Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
Encyclopedia
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway (aka The Middy) is a heritage railway in Suffolk, which in its heyday it was a branch line which ran for just 19 miles (30.6 km) from Haughley
to Laxfield
, Suffolk. The line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
in 1924 and the last trains ran on 26 July 1952. The Railway is now both a heritage railway and preservation museum run by a small but dedicated band of volunteers. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is currently the only steam preservation railway in Suffolk
. There are plans to extend in each direction along the line.
, with a second branch running from Kenton station to Westerfield
near Ipswich. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, or Middy as it became affectionately known, was built to provide transport to the rural Suffolk communities who had no reliable transport links. It was built in accordance with the 1896 Light Railways Act, which allowed for cheaper construction methods in return for a speed restriction of 25 mph. The railway was built as cheaply as possible: the buildings were constructed using corrugated iron
, and the route followed the natural contours of the land to minimise the need for embankments and bridges. The section from Haughley to Laxfield was completed and open for passenger traffic. Beyond Laxfield the line was built for approx mile to Cratfield over which an occasional freight train was run but the section fell into disuse. Some earthworks were begun between Cratfield and Halesworth but these were soon abandoned with now no evidence remaining. The section of about two miles of the branch from Kenton to Westerfield was completed as far as Debenham and a few goods trains were run but this also was soon abandoned. Some sections of trackbed and embankments still survive.
(GER) and local landowners. The railway was bankrupt before it opened. It was pure determination that kept the Middy running. The Railway opened to freight traffic in 1904 with the hope that this would bring in enough income to complete the line, but by 1908, although the line was making an income, it still was not enough to cover its original debts and for work to continue. Finally on Tuesday 29 September 1908 the line was opened to passengers with two trains in either direction on weekdays, but this failed to bring great trade as many of the stations were sited miles from the communities they were meant to serve.
(LNER), but apart from the replacement of second-hand rolling stock, the railway continued as it always had done. The railway's original LNER Class J64
locomotives were replaced by LNER Class J65
or "Blackwall Tanks" which were eventually replaced by the older but stronger LNER Class J15.
The passenger traffic began to decline over the next couple of decades as more people bought motorcars and goods traffic was increasingly going by road. This all changed with the beginning of the Second World War. With petrol rationing, the Middy became an important transport link and with US airbases built near the Mendlesham
and Horham
stations, the line was relied upon for transporting military equipment and regularly used by American serviceman. The war brought more traffic to the line – both goods and passengers – as the railway became important in helping the war effort. This all came at a cost to the railway. No effort was made to maintain the rolling stock or the line itself, like the rest of Britain's railway network.
Nearly 40 years after it closed, a group of enthusiasts formed a Company to recreate the Middy on the site of the Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station
, now the corner of a large field.
Another aim of the society is to bring together an archive of photos and original artifacts from the working life of the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway. Many of these are on display at the museum.
A full list of the events and activities can be found on the Mid-Suffolk light railway society's web site.
There are also several wagons and freight Items that are under restoration and operational.
visited the still incomplete railway on 23 September 1902 after spending the night at Aspall
. He travelled over the railway from Brockford
to , where he continued his journey to Stowmarket
by road.
The Middy was short-listed as the location for the 1952 Ealing Studios
film The Titfield Thunderbolt
, but the Camerton
and Limpley Stoke line south of Bath was used instead.
The Railway was used as inspiration for the John Hadfield
novel, Love on a Branch Line
. The book was first published in 1959 and was turned into a television series
in 1994.
Haughley
Haughley is a village in the English county of Suffolk.-External links:*...
to Laxfield
Laxfield
Laxfield is a small ancient village in northern Suffolk, England. It is located at a distinct bend in today's B1117 road.-History:Laxfield arose in Saxon times as it is known that an early church was there and the village itself appears in the Domesday Book...
, Suffolk. The line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
in 1924 and the last trains ran on 26 July 1952. The Railway is now both a heritage railway and preservation museum run by a small but dedicated band of volunteers. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is currently the only steam preservation railway in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. There are plans to extend in each direction along the line.
Construction
The line was intended to run from Haughley to HalesworthHalesworth
Halesworth is a small market town in the northeastern corner of Suffolk, England. It is located south west of Lowestoft, and straddles the River Blyth, 9 miles upstream from Southwold. The town is served by Halesworth railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line...
, with a second branch running from Kenton station to Westerfield
Westerfield
Westerfield is a village in Suffolk, England.It is located approximately two miles north of the centre of Ipswich. The village is served by Westerfield railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line....
near Ipswich. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, or Middy as it became affectionately known, was built to provide transport to the rural Suffolk communities who had no reliable transport links. It was built in accordance with the 1896 Light Railways Act, which allowed for cheaper construction methods in return for a speed restriction of 25 mph. The railway was built as cheaply as possible: the buildings were constructed using corrugated iron
Corrugated galvanised iron
Corrugated galvanised iron is a building material composed of sheets of hot-dip galvanised mild steel, cold-rolled to produce a linear corrugated pattern in them...
, and the route followed the natural contours of the land to minimise the need for embankments and bridges. The section from Haughley to Laxfield was completed and open for passenger traffic. Beyond Laxfield the line was built for approx mile to Cratfield over which an occasional freight train was run but the section fell into disuse. Some earthworks were begun between Cratfield and Halesworth but these were soon abandoned with now no evidence remaining. The section of about two miles of the branch from Kenton to Westerfield was completed as far as Debenham and a few goods trains were run but this also was soon abandoned. Some sections of trackbed and embankments still survive.
Opening
The railway was built too late, long after the great railway boom that had affected the country in the Victorian age, and soon came into financial difficulties. The planned railway had troubles from the very beginning, having disputes with the neighbouring Great Eastern RailwayGreat Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
(GER) and local landowners. The railway was bankrupt before it opened. It was pure determination that kept the Middy running. The Railway opened to freight traffic in 1904 with the hope that this would bring in enough income to complete the line, but by 1908, although the line was making an income, it still was not enough to cover its original debts and for work to continue. Finally on Tuesday 29 September 1908 the line was opened to passengers with two trains in either direction on weekdays, but this failed to bring great trade as many of the stations were sited miles from the communities they were meant to serve.
London and North Eastern Railway
In 1924 the Middy lost its independence and was grouped together with the London and North Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
(LNER), but apart from the replacement of second-hand rolling stock, the railway continued as it always had done. The railway's original LNER Class J64
LNER Class J64
The LNER Class J64 was a class of three 0-6-0T steam locomotives of the London and North Eastern Railway.They were built by Hudswell Clarke for the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway and were acquired by the LNER when it took over the Mid-Suffolk in 1924. Number 3 was withdrawn immediately and never...
locomotives were replaced by LNER Class J65
GER Class E22
The GER Class E22 was a class of twenty 0-6-0 steam tank locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping in 1923 and received the LNER classification J65.-History:...
or "Blackwall Tanks" which were eventually replaced by the older but stronger LNER Class J15.
The passenger traffic began to decline over the next couple of decades as more people bought motorcars and goods traffic was increasingly going by road. This all changed with the beginning of the Second World War. With petrol rationing, the Middy became an important transport link and with US airbases built near the Mendlesham
Mendlesham railway station
Mendlesham railway station was a station on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway.-History:Mendlesham railway station was in the village of Mendlesham, Suffolk. It was from Haughley to Laxfield...
and Horham
Horham
Horham is a village in the county of Suffolk, in the East Anglia region of eastern England, United Kingdom. The village contains a church, St. Mary of Horham. Horham is on the B1117 road, approximately halfway between Eye and Stradbroke.- History :...
stations, the line was relied upon for transporting military equipment and regularly used by American serviceman. The war brought more traffic to the line – both goods and passengers – as the railway became important in helping the war effort. This all came at a cost to the railway. No effort was made to maintain the rolling stock or the line itself, like the rest of Britain's railway network.
British Railways
After the war the Middy entered into the ownership of British Railways in 1948. Although business was dwindling and the line was in a state of neglect and decay after being exhausted during WW2, the line became an attraction for enthusiasts and railway management due to the picturesque landscape through which the railway ran; and its informal atmosphere. The end of the war meant a surplus of ex-army lorries which took away the agricultural business, the main source of income for the line. The Middy eventually closed in 1952, 44 years after it had opened for passenger traffic.Renaissance
Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station
Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station was a station on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway.-History:Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station served the villages of Wetheringsett and Brockford Green in Suffolk. It was on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway . The station was opened in 1908 and closed in...
, now the corner of a large field.
The task ahead
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Society had an ambitious task ahead of them due to the temporary nature of the original line. As far as is known, no coaches or locomotives of the Middy are still in existence and the corrugated iron buildings were either left to rust or sold to become farm sheds. However, the Company has been recreating typical scenes from the Middy's past by using restored coaches and wagons that would have run on its bigger neighbour, the Great Eastern Railway, and its successor, the London & North Eastern Railway. The Society has been able to collect a number of Great Eastern coaches, one of which is in working order, with many more under restoration. The museum has also been able to collect the remaining station buildings from former Middy railway stations.Non-railway artifacts
The one aim of the society which makes it stand out from any other railway museum is that they are not just interested in getting a locomotive and coaches and taking passengers up and down the line. Goods wagons, road going railway delivery vehicles and line side artifacts are given just as much care and attention as the main attractions.Another aim of the society is to bring together an archive of photos and original artifacts from the working life of the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway. Many of these are on display at the museum.
Operation
The museum operates from April to the end of September on Sundays and Bank Holidays, with Santa specials in December. Most of the Open Days have a Special Event to accompany the running of the steam locomotive.A full list of the events and activities can be found on the Mid-Suffolk light railway society's web site.
Current
The museum currently has two locomotives, "Alston" which is under restoration on site and a Ruston diesel. The museum also uses privately owned locomotives for the steam events:- Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST "Falmouth Docks and Engineering Co. Loco No. 3" – operational
- Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST "Little Barford" – under restoration
- Hudswell ClarkeHudswell ClarkeHudswell, Clarke and Company Limited was an engineering and locomotive building company in Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-History:...
0-6-0ST "Alston" – under restoration - RustonRuston (engine builder)Ruston & Hornsby, later known as Ruston, was an industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England, the company's history going back to 1840. The company is best known as a manufacturer of narrow and standard gauge diesel locomotives and also of steam shovels. Other products included cars, steam...
0-4-0DM diesel-mechanical
Rolling stock
- GER 180 Horse box (body only) built 1869, under restoration
- GER 278 Four-wheel Third built 1876 , under restoration
- NER 131 Six-wheel Full Brake (body only), under long term restoration
- GER 13 Four-wheel Brake Third (body only) built 1875, Body on chassis ex LNER 'Queen Mary' type brakevan. Operational from 2003.
- GER 1266 Third (body only now on ex-tube wagon uderframe) built 1891, under restoration
- GER 287 Third (body only) built 1876, under long term restoration
- GER 140 First (body only) built 1863. Operational from 2009
- GER 424 Third, later Second (body only) built 1892, under restoration
There are also several wagons and freight Items that are under restoration and operational.
Claims to Fame
Lord KitchenerHerbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
visited the still incomplete railway on 23 September 1902 after spending the night at Aspall
Aspall, Suffolk
Aspall is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 52. The village is about 15 miles north of Ipswich, and 12 miles south of Diss....
. He travelled over the railway from Brockford
Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station
Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station was a station on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway.-History:Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station served the villages of Wetheringsett and Brockford Green in Suffolk. It was on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway . The station was opened in 1908 and closed in...
to , where he continued his journey to Stowmarket
Stowmarket
-See also:* Stowmarket Town F.C.* Stowmarket High School-External links:* * * * *...
by road.
The Middy was short-listed as the location for the 1952 Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
film The Titfield Thunderbolt
The Titfield Thunderbolt
The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to prevent British Railways from closing the fictional Titfield branch line. The film was written by T.E.B...
, but the Camerton
Camerton, Somerset
Camerton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, south west of Bath, lying on the Cam Brook. The parish has a population of 660.-History:...
and Limpley Stoke line south of Bath was used instead.
The Railway was used as inspiration for the John Hadfield
John Hadfield
John Charles Heywood Hadfield, was a British author and publisher, best known for his novel Love on a Branch Line....
novel, Love on a Branch Line
Love on a Branch Line (novel)
Love on a Branch Line is a 1959 comic novel by John Hadfield. It involved Jasper Pye, a diffident member of the British Civil Service being sent to Arcady Hall in Norfolk to close down a government department there. He finds it to be a rural idyll, and encounters a number of problems with closing...
. The book was first published in 1959 and was turned into a television series
Love on a Branch Line (TV series)
Love on a Branch Line is a British television adaptation of the 1959 novel Love on a Branch Line by John Hadfield. It was broadcast in 1994 airing on the BBC in four 50 minute episodes.-Cast:-Synopsis:...
in 1994.
Villages
During its operating life the Middy serviced the following villages:- HaughleyHaughleyHaughley is a village in the English county of Suffolk.-External links:*...
- GippingGippingGipping is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around three miles north north-east of Stowmarket, in 2005 its population was 80....
(freight only) - MendleshamMendleshamMendlesham, Suffolk is a small village with 1328 inhabitants, north east of Stowmarket and from LondonMendlesham is known for its large street fair which is held on every May Day bank holiday. Mendlesham has a popular community newsletter, and a good primary school. There are two public houses in...
- BrockfordBrockfordBrockford is a small village in Suffolk, England, UK. It once had a railway station on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway called: Brockford and Wetheringsett railway station. This station is now in the new site of the museum....
- AspallAspall, SuffolkAspall is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 52. The village is about 15 miles north of Ipswich, and 12 miles south of Diss....
- KentonKenton, Suffolk' is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located 3 km to the north-east of Debenham, in 2005 its population was 170....
.- DebenhamDebenhamDebenham is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in Eastern England. In the 2001 census the population recorded was 1,728...
(brief freight service)
- Debenham
- WorlingworthWorlingworthWorlingworth is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around ten miles south-east of Diss, in 2005 its population was 750....
- HorhamHorhamHorham is a village in the county of Suffolk, in the East Anglia region of eastern England, United Kingdom. The village contains a church, St. Mary of Horham. Horham is on the B1117 road, approximately halfway between Eye and Stradbroke.- History :...
- StradbrokeStradbrokeStradbroke is a village in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom. It is in the Mid Suffolk District and part of the East of England Region of England. Stradbroke is near to the small Suffolk town of Eye and the larger Norfolk market town of Diss...
- WilbyWilby, SuffolkWilby is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England located around miles south-east of Diss and south of Stradbroke along the B1118. The population of the parish at the 2001 census was 231 in 99 households.. The village has basic services including a...
- LaxfieldLaxfieldLaxfield is a small ancient village in northern Suffolk, England. It is located at a distinct bend in today's B1117 road.-History:Laxfield arose in Saxon times as it is known that an early church was there and the village itself appears in the Domesday Book...