Reviving the Southwold Railway

Re-instatement Project Press Release July 2007

How does the possible revival of the Southwold Railway fit into the scheme of things for Heritage Railways? Devised by one Arthur Pain (an altruistic engineer who saw light railways as an inexpensive way of invigorating rural communities) The Southwold Railway was, unusually for England, a public railway on 3'0" gauge. Its small, long-chimneyed locomotives and tram-car-like carriages - plus an idiosyncratic method of operating - have made it famous not only in this country, but over much of the world besides. Had it had greater support from the management and been able to survive motorbus competition, it might possibly have survived until the end of the Second World War, in which case it would surely have featured as one of the pioneer preservation schemes. It was not to be, however, and it is very unfortunate that several abortive schemes in the 1950s and 60s (and later) have led to a high degree of local pessimism, exacerbated when the A12 road bridge at Blythburgh was demolished in 1962.

The Southwold Railway Trust:
Since it was formed in 1994 the Society has developed a long-tem aim to re-open part, or preferably all, of the Railway. The success of other Heritage Railways in recent years has given new impetus to re-opening possibilities, and in 2000 the Society put forward some draft proposals for a Southwold-Walberswick link. These proposals attracted an encouraging measure of local support and also some opposition. The points made in responses, both for and against, were taken very seriously by the Society, which re-evaluated what should properly be the objectives in any re-opening.

In March 2007 we submitted planning applications to Waveney and Suffolk Coastal District Councils for Phase 1 of the Southwold Railway project connecting the first half of the line from Henham Park (with a Park & Ride facility) to Southwold Pier. Full details are contained in the Trust publication "Blueprint for a Railway" available for £10 (£7.50 members) at the Southwold Railway Shop, 27 High Street, Southwold IP18 6AD. Reference copies have been placed in Southwold Library and with the local parish clerks.

Objectives:

• To recreate the Railway from Halesworth to Southwold as authentically as possible, but within practical parameters.
• Equally, to provide a useful public transport service throughout the year and a contribution to the local transport system, providing some alternative to motor transport.

Proposal:

• The proposal advanced here is to construct the Railway from a station sited near to that at Halesworth, following the original route beyond Wenhaston before taking a new north-easterly route to Southwold (via a new Park & Ride facility at Henham Park) extending as far as a terminus at Southwold Pier.
  • (a) Route:
    This route circumvents the three main practical difficulties of following the original Blythburgh-Southwold stretch via Walberswick.
    1. Crossing the A12 at Blythburgh.
    2. The widening of the formation necessary throughout this section to accommodate both the railway and the footpath currently occupying the trackbed.
    3. Constructing a new bridge at Blackshore. (The present footbridge cannot be adapted for railway use).
  • The full route, of course, in providing a link to the Halesworth main-line station, opens the door to the national railway system. Via One Railway trains the traveller has access to all stations to Lowestoft to the north, and Ipswich, Colchester and London Liverpool Street to the south. There is even talk of a through service to Norwich - or to Great Yarmouth by restoration of the spur at Reedham. What a trip, without using either car or bus along crowded roads! Halesworth, already developing as a centre for visitors to the Blyth Valley area, would be consolidated in this sensible endeavour by the addition of the Railway.
  • (b) The Park & Ride Facility:
    Possibly the greatest advantage of the revived line would be the opportunity to establish a 'Park & Ride' scheme to relieve Southwold, in part, of its present saturation with cars at peak periods. The proposals for the Railway's revival include the construction of a car and bus park interchange at Henham Park, with easy access for Blythburgh and the A12. It could be argued that a bus Park & Ride would accomplish the same objective at lesser cost. This ignores the drawbacks that would result - more buses would further clog the town centre, cause greater pollution, and would fail to be attractive to many of the visitors who would like to use the unusual trains. Failure to attract passengers, (thus exacerbating the traffic problems of the A1095 into Southwold) would lead to demands for road 'improvements', destroying the roadside hedges and trees. There would be no volunteer assistance with any bus service; it just does not attract enthusiasts!
  • (c) A connection for Southwold Pier:
    Taking the line as far as Southwold Pier and within sight of the sea is an appealing feature, especially in view of the number of visitors attracted to this recently developed facility. What better way to arrive at Southwold for the first time!

Footpaths:
It may be necessary to adjust alignments but all existing footpaths will be maintained. Where possible new ones will be installed alongside the line.

Visitors:
Would the Railway bring an unacceptable number of additional visitors to Southwold? We think not. Whilst the Railway will be a working transport system and definitely not be run as an 'attraction' , it will inevitably attract visitors. Probably, the majority will be visiting the Pier anyway and a good proportion would be using the Park & Ride facility rather than the car, which they know will be a nightmare to park anyway.

Southwold No 1 at Halesworth

Locomotives and stock:
Amazingly enough, the small locomotives provided for the Southwold Railway in late Victorian times were of such sound design that they can be replicated with little alteration. The 2-4-2T version of No 1 'Southwold is thought to be the best basis for reproduction. It would be free-running and, with its increased adhesion weight, should prove a complete success. A 2-6-2T version of the Manning Wardle No 4 'Wenhaston' loco has also been proposed to provide addition strength and elegance.

One fundamental change, however, would be that the locos would be oil-fire instead of coal-fire, which would avoid any risk of line-side fires. The oil itself could be a mixture of reclaimed oil and new oil from a renewable source, and would be steam-injected into the locomotive firebox. By this means, the exhausted oil fumes would always be encapsulated in water molecules and so no air-borne particles would be produced - very different to diesel exhausts! However, it being our intention to run an all-year-round service, basic weekday trains would probably have relatively few passengers - particularly those travelling for pure pleasure - and it would make sense to provide at least one diesel loco for this purpose.

Originally there were only six 6-wheeled passenger coaches constructed of wood with steel running gear and buffers etc. and rudimentary brakes. It is proposed that the superstructure of the new carriages should retain the appearance of the original, but with steel bogies, under frames and body ribs with timber cladding. Additionally, they would be built to modern safety standards with disabled access, guard's compartment and a proper vacuum braking system!

The 6-wheeled wagon design could be retained to produce some goods stock capable of handling a standard length of rail (21 feet long), whilst a rake of traditional-style 4-wheelers will certainly be required for ballast etc.

Buildings:
While some of the smaller stations at Halesworth, Wenhaston and Wangford may be constructed to reflect in part the style of the original buildings; the proposed terminus at Southwold Pier will incorporate many practical and innovative design concepts. The flat roofed station canopies will have sedum roofs (like the recently-opened distribution depot for Adnam's brewery), with each south-facing roof having photo-voltaic cells, which, when combined with a mini-wind turbine, will generate free electricity. Additionally the spaces below the platforms will be used to harvest and filter rainwater for use in the building and the locos.

Signalling, Controls & Level Crossings:
A vital feature of the new Railway would be a sophisticated signalling and control system, with additional two-way radio links between trains and the control room. Signals might replicate the originals in superficial appearance but would be electrically operated and interlocked to prevent conflicting movements.

The criteria for Level Crossings are set out in HSE Document 'Railway Safety Principles and Guidance, part 2, Section E - Guidance on level crossings', and the crossings on the line would vary upon the type of road, its traffic volume, the speed of trains and the method of operation of the crossing itself. Research into such information would result in fully-automated modern crossing with, or without, barriers as appropriate. Safety will be paramount!

Construction costs:
It is customary on Heritage Railways, when revival schemes are put in hand, for a significant part of the preliminary work, at least, to be carried out by volunteer labour. Such work can range from simple site clearance and fencing to the extreme case of the Ffestiniog Railway, where a completely new route (including a lengthy tunnel) was blasted out of solid rock by an amazing group! Nothing so drastic is envisaged for the Southwold Railway revival but there is no reason why track preparation and the construction of simple bridges and some earthworks cannot be undertaken by such a group, suitably supervised.

There are, however, certain major items that are likely to require professionals - heavy earthmoving, the larger bridges and the greater part of the buildings and platforms. With this in mind an estimate had been prepared on the basis of Contractor prices for the bulk items - and for the incidental costs of materials, plant etc. for the simpler jobs. To this must be added the cost of locomotives and rolling stock. It is assumed that, apart from one or two items of rolling stock, these will all be professionally built and the prices given reflect this.

Responses to Concerns Raised
As anticipated, our Planning Permission application has generated a certain amount of orchestrated opposition from local groups. In principle, that is fair enough - the planning process is consultative and democratic. However, there are two features to much of the material being distributed that runs contrary to the process. The first is the use of defamatory language, the second, misinformation. Our response to this, and the main issues being raised is as follows:

Firstly, the pejorative words:

• "DEVELOPERS". This word is used mischievously as it carries the implication that the motive for the project is financial profit to be achieved at the expense of the community. This is both untrue and unfair. Members of the Trust have donated thousands of hours to a project which it is certain will benefit the community. It is proposed to run the railway via a "community interest company" with no member of the Trust benefiting from it.
• "TOY TOWN or "THEME PARK". Again, an unkind use of words. Southwold is full of charming features that are not thus described.
• "NOT A HERITAGE RAILWAY": Phase 1 does not run on the original route, but the Southwold and Reydon Society did not support the early Southwold to Walberswick project that did. Phase 2 does follow the old route more closely, but Phase 1 is addressing new problems such as providing a Park and Ride facility. The deployment of replica locomotives and carriages does justify the expression "heritage railway".
• SIZE OF REYDON DEPOT: The Depot was thus sited to be near the Lowestoft Road Industrial Estate which nobody made much fuss about when it was built. On Alignment Map Sheet 19, page 32 in "Blueprint", The Locomotive Shed/ Workshop. on the south of the plot, is 15.6m x 36.5m x 6.5m to the ridge with an area therefore of 570 sq.m. The larger footprint to the north is the open-sided Train-shed just next to a small station (footprint 12.5m x 8m). The Train-shed is a structure 70m x 17m x 7.5m to the ridge (eaves about 3.5m above ground level). This has an area of 1,190 sq.m. Soccer pitches are generally 100m x 64m, equalling 6,400 sq.m. So this building does not equate to 2 football pitches - about one fifth of a single football pitch would be more truthful. There's a tenfold exaggeration here. The whole site is 1.5 hectares (approx 3.5 acres) but 0.8 hectares (2 acres) to the west is open space. By way of comparison, the size of the nearby larger industrial unit is 105m x 45m x 10m high (area 4,800 sq.m) and the Industrial Estate covers about 6 hectares (14.8 acres).
• VANDALISM: Vandalism is an increasing problem with all non-residential buildings. To some extent this can be prevented by careful design, CCTV and other security measures.
• PARK & RIDE: It is true that the motoring psyche is to drive as close as possible to a destination. Howver, it has been shown elsewhere, particularly Swanage, that people can be separated from their cars by the prospect of a steam railway journey coupled with a known difficulty of finding a parking space during peak times.
• NOISE: Small low speed trains have a syncopated rhythm which is generally considered to quite attractive. Narrow gauge railways have low noise levels and do not create nuisance.
• LOSS OF FARMING LAND: There is negligible loss of farming land. Opportunities are created for additional wildlife habitat where small areas of farmland are severed. Wildlife corridors are by no means spurious - wildlife groups are known to encourage mainline railways to maintain the Wildlife corridors that run alongside the track.
• ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: A full Environmental Impact Assessment for the project has been submitted with the applications. The Trust, which is as concerned to respect and maintain the quality of the natural environment as anybody else, believes that sufficient mitigating features can be put in place, where necessary, to achieve this.

If you support this project please write to: The Planning Department at Waveney District Council, Town Hall, Lowestoft NE32 1HS. Letters to local papers also help.