Dictionary Definition
middy n : blouse with a sailor collar [syn:
middy
blouse]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Alternative spellings
Noun
- In the context of "nautical|slang": a midshipman
Extensive Definition
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway ran for just 19
miles from Haughley to
Laxfield,
Suffolk. The line became part of the LNER in 1924 and was closed
completely on 26 July 1952. The Railway is
now a preservation museum run by a small but dedicated band of
volunteers. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is the only steam
preservation railway in Suffolk.
History
The line was intended to run from Haughley to
Halesworth, with
a second branch running from Kenton station to Westerfield
near Ipswich. The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, or Middy as it became
affectionately known, was built to provide transport to the rural
Suffolk communities who had no reliable transport links. It was
built in accordance with the 1896
Light Railways Act, which allowed for cheaper construction
methods in return for a speed restriction of 25 mph. The railway
was built as cheaply as possible: the buildings were constructed
using corrugated
iron, and the route followed the natural contours of the land
to minimise the need for embankments and bridges.
The railway was built too late, long after the
great railway boom that had affected the country in the Victorian
age, and soon came into financial difficulties. The planned railway
had troubles from the very beginning, having disputes with the
neighbouring Great
Eastern Railway (GER) and local landowners. The railway was
bankrupt before it opened. It was pure determination that kept the
Middy running. The Railway opened to freight traffic in 1904 with
the hope that this would bring in enough income to complete the
line, but by 1908, although the line was making an income, it still
was not enough to cover its original debts and for work to
continue. Finally on Tuesday 29 September
1908 the line
was opened to passengers with two trains in either direction on
weekdays, but this failed to bring great trade as many of the
stations were sited miles from the communities they were meant to
serve. In 1924 the Middy lost its independence and was grouped
together with the
London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), but apart from a new
replacement of second-hand rolling stock the railway continued as
it always had done. The railway's original locomotives were
scrapped and replaced by GER Class
E22 "Blackwall Tanks" (classified J65) which were eventually
replaced by the older but stronger GER Class
Y14 (classified J15 by the LNER).
The passenger traffic began to decline over the
next couple of decades as more people were buying motorcars and
more and more goods traffic was also going by road. This all
changed with the beginning of the Second
World War. With petrol rationing, the Middy became an important
transport link and with US airbases built near the Mendlesham and
Horham
stations, the line was relied upon for transporting military
equipment and regularly used by American serviceman. The war
brought more traffic to the line – both goods and
passengers – as the railway became important in helping
the war effort. This all came at a cost to the railway. No effort
was made to maintain the rolling stock or the line itself, like the
rest of Britain's railway network.
After the war the Middy entered into the
ownership of British
Railways in 1948. Although business was dwindling and the line
was in a state of neglect and decay after being exhausted during
WW2, the line became an attraction for enthusiasts and railway
management due to the picturesque landscape through which the
railway ran; and its informal atmosphere. The end of the war meant
a surplus of ex-army lorries which took away the agricultural
business, the main source of income for the line. The Middy
eventually closed in 1952, 44 years after it had opened for
passenger traffic.
Renaissance
Nearly 40 years after it closed, a group of
enthusiasts formed a Company to recreate the Middy on the site of
Brockford Station, now the corner of a large field.
The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Society had an
ambitious task ahead of them due to the temporary nature of the
original line. As far as is known, no coaches or locomotives of the
Middy are still in existence and the corrugated iron buildings were
either left to rust or sold to become farm sheds. However, the
Company has been recreating typical scenes from the Middy's past by
using restored coaches and wagons that would have run on its bigger
neighbour, the Great Eastern Railway, and its successor, the London
& North Eastern Railway. The Society has been able to collect a
number of Great Eastern coaches, one of which is in working order,
with many more under restoration. The museum has also been able to
collect the remaining station buildings from former Middy railway
stations. Another aim of the society is to bring togeather an
archive of photos and original artefacts from the working life of
the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway. Many of these are on display at the
museum.
The museum currently has three locomotives, two
steam, one diesel:
- Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST "Little Barford" – operational
- Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST "Alston" – under restoration
- Ruston 0-4-0DM diesel-mechanical
The museum operates from April to the end of
September on Sundays and Bank Holidays, with Santa specials in
December. Most of the Open Days have a Special Event to accompany
the running of the steam locomotive and the Middy is one of the few
working steam museums where it is possible to ride in the guards
van.
A full list of the events and activities can be
found on the Mid-Suffolk light railway society's web site.
Claims to Fame
Lord
Kitchener inspected the still incomplete railway in 1902 when
visiting his mother at Aspall.
The Middy was short-listed as the location for
the 1952 Ealing
Studios film The
Titfield Thunderbolt, but the Camerton
and Limpley Stoke line south of Bath was used
instead.
The Railway was used as inspiration for the John
Hadfield novel, Love On A Branch Line. The book was first published
in 1959 and was turned into a television series in 1994.
References
- Comfort, N. A. (1986) The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-338-9
- Paye, P. (1986) The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, Wild Swan Publications Ltd. ISBN 1 874103 81 X