Mid-Suffolk Light Railway
Suffolk Museum of the Year 2015
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Visit Us & What’s on

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In 2019 the MSLR will be open every Summer Sunday and Bank Holiday until August 26. Additionally there are some operating days outside the main season (see programme).

Trains on operating days will be steam hauled unless stated otherwise. Our museum, shop, refreshment room, model railway and our real ale bar, the Kitchener Arms will all be open on train operating days.

Entry prices: adult £10.00, child (under 16) £5.00, concession £8.00, family (2+2) £25.00.

Opening times are 11am – 5pm*. Trains typically run every 20 minutes on operating days, though this may vary for some special events.

*Last return train times may vary between 3.30 and 4.30. 

Find Us

You can find us at;
Brockford Station, Wetheringsett, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 5PW. The MSLR Museum and Station is just off the A140 Ipswich (14 miles) to Norwich (28 miles) Road. Look for the Mendlesham TV mast and then follow the brown signs.

Accessibility, parking and wheelchair access

We do our best to accommodate you and your needs and if you have any queries do not hesitate to contact us.

Parking is normally in a field adjacent to the site but disabled parking is available on the station forecourt providing a short and easy level access to the museum buildings and trains.

Wheelchair access is available to all the museum buildings and toilets and wheelchairs can normally be carried on the trains. A wheelchair is also available on site. Note that some parts of the site are not accessible for a wheelchair due to uneven terrain. The site is subject to a periodic disabled access survey.

What’s On

Easter Steam Up

21 Apr 2019 - 22 Apr 2019

Steam into Spring at The Mid Suffolk Light Railway

This is the first big weekend of the 2019 season at The Middy, Suffolk’s only standard gauge preserved railway.

All the railway and museum facilities including the museum, shop, café and Restoration Shed and the Middy’s real ale bar coach, The Kitchener Arms will be open for business together with steam train rides in genuine Victorian 4-wheeled coaches.

The Middy’s 2019 guest loco ‘Sirapite’ will also be making its first appearance during this weekend.

And there will be Easter Bunny hunts for younger visitors.

With its unique atmosphere, the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, 2015’s Suffolk Museum of the year, offers a fascinating picture of what life was like on and around a rural railway during the early part of the last century. A great way to celebrate the Easter weekend for families and rail fans alike.

Bar Open

Middy in the War Years 2019

5 May 2019 - 6 May 2019

Bank Holiday weekend 5th and 6th May will see two days recreating the atmosphere and scenes of World War II at The Mid Suffolk Light Railway.

Featuring wartime displays, reenactment demonstrations and military vehicles, this year’s event will see an expanded range of displays for visitors to enjoy such as military encampments, battle scenes as well as a number of displays dedicated to how people lived their lives on the home front. There will also be music and dancing from the Brown Penny Club swing dancers.

 This year we will also welcome back the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (TBC.)

As well as unlimited rides on trains with two locos in steam, all the Middy facilities will be open including our well stocked tea room, real ale bar and souvenir shop.

Railways played an important role in wartime Britain, and the ‘Middy’ was no exception as it not only served local communities but two local American air bases with supplies and munitions. WWII was one of the few periods in its history when the Middy actually paid its way.

Event Timetable and Programme Details will be published soon – watch this space.

Prices: Adults £12.00, Children £6.00, Concessions £10.00, Families £30.00

Opening times: 11.00 to 17.00 both days. Last trains approx 16.00.

Bar Open

Bank Holiday Steam Up

26 May 2019 - 27 May 2019

The first full regular open days of the Middy’s 2019 season, with two locos in steam and all the railway’s attractions available.

Plus on Monday 27th we will be hosting performances by the East Suffolk Morris Men. Their traditional music and dancing is quite in keeping with the ‘days of yore’ atmosphere of the Middy in our very rural setting.

Bar Open

Steam Railway Day

2 Jun 2019

Enjoy steam train rides in genuine Great Eastern Railway 4-wheel coaches and experience the atmosphere of how a rural railway served its community in Edwardian times.

All the Middy facilities will be open including the Museum, newly refurbished tea room, the Middy shop and our real ale bar coach, The Kitchener Arms.

Steam Railway Day

9 Jun 2019

Steam train rides in genuine Great Eastern Railway vehicles hauled by one of our resident locomotives and all other Middy facilities will be open, including our newly refurbished Tea Room.

We have made great strides in our plan to extend the line. Come and see how far we have got and how far we are going. Also you can view progress of the rebuilding of our own locomotive in our Lottery funded Restoration Engine Shed.

Suffolk Vehicle Enthusiasts Day

16 Jun 2019

The Middy will be hosting a visit from The Suffolk Vehicle Enthusiasts Club.

More information plus pictures to be confirmed.

Bar Open

Aston Martin Owners Club Day

23 Jun 2019

The Middy will be hosting a visit from the Aston Martin Owners Club.

More details and pictures T.B.C.

Bar Open

Diesel Day

30 Jun 2019

Despite the fact that the old Middy never once saw a diesel in revenue earning service, the MSLR now has two and they will both in action together for the first time in public this Sunday.

Ruston & Hornsby 165DS 0-4-0

 

Built for the West Midlands Gas Board in 1951, this loco remained in Birmingham for some 23 years until it was sold to Unigate Foods in Chard, Somerset in 1974. In 1986 it was acquired by the Ruston Locomotive Owners Group and eventually purchased from them by a number of volunteers and the MSLR Company in 2002. Since then it has been used mainly for shunting and shed pilot work when the railway was not open to the public. However it was a very welcome substitute for steam in the exceptional summer of 2018 when steam operations had to be discontinued in case of causing fires on the adjoining farm land.

 

Ruston & Hornsby 48DS 0-4-0

The ‘baby’ Ruston was purchased by two volunteers from the late Sir William McAlpine in 2017. Although no diesels ever ran on the Middy when the line was open, the contractors used an example of the exact same model when lifting the line after closure. Perhaps ironically, we hope to use this ‘baby’ in the reconstruction of the extension to Aspall Halt.

 

N.B. Not to to forget the Middy’s steam heritage we will also be running ‘Sirapite’ today on demonstration shunting and goods duties.

 

Bar Open

While the MSLR endeavours to provide the advertised service and motive power where possible, sometimes this may not be possible. Preserved locomotives and rolling stock can be temperamental, meaning late changes may occasionally be necessary. The MSLR and/or MTC cannot be held responsible for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by any amendments or cancellations to services made at short notice.

1 Comment. Leave new

Oak - air dried for Toad B brake van restoration - Sutton Timber News
 June 4, 2017 1:49 am

[…] and restored by the Mid Suffolk Light Railway in 1995 and in continuous service as a passenger and demonstration goods train the Toad B LNER […]

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