Southwold Railway Steamworks
About
The Southwold Railway was a three-foot narrow-gauge line that ran from Halesworth to Southwold from 24 September 1879 until 11 April 1929, and it has been gone for close to a century. What exists now is the Southwold Railway Trust's Steamworks on Blyth Road, a workshop and visitor site where volunteers are rebuilding rolling stock and a locomotive, with a cafe, a shop, a miniature railway and guided tours on public open days. It is not a working railway line and there is no train from Halesworth: this is a restoration project you can walk around, not a heritage service you can ride into town. Open days run on published Sundays, generally 1pm to 4pm, with some marked as Blyth in steam, plus Santa Specials in December that need booking. Check the trust's own open-days page before travelling, because dates are added and changed through the year.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Three-foot gauge restoration in progress
- ✓Cafe, shop and a miniature railway on open days
- ✓Guided tours of the site
- ✓Santa Specials in December, booking required
Tips
- →Open days only, generally Sundays 1pm to 4pm; check southwoldrailway.co.uk before travelling.
- →The main gate is on Blyth Road.
- →This is a workshop and museum site, not a running railway: there is no train service to or from Southwold.
- →Some listed dates belong to the Halesworth to Southwold Narrow Gauge Railway Society at Blythburgh, not to the Blyth Road site.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
Southwold Pier
A 623-foot pier with a restaurant, arcades, a water clock and Tim Hunkin's machines under the deck.
Under the Pier Show
Tim Hunkin's arcade of home-made, satirical coin-operated machines, built into Southwold Pier.
Gun Hill and the Six Guns
Six eighteen-pounder guns on the clifftop green above Sole Bay, where the 1672 battle was fought.