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Packet Boats had plied the waters between the River Orwell and the European mainland since the times of Charles II. William III, George I and George II granted royal patronage, in the course of visiting their extended Hanovarian family. The birth of railways coincided with the demise of the packet boat because of lost mail contracts. In 1832 Harwich lost the contract for mails to Holland and North Germany, and in 1834 similarly for Gothenburg.
Early shipping routes from Harwich Haven
The railway from London Shoreditch to Ipswich opened to passengers on 15th June 1846. Two days afterwards the Eastern Union Railway ran an excursion from Shoreditch to Rotterdam conveying passengers by rail to Ipswich and thence by specially chartered steamer, SS ORWELL, to Rotterdam.
Departing from Shoreditch at 0530, reaching Ipswich by 0730, and the steamer departing from Ipswich ten minutes later. That evening the vessel arrived in Rotterdam and was able to distribute that day London newspapers. Apparently to much local acclaim. Next morning departure was made at 1000. In good time to pass the in bound Packet from London as the SS Orwell headed out into the North Sea.
Harwich was passed at 2100 and disembarkation at Ipswich occurred at 2230. The excursion reached Shoreditch at 0110. This excursion contained a party of businessmen who along with others caused the Harwich branch to be built and could accurately be referred to as the Fathers of Parkeston Quay. Today it is know as Harwich International Port.
A Danish service, weekly to Esbjerg, started from Harwich in 1880, and this together with the increased frequency of the established services led to congestion. It was this congestion that fed the Great Eastern Railway's desire to own and operate their own Quay, and resulted in the building of Parkeston Quay. So named after Charles H Parkes, the then chairman of the Great Eastern Railway. The Port was built on marshy land called the Isle of Ray and subsequently reclaimed by drainage.
This route to the Continent was preferred by the American and British Armed Forces, stationed in Europe for the five decades preceding World War 2.
B12 Class Locomotive No. 61533 is shown passing Parkeston Goods Junction with the up Scandinavian Boat Train. The quay in the background is the facility that Ferries used to disembark their passengers and freight from The Hook of Holland, Scandinavia, Denmark and Germany.
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