Chappel and Wakes Colne
is the first stop on the line from Marks Tey, and the station
is the home of the East
Anglian Railway Museum, which is the home to many preserved
Steam and Diesel Trains, the station is also preserved in
the old LNER Colours, down in the village the rail line
passes over on the 32 arch viaduct.
Chappel and Wakes Colne station serves
a small village in the Colne Valley, the station was once
a busy place for both passenger and freight, originally
Chappel was the junction for the Colne Valley Railway
towards Halstead, which was closed in the early 1960s
as usage on the line declined after the war. During the
war the station was also very busy in bringing in supplies
for local airfields
The
station now isn't as busy as it once was, with only
the hourly shuttle between Marks Tey and Sudbury using
platform 1, however the rest of the station remains
in place and decorated in the LNER colours, and houses
the East Anglian Railway Museum. The Museum has a
range of Steam Engines, Carriages and Diesel Multiple
Units (some of which are normally on loan to other
museums) The best part of the Museum is the station
building, which is restored to an excellent condition.
The station building houses the restored
booking office and waiting rooms, each room has various
other items of interest on display, such as the WH Smiths
newspaper stand in the Ticket Office, Track Layouts and
diagrams from both Liverpool Street and Chappel (Pre Closure
of Colne Valley Line)
The museum is open daily from 10am and
costs £3
The viaduct is adjacent to the station,
you can view by walking out of the station forecourt
and turning left and following the road to the village
(about 5 mins walk) you can take good photos from
the fields by walking towards the viaduct, across
the small bridge then into the Millennium Fields,
trains can clearly be heard approaching if you want
the train in the picture! The Viaduct was opened
in 1848, is made up of seven million bricks and
32 arches and stands around 75 feet high. It is
designated a European Monument.
For more information about the
Railway Museum at Chappel, please visit their website
