating accommodation’, seats 'bookable in advance for 1s 0d'. Later in the 1950s, other engines of the Britannia class were also in use on the Great Eastern line, and I have a photograph of 70037 speeding through Bramford station on the up 'East Anglian', headboard resplendent on the lamp bracket just in front of the chimney. The Britannias continued thereafter for several years, but these fine locomotives were doomed to a relatively short life in East Anglia. With the arrival of the 2,000hp diesel locomotives (English Electric Type 4, later class 40), the journey time of the 'East Anglian' was accelerated to exactly two hours in the 1959 timetable. The loading remained at nine bogie coaches, with two extra second class coaches added to the rear of the train for the 6.30pm departure from Liverpool Street on Friday evenings. Three years later, the naming of expresses and the use of headboards was stopped and for almost twenty years, the titling of trains was not encouraged at BR management level in the cause of a more bland corporate image.
From the start of the 1980-81 timetable, increased demand for an early arrival in London by businessmen highlighted the need for an accelerated 08.00 Norwich to Liverpool Street service and a balancing 16.20 return. The Colchester stop, introduced in the late 1950s was omitted and the express ran non-stop to and from Ipswich. Enthusiastic staff produced an East Anglian headboard and the title once again appeared in timetables. Newly named class 47 locomotives, most with 'Stratford Grey' roofs were the motive power and the timing was 110 minutes. Air conditioned Mk II coaches were introduced on the express in the Autumn of 1980. I took some colour slides of the train entering Ipswich station at that time, with the headboard proudly displayed on the locomotive.
There were then no major changes until electrification to Ipswich in 1985 when the schedule was increased to give time for locomotive changes at Ipswich. Full electrification to Norwich as from May 1987 saw an improvement in the service with the 'East Anglian' accelerated to 100 minutes in each direction. It departed Norwich at 07.55 and left Liverpool Street at 17.00 for the return journey. No headboard was carried but carriage window stickers were displayed and the loading was increased to eleven coaches. The formation was (as recorded on the Stowmarket Railway Club 1987 Survey Day, 14 July): class 86 locomotive, brake first corridor, two first opens, restaurant buffet, six tourist second opens and finally a brake second open. A few years later, even the use of carriage window stickers was ceased.
Many die-hard Norwich and Ipswich commuters still refer to one train to this day as the 'East Anglian', although there is no name given to the train, nor identification by a headboard. In 2010, this is the 07.30 from Norwich, stopping at Ipswich only at 08.07 and arriving at Liverpool Street at 09.25. Likewise, the return journey stops only at Ipswich at 17.58, having left London at 17.00, and is due to arrive Norwich at 18.42.
It is a shame that the present railway management do not milk some publicity from the fastest train in East Anglia, which in my view still ought to carry title 'East Anglian', a title introduced over seventy years ago.
David Chappell
In the last paragraph of the above article, written a couple of years ago, I mentioned it was a shame that the present management did not give some publicity to the erstwhile East Anglian express. In the latest 2011 Timetable booklet, Table 6, the 07.40- from Norwich to London and the 17.00 from Liverpool Street to Norwich have a small code at the top of the time column. This is 'EA' The Timetable Key on the last page states: 'EA' 'The East Anglian'.
Perhaps they read my mind!
Extracted from Transport Matters, No 232 June 2011
ISSN 0306.0187