Great Eastern Railway seven compartment third class corridor coach No 2155, Diagram 438.

Built by Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company in 1921 and now known as the ‘Boston Coach’, this is a rare survivor of a GER mainline bogie coach.

Renumbered 61533 by the London & North Eastern Railway (E61533E by British Railways), it was withdrawn from passenger use in the 1950s. The compartments were stripped out and the coach converted into a ‘Ballast and Messing Brake’ for the Signal & Telegraph engineers at Boston in Lincolnshire carrying departmental numbers 041418 and DE320731.

Recognising its importance marking the transition between late GER coaches and the Gresley coaches introduced by the LNER that followed the 1923 railway grouping, it was saved by the Museum in 1986 and moved to Chappel.

To prevent further deterioration, the coach spent several decades stored at the back of the Restoration Shed. Commencing early 2026, the Boston coach is now being prepared for public display in the Museum’s new Exhibition Hall alongside earlier GER 4 and 6 wheeled coaches.

To return the Boston coach to passenger service would require considerable structural rebuilding as well as reinstatement of the side corridor and seven compartments – the result would be more replica than original coach! Recognising that the coach has survived in its present form for 70 years (twice as long as in passenger service) it is to be conserved as last used at Boston. Many coaches were converted for departmental use, but the Museum is unaware of any being conserved and displayed in such form.

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