The tranquil beauty of the Suffolk countryside combines with the nostalgia of the days of steam at Brockford, where a representation of a rural railway in the first half of the 20th century has been created on the site of the former Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, known affectionately as 'The Middy'.  This was one of many lines built late on in the great railway age that never paid its way but managed to struggle on for 50 years!

Nearly 40 years after it closed, a group of enthusiasts formed a company to recreate the
Middy as a museum with working demonstrations, offering rides to the public on selected
weekends.  Planning consent currently allows 20 steam operating days a year.

See the official website (http://www.mslr.org.uk) for opening times and other information.

Visitors can ride in the comfort of a fully restored coach or enjoy the experience of
standing in the brake van.  The entrance ticket allows unlimited rides.

                                              

                          Bank Holiday Steam and Ale

I visited this fragment of history on August Bank Holiday Monday - a "Rail 'n' Ale" day.  Not
only was the weather wonderful but also the ale - and the burgers!  John Gibbs, a police
officer stationed at Debenham, who lives in the village, runs the barbecue and the proceeds
from his culinary efforts go to the locomotive restoration fund.  Work on 'Alston', a Hudswell
Clark 0-6-0 saddle tank loco, is due to start soon.  One of John's burgers, washed down with
a pint of one of six locally brewed real ales on offer, made the visit even more enjoyable.

Chairman Rob Murray and Vice-Chairman Keith Froom (pictured below) took me on a track
walk and told me of the progress so far and future plans.  Planning permission has been  given
to extend the track, initially by 45 metres, with a futher quarter-mile application in the pipeline.
Longer-term plans include a locomotive shed, and to focus on the line's farming heritage a
cattle dock will be built to replace one originally standing here.  Two more GER passenger
coaches, currently awaiting restoration, will join a brake-third already in use to represent a
train of the original company prior to its absorption within the LNER.

Above:  Restoration is an ongoing job.  There is always plenty of work for volunteers,
whose painstaking efforts restore the stock to the pristine condition seen below.

ABOVE (left): Brockford Station, the former Mendlesham station building, which
deteriorated during many years' use as a chicken coop before being  rescued and
brought in sections to the resurrected Middy and restored.   (Right): The Hudswell
Clark 0-6-0  saddle-tank locomotive awaiting restoration.  Locomotives made by
this  company  were used in the early days of the MSLR, but none of the original
side-tank design have survived.

BELOW: This is the scene that greets visitors on steam days.

Closure notice dated 28 July 1952 and two photographs taken in 2003 with new buildings
in place and track-laying well under way.    © Ian Davey, http://www.suffolkcam.co.uk