Many many years ago, a little 3ft gauge steam hauled train used to wind it’s way between the market town of Halesworth, terminating at the seaside resort of Southwold. The line closed to traffic in 1929 with it’s rails being removed, it’s locomotives & rolling stock being cut up for scrap & it’s trackbed & the remains of its infrastructure gradually being absorbed by nature & being forgotten about.
The only surviving building on the entire line being a ramshackle old coal shed hiding in the woods behind the church
However, here we are almost a quarter of the way into the 21st century & some enterprising volunteers have negotiated with the landowner, removed all the undergrowth, rebuilt the shed, rebuilt the station platform, put the footings in for the waiting room, laid some track, built new rolling stock as an ongoing project and have occasional demonstration movement using their 3ft gauge battery electric industrial locomotive.
Eventually, maybe, if the wind is in the right direction & the Patron Saint of Railways (St. Wilbur) blesses the project before 2029 (100th anniversary of closure) there is every chance a steam hauled service using a replica Sharp Stewart 2-4-0 identical to the one currently in storage at Southwold Steamworks will haul passengers westward toward Wenhaston as unfortunately the A12 has now severed the trackbed & putting a tunnel underneath will be a major civil engineering project. Never say never though, look what was achieved at the Festiniog Railway by their team of deviants.
Here is a short video of their current activities within the confines of the station & about 50 yards of 3ft track.
From little acorns…