Today’s ‘Middy’ is a registered charity and all activities are carried out by volunteers. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Museum is just off the A140 14 miles from Ipswich and 28 miles from Norwich. Look for the Mendlesham TV mast and then follow the brown signs.
We are normally open from 10.30am to 4.30pm from Easter Weekend until early September Sundays and Bank Holidays. For other open days visit the What’s On pages of this web site.
On site facilities
Museum
At Brockford there is a collection of standard guage locomotives and rolling stock. The museum exhibition hall is home to a collection of smaller artefacts, documents and models which together tell the story of the building, operation and decline of the ‘Middy’. You will find photographic displays which span the ‘Middy’s’ existence from the earliest days to the present. From time to time special themed exhibitions are staged often in connection with a special event. Many of the photographs displayed are the work of the celebrated railway photographer Dr. Ian C. Allen and the museum building is named after him.
Cafe/Tea Room
The cafe serves hot and cold drinks, a variety of sweet and savoury snacks, homemade cakes and sandwiches on all open days.
The Middy Bar (previously the Kitchener Arms)
Our unique real ale bar coach is open whenever the Museum is open (see timetable for details).
Shop
A range of souvenirs to remember your visit are on offer from drivers’ and guards’ hats to models, books and Thomas the Tank Engine toys.
Brockford Station Building
This building is the former Mendlesham Station and, as a double ended MSLR station, it is a major exhibit in the Middy Museum. For nearly 40 years it had been used by a chicken farmer and on his retirement he offered it to the MSLR Museum.
When trains are running the station is a hive of activity. Even on non-running days the atmosphere of a country railway in the first half of the 20th century is there for you to see and enjoy.
Works
In the modern industrial units behind the station is the MSLR Carriage & Wagon workshop where you can see restoration projects underway. Recent projects included restoration of our GER coach no. 140, a 150+ year old 1st class smoking coach and the complete restoration of our TOAD B 20 ton brake van, both now back in traffic. All work is carried out by volunteers.
Restoration Shed
Further down the site is our Lottery Funded Restoration Shed. Officially opened by Lord Deben in 2017, the key project is to restore the MSLR’s own locomotive – a 1928 Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T no.1604 – back to working order.
The new loco shed provides a more comfortable and professional environment to work in with a growing range of machine tools. The shed even boasts proper creature comforts including kitchen, showers and toilets. A greater range of tasks can now be conducted on site under the watchful eye of Restoration Team Leader, Steve Grayston.