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A more hopeless railway there never was when in 1867 Lord Cranborne, who the same year became Marquess of Salisbury, was implored to accept its chairmanship. By his reputation and conspicuous ability he gave it hope and restored its credit, and raised three millions to give it a fresh start, from which it has never looked back. In 1875 came the man to take advantage of the better prospects and make them better still. The one outstanding thing that crippled the company was its want of punctuality, and this he set to work vigorously to remedy. Such a tumult of growls against hustling and petty preciseness had not up till then been heard in the east, but Punctuality Parkes went on his way regardless of protest in clearing out the unpunctual, and drilling the staff into the belief that time-tables are not intended to be works of fiction but of fact. And he succeeded, and, loyally helped, he put the line on another plane of existence. He it was who abandoned Bishopsgate of evil memory and took the terminus to Liverpool Street; he it was who put the clock there that there could be no mistake as to what the time was at every station and in every man's pocket. Parkeston, The Great Eastern port for the Continent, he also made, and it is named after him; and there you start by steamer for the Hook of Holland or elsewhere just as punctually as you do from London by train.
The Great Eastern. Company's fleet consists of 8 passenger boats, 4 cargo boats, and the 3 small paddle steamers that ply on the river between Ipswich, Harwich, and Felixstowe. Three of its Channel steamers are driven by turbines, the others being twin-screw boats of the old type. All the passenger steamers are fitted with wireless telegraphy and submarine signalling appliances, and are well-known examples of what may be called the liner type, with passenger accommodation of the best.
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