Southwold Railway

The coming of the railways to East Suffolk in 1859 saw Southwold being by-passed some 7 miles to the west where a station was established at Halesworth. After several abortive attempts to provide a tramway between the two towns, an Act was passed in 1876 sanctioning the building of a line to a narrow gauge in order to minimise costs. Construction was relatively easy and the 3 feet gauge Southwold Railway opened in 1879, heralding a new era for the town. For five decades, with varying degrees of prosperity, the railway provided reasonable services to the locality and acted as a feeder to the GER, but issues always persisted with Southwold Corporation which was undecided as to its relationship with the company. The SR directors attempted to persuade the GER in 1893, and the L&NER in 1923, to purchase the undertaking. The lack of through running facilities, ageing and antiquated rolling stock and minimal maintenance during WWI found the railway in dire straits in the 1920s and the line closed in 1929.