Southwold Railway Trust

The Southwold Railway Trust aims to restore the 9-mile narrow gauge Victorian branch line between Halesworth and Southwold. Closed in 1929, this iconic line thread its way along the Blyth Valley for fifty years, using balconyended coaches hauled by long-chimneyed steam locomotives. It was England’s premier three-foot-gauge line, and is sadly missed. Its restoration will not only revive an important part of Suffolk’s history, but will provide an alternative way for visitors to see the valley and access the coast.

The Trust’s members own and have cleared land at Wenhaston station and in Blyth Road, Southwold where a one-acre site contains a miniature railway plus an engine shed and station with shop and café plus some three foot gauge track upon which to display and run the replica of ‘Blyth’ (one of the original 1879 steam locomotives) which the Trust has commissioned and will receive in early 2022. This site, called “Southwold Railway Steamworks”, is open to the public at certain times. There are other attractions: a 1913 Peckett steam locomotive, a Manx Railway Cleminson carriage and a Belgian tram carriage, all three foot gauge and being restored. The site is also a developing nature reserve.

If you would like to join or be a volunteer, please contact us. We work on Wednesdays

The Southwold Railway Heritage Train

and Saturdays. Membership is only £15 per year, and you can join on our website: www.southwoldrailway.co.uk The Station phone number is: 01502 725422.

This map was drawn by John Bennet to show all the main features of the railway and to place it in its setting within the Blyth Valley.

Alec Hill’s Bakehouse A small but perfectly formed place to stay, set in the village of Wangford, just 3 miles to Wangford, just 3 miles to the Victorian seaside resort of Southwold.

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