Join us for a full day of photography at the Mid-Suffolk Railway featuring visiting R2 Class No.1370

About this event

We are pleased to be able to offer a return visit to the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway for a full day of steam action featuring visiting locomotive No.1370. This veteran survivor will be paired with both goods and passenger stock which is all of suitable vintage and will look excellent when running with the Peckett.

The original Mid-Suffolk Light Railway was an ambitious project for a fifty-mile line linking with the Norwich to Ipswich main line and the East Suffolk line. The first plan was to run from Haughley to Halesworth, Debenham to Needham Market and  Bedingfield through  to Westerfield, with a bus connection from the latter location into the centre of Ipswich. The first goods train ran between Haughley and Laxfield on 20th September 1904. Along with many similar ventures, funding soon became a problem and the initial ambitious scheme was scaled back with the Needham branch line abandoned before construction and the ‘main’ section terminated at Laxfield, several miles from its intended destination of Halesworth. Effectively, the line was bankrupt when it opened, but limped on independently until being absorbed by the London & North Eastern Railway in 1924, later becoming part of the Eastern Region of British Railways on Nationalisation in 1948. Known as the Haughley to Laxfield branch under the LNER and BR, by 1952 the track was in a very poor state of repair and the line closed during that year, with the track being lifted in 1953.

The current Mid-Suffolk Light Railway started in 1990 when a volunteer group was begun with the intention of preserving the memory of the Mid-Suffolk line at the Brockford site, later becoming a Registered Charity. This new project grew over the years into the excellent rebuilt station and relaid line that we see now with a short new extension and halt at Aspall being recently opened. Add to this the engine shed, water column and other railway features which have been constructed and you have all of the ingredients for a great photo venue. The cafe will be open during the day, allowing us to have regular hydration breaks.

Our locomotive for the day is the visiting R2 Class 0-4-0ST No.1370 which carries lined green livery and is known as May, the name it carried until recently, though this is not currently attached to the locomotive. Built to work the paper mill of Duxbury & Sons at Bury in Greater Manchester, this veteran from 1915 is well over one hundred years old and suits the ambiance of the location and the age of the rolling stock perfectly. No.1370 was one of three similar locos employed at Duxbury’s Heap Bridge site, where the Peckett worked into the 1960s. By 1970, it had been relegated to the ‘spare’ engine and the R2 was sold for preservation, being initially restored at Bryn Engineering near Wigan. It has recently been purchased by the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre from where the locomotive is on loan.

Given that Brockford Station and its environs are fairly tight in terms of locations, this will be an event for a limited number of people to ensure comfortable conditions. There is ample free parking available on site, though those parked directly next to the station fence may be requested to move if they are in the shots. To enhance the scenes during the day, we have secured a traction engine, vintage lorry, and a classic car. These are appropriate to the heritage ambience of the site and will add additional photographic value to the day.

We hope you will wish to join us for what will, based on previous visits, be a most enjoyable day.

Our day will be limited to 25 Photographers.

Event requirements

Equipment

• Spare batteries
• Camera
• Lense cloths
• Lenses

Knowledge

• All levels welcome

Fitness

• Low

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes
• Warm clothing