Welcome to the ‘Middy’
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is Suffolk’s only standard gauge heritage railway, offering steam open days and events to the general public. Services are normally steam operated on both standard open days and special event days.
Quick links:
- 2026 Programme in What’s On
- Latest news – including changes due to the current heatwave.
- How to Find Us
- Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum
- USAAF 34th Bomb Group (Mendlesham Airfield Association)
- Middy Bar
- Middy Tea Room
We are in the middle of an exciting 2026 programme, details can be found on the What’s On page.
It has already been a busy year with guest locomotives, some of which have never appeared at Brockford before, and the recent opening of our extension and new platform, Aspall Halt, which has more than doubled the length of the line.
As well as the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum, there are displays dedicated to the USAAF 34th Bomb Group, who were based at nearby Mendlesham during the 2nd World War.
Refreshments are available in the Tea Room and real-ale Middy bar.
So, plenty of interest for families, rail enthusiasts and photographers of all ages.
For more information:
- 2026 programme go to What’s On .
- Directions and Opening Times can be found on the Find Us page.
- Details about the site and facilities, including the Tea Room, can be found here.
Also the News page will have stories on the latest events as soon as we have them. Watch these spaces!
Help us run this unique part of English railway history by becoming a member/volunteer or by Donating to our Appeals
The ‘Middy’
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, affectionately known as the ‘Middy’, 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 in 1904 and eventually closed in 1952. For more about the history of this railway please visit the History page.
In 1991 after almost all traces of the line had disappeared a group of enthusiasts decided this country railway, once so important to the area, should not be forgotten. A 1Km section of the railway at Brockford has been recreated with original station buildings which capture the atmosphere of this quirky line. The ‘Middy’, a fine example of rural English history, is now resurrected as Suffolk’s only standard gauge railway museum and ironically is busier now than it ever was.
In 2012 the MSLR was awarded the Heritage Railway Association’s Interpretation Award. In October 2014 the ‘Middy’ was voted Suffolk Museum of the Year in competition with 40 other Suffolk museums and, in 2023 we won the H.R.A.’s restoration award for restoring and bringing back to traffic the delightful Shredded Wheat Company Fowler diesel.
Today’s ‘Middy’ is not only a museum, but runs regular steam trains and has a programme of carriage and wagon restoration complementing its efforts to recreate this slice of Edwardian England. And we have three major projects in hand to keep this example of British railway history alive and well..
- Line Extension project: relaying of track along the old trackbed, and a new destination called Aspall Halt. We aim to complete the platform buildings and landscaping this year.
- Restoration of Hudswell Clarke no.1604: an 0-6-0 saddle tank similar to the side tank locomotives owned by the MSLR when running in its independent days. The aim is to have this ready by early 2027.
- A new carriage shed and double the sidings at Dovebrook: all of our carriages are well over 100 years old and need protection from the English weather, especially in winter.
If you would like to help us achieve these aims please visit the Appeals Pages of this web site.
