East Anglian Railway Museum
The Stour Valley Railway Preservation Society was formed on 24 September 1968 with the initial aim of preserving the Great Eastern Railway branch from Marks Tey to Sudbury, then under threat of closure. The Marks Tey to Sudbury section was ultimately retained as a public passenger line (it remains in service today as the Gainsborough Line), but the Society took a lease on the disused goods yard and railway buildings at Chappel and Wakes Colne station from British Railways in December 1969. The first public steam-day operation took place three months later in early 1970.
The Society was renamed the East Anglian Railway Museum in 1986 to reflect a broadened scope: the museum presents railway history across the eastern counties, not solely the Stour Valley branch. The museum gained charitable status in 1991 and Registered Museum status in 1995.
The museum site sits alongside the operational Marks Tey to Sudbury passenger line, which still serves Chappel and Wakes Colne station; passenger trains pass through the station while museum activities take place on the adjacent goods yard and short stub of track. The collection includes a variety of small steam and industrial diesel locomotives, period carriages and railway infrastructure including a Victorian station building, signal box and goods shed. The Restoration Shed, built in 1983 to 1984, provides covered space for ongoing restoration work.
History
The East Anglian Railway Museum was established in 1968 by enthusiasts seeking to preserve examples of the Great Eastern Railway's distinctive locomotive and rolling stock types. The choice of Chappel and Wakes Colne station — on a branch line that remained open — gave the museum the unusual advantage of an operational Network Rail station as its base, maintaining the site's railway atmosphere while providing a realistic setting for the collection. The museum has grown steadily to encompass a significant collection of locomotives, carriages, wagons, and infrastructure artefacts spanning the GER, LNER, and British Railways periods.
Original line history
The Stour Valley Railway, which built the Marks Tey to Sudbury line, was opened in 1849 and extended to Shelford (Cambridge) in 1865, providing a cross-country route through the rural Essex and Suffolk border country. The Great Eastern Railway absorbed the Stour Valley Railway and operated the line as part of its Essex and Suffolk rural network. The Sudbury branch remains open today as a Community Rail line, one of the few rural GER branch survivors in East Anglia after the Beeching closures of the 1960s.
Stations and infrastructure
Chappel and Wakes Colne station is a remarkably complete example of a rural Great Eastern Railway station, retaining its original GER station buildings, signal box, goods shed, and platform infrastructure. The museum's collection of locomotives and rolling stock is stabled in the yard and sidings adjacent to the station. The Chappel Viaduct — 32 arches, up to 75 ft high, completed 1849 — is immediately visible from the station and is one of the most impressive railway structures in Essex.
Special events and operations
The museum holds regular steam days and diesel events through the year, including an annual autumn steam gala that is one of the highlights of the Essex heritage railway calendar. Visiting locomotives supplement the resident collection at major events. Santa Specials and other seasonal events are held. The museum's location on an active railway line means that passengers on Network Rail services can alight at Chappel and Wakes Colne directly at the museum.
Visitor information
Chappel and Wakes Colne station is on the Marks Tey–Sudbury branch, with regular services from Marks Tey (which has connections to London Liverpool Street and Colchester). By road the museum is signposted from the A1124 between Colchester and Halstead. Parking is available. Check the museum website for opening days, event dates, and admission prices, as the museum operates primarily on event days and selected open weekends rather than daily.
