Over more than fifty years, the railways of the Eastern Counties have seen a great number of changes. In the early 1970s, many stations, even some of the smaller ones, had a resident diesel shunter for moving empty carriages or servicing the goods yard. First generation diesel multiple units ran most of the secondary lines, with locomotive-hauled expresses being used on the InterCity routes and the Harwich boat trains.Today, modern electric trains speed northwards to Norwich and Kings Lynn, while comfortable diesel units serve the cross-country routes. New electric or bi-mode sets are now operating on other lines. Semaphore signalling has mostly given way to centralised colour light systems.