The East Anglian Railway Museum is a museum located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. The museum has a wide collection of locomotives and rolling stock, some of which are fully restored, three are converted into Thomas, Percy and Toby replicas while others are undergoing repair and restoration. The Restoration Shed was built in 1983–4, before which most work had to take place in the Goods Shed or in the open. On event days, steam or diesel train rides are operated over a short demonstration track. The museum hosts two annual events: the Winter Beer Festival held in late February / early March (timing depends on UK school holidays), and the Summer Beer Festival held each September.

Museum history

The museum was originally formed as the Stour Valley Railway Preservation Society on 24 September 1968. The SVRPS was established at Chappel & Wakes Colne Station in December 1969 after a lease was obtained from British Rail to use the vacant goods yard and railway buildings, including the station building. The first public steam day took place three months later. The goods shed and station buildings were quickly restored; with a workshop being set up in the goods shed to enable maintenance and restoration work to be undertaken on the rolling stock. The Stour Valley Railway Preservation Society was renamed to The East Anglian Railway Museum in 1986 to confirm its focus on representing railway history of the Eastern Counties rather than just operating trains. The museum gained charitable status in 1991 (Registered Charity No. 1001579) and became a Registered Museum in 1995. Since 2005, the museum has had a greater emphasis on interpretation and display facilities, a large variety of events take place each year to raise funds to support the museum's activities.

Steam locomotives

The museum has a collection of industrial steam locomotives, in various states of repair.

Operational

Under overhaul

Awaiting overhaul or on static display

Diesel locomotives

The museum has a collection of industrial diesel locomotives.

Operational

Under repair

Under restoration

Diesel multiple units

Two Class 101 DMU cars are in operation at the museum. The units are owned by Diesel Unit Preservation Associates Ltd. DUPA own one other Class 101 unit (E51505 at Ecclesbourne Valley Railway) and two Class 108 units (E50599 at Ecclesbourne Valley Railway and M56223 at Llangollen Railway). Car number E56358 is painted in BR Blue with full yellow ends while E51213 is painted in BR Blue Grey with full yellow ends. Both cars have had their original pattern tungsten lighting reinstated. No. E56358 and No. E51213 were regular performers on the Marks Tey to Sudbury Line until 1993 when all 1st generation units were withdrawn in East Anglia and were transferred to Manchester, both withdrawn from service in 2001, then stored at MOD Shoeburyness before being purchased in 2003. They represented the Class 101 DMU class at Railcar50. The unit is mainly used on Day Out with Thomas Events where it runs as Daisy The Diesel Multiple Unit.

Electric multiple units

British Rail Class 306 unit 017 was transferred to the museum in mid-2011 for a four-year loan period from the National Railway Museum. The unit left the museum in October 2018. In 2021, the museum acquired a driving vehicle from British Rail Class 317 unit 317345. It was donated by Angel Trains.

Concert by Blur

On 13 June 2009, alternative rock band Blur performed a concert at the museum, where they had performed their first concert in 1988. As in 1988, the band played to around 150 people in a goods shed. This concert was their first since 2001 and the first show of their 2009 mini-tour, which was followed by the band headlining at the Glastonbury Festival and performing two concerts in Hyde Park. In November 2009, a plaque was erected on the East Anglian Railway Museum by PRS for Music. The Heritage Award was a celebration of Blur and the location of their first live performance.