Massey Bromley only served as the Great Eastern Railway's (GER) Locomotive Superintendent for three years, from February 1878 to August 1881. Bromley was responsible for establishing the Stratford Works as the location for most of the GER's locomotive construction. This was pursued so effectively, that virtually all GER locomotives built after 1882 were built at Stratford.

None of Bromley's locomotive designs survived into LNER ownership, although some of his tenders did.

Bromley was killed in the MS&LR Penistone accident in 1884.