Lost Railways of Suffolk
On 11 September our guest was Nathan Dodd who presented Lost Railways of Suffolk. From the Sudbury to Haverhill Stour Valley route in the south to the Waveney Valley Tivetshall to Beccles line in the north the whole of a once extensive network of routes was shown. Many lines were originally constructed by The Eastern Counties Railway but were eventually purchased by The Great Eastern Railway. Routes varied in length from those mentioned above to shorter ones such as The Snape Branch and from Mellis to Eye. Many stations featured large brick built buildings but accommodation along The Mid Suffolk Light Railway was very basic with corrugated structures and the now busy A12 Trunk Road was crossed on the level by two seperate routes. Some had public houses close by and the use of shunting horses was quite widespread in these rural areas. Many routes also made an important contribution to the national war effort in both World Wars. The level of passenger services varied with some lines only seeing up to three services a day and mixed trains were a feature on some services. Traffic levels declined from the early thirties with passenger trains finishing on both the Hadleigh and Eye branches. A gradual decline set in during the fifties with some routes closing before the 1962 Beeching Report with the remainder closed by 1970. Today some station buildings are still extant and Sizewell nuclear flask traffic uses part of the Aldeburgh Branch. Also The Mid Suffolk Light Railway Preservation Trust uses the old station site at Brockford.