The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway has announced the arrival of the historic former Great Eastern Railway Coach No. 14, secured thanks to the support and dedication of its members.

As the only known surviving carriage to have operated on the original Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, the acquisition marks a milestone in the preservation of the line’s heritage.

With the arrival of No. 14, the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway now boasts four 19th-century coaches, including two break coaches, with a project to create a carriage shed underway.

This expanding fleet will enable the railway to introduce a rotation system, allowing essential restoration work to be carried out with less disruption to public opening days.

Coach No. 14 was built as Order G24 at the Stratford works and completed in December 1889 for the Great Eastern Railway.

As constructed, the carriage was the first to serve Great Eastern with electric lighting installed from new. At construction, it measured 27 feet 6 inches in length and was mounted on a long-wheelbase four-wheel underframe. It was later extended by 4 feet and 6 inches and mounted on the six-wheel underframe; it remains on that underframe to this day.

Following the 1923 creation of the London and North Eastern Railway, No. 14 continued in service within the Engineers’ Department, first from Ipswich, then later at Norwich. The carriage subsequently passed into service with British Railways, where its final operation was in Yorkshire before being sold in 1973.

After restoration, the coach spent many years in service at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The recent purchase and relocation to Suffolk is intended to mark a new chapter in the carriage’s long history.

Now back to the railway it once served, GER Coach No. 14 will take pride of place in the Middy’s collection, offering visitors the opportunity to experience a rare and authentic piece of Victorian railway history.

The 2026 season begins over the Easter weekend in April, where two steam locomotives (Illingworth and May) are set to be in operation alongside the new addition.

“This is a great day for the railway and fills an important gap in our collection. We have been in discussion with the previous owner of the coach for some time, he is also a supporter of the railway, and we are all so pleased we have managed to come to an arrangement that secures the coach for the future.”

Ian Meigh, Chairman of the Railway.