The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR), authorised in 1836, aspired to reach Norwich and Yarmouth, but ran out of money and stopped short.

For some years the ECR 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 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.

The GNR 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.

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.

[5][page needed] The line was opened for goods traffic throughout in November 1864 from a junction some distance south of King's Lynn station.

Fearing that this might happen, suddenly giving the GER a monopoly of the coal traffic to East Anglia, the GNR started to sponsor friendly railways in the area itself.

Wisbech had traditionally been used as an inland port, but a Sutton Bridge Dock, connected to the railway network, could be advantageous, saving part of the difficult navigation up the River Nene.

King's Lynn was an important regional centre and port on the Ouse, and the E&MR access to it was inconvenient, involving (from the east) reversal at the GER station for through trains, and reliance on that company's grudging acquiescence.

Thoughts had long harboured the intention of creating an independent through route and on 2 November 1885 the Lynn Loop was opened for goods traffic; passenger service followed on 1 January 1886.

A through London King's Cross to Cromer express started running in August 1887, and although the construction had been expensive, the boost to revenue from the new line was considerable.

[3][page needed] On 20 June 1888 a new branch line from North Walsham to Mundesley, a small seaside resort was authorised by Parliament.

A bill was to be submitted to the 1888 session of Parliament to build a connecting line from the Midland Railway near Ashwell (in the vicinity of Oakham) and Bourne.

[4][page needed] In the months following the passage of the Act, wiser counsels prevailed, and the E&MR, Midland and GNR boards negotiated a more congenial arrangement.

Read was appointed receiver, and at a shareholders' meeting in November 1889 it was stated that the company had liabilities of over £108,000 on working costs as well as £71,645 on unpaid debenture interest and guaranteed share dividends.

Signalling was modernised, some additional crossing places were established as well as some short lengths of double track, and the Bourne to Saxby line continued to be built.

With only minor interference from the GER, the new arrangement passed in Parliament on 9 June 1893: the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway would become an incorporated entity (rather than just a committee delegated by the two principals).

An Act of 7 August 1896 authorised the M&GJR to build on from Mundesley (not yet open) to Cromer, passing south of the town and curving back to approach it from the west.

The M&GNJR Bill for the curve at Yarmouth passed in Parliament on 6 August 1897, and the establishment of the Norfolk and Suffolk Joint Railway was enacted on 25 July 1898.

Although some short sections of double track had been introduced, the majority of the network was single line, and this brought challenges to timekeeping at busy times.

[21] During World War I many of the best long-distance express passenger trains were suspended; the M&GNJR took on considerable additional goods traffic during hostilities, and many of the workforce left for the armed forces.

The company maintained an armoured train, constructed by the London and North Western Railway at Crewe, continuously in steam from early in 1915 in case of enemy invasion.

[3][page needed] The long-distance express trains were reinstated progressively, and the LNER particularly emphasised London King's Cross to Cromer traffic.

Widespread closure of goods services too was contemplated, with only the Spalding to Sutton Bridge, Peterborough to Wisbech, South Lynn to Gayton Road, and Melton Constable to Norwich City being kept.

The scale of the closure aroused considerable opposition, mainly focussed on the reduction in amenity to communities, although there was also widespread apathy, reflected in poor turnouts at public meetings.

From the 1950s, Ivatt 4MTs became the dominant motive power on the system, which achieved a higher degree of standardisation than any other part of British Railways—more than 50 of these "mucky ducks" were allocated here.

A fleet of the latter was commissioned in the mid-1950s to take over all the long-distance locomotive-hauled passenger services, but the line's closure in 1959 saw them re-allocated (especially to the Great Northern suburban commuter workings out of King's Cross, for which they were particularly unsuitable).

The M&GN device consists of images derived from the coats of arms of the four principal cities and towns it served: (clockwise from top left) Peterborough, Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn.

The number of M&GN wagons declined during the 1920s, and were eventually bought by the parent companies in 1928, leaving only service stock, which was painted red oxide.

The M&GN was frequently referred to as the "Muddle and Go Nowhere",[25] a fairly self-evident title for a route that served a mostly rural region, but after closure this phrase was commonly replaced with "Missed and Greatly Needed".