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RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2016 :: RMTnews
26
L
ike the flight of the Bumble-
Bee the Mid-Suffolk Light
Railway, affectionately known
as the ‘Middy’, defies all logic
but, still, there it is.
This little stretch of line was
a classic case of a railway built
too late for the great railway
age. It never paid its way and
was effectively broke before it
opened and was never fully
completed with the rails
petering out in the middle of a
field.
Predominately used by
farming communities, it still
managed to struggle on against
all the odds for 50 years.
Heavily used in World War Two
for the war effort, the Haughley
– Laxfield branch as it was
known closed in 1952 and that
should have been the end of
that, as they say.
Yet in 1991 after almost all
traces of the line had
dissappeared a group of
enthusiasts decided this country
railway, once so important to
the area, should not be
forgotten.
Despite the whole line being
taken up in 1953, all the rolling
stock scrapped and the buildings
scattered around the county in
various states of dereliction, a
hardy volunteer army set about
doing the impossible and
brought the ‘Middy’ back to life.
The ‘Middy’, a fine example
of rural English history, is now
resurrected as Suffolk’s only
standard gauge railway museum
and ironically it is busier now
than it ever was.
A section of the railway at
Brockford has been recreated
with original station buildings
THE MINI
‘MIDDY’ RAILWAY
The award-
winning ‘Middy’
heritage railway
may be the
smallest in the
country but it
has a lot to offer