This is all that remains of a first call broad gauge railway carriage built in Bristol in 1849.
Railways were a novelty when it was made, so it is similar in design to road coaches that people were familiar with. There were four separate compartments in this carriage and a central luggage section. After 35 years of service on the railway, the carriage body became part of a cottage at South Cerney in Gloucestershire. It was lived in for nearly 80 years.