On New Year’s Day, 1st January 2026, the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway (The Middy) will again be hosting its traditional New Year’s Day Steam & Light Festival at Brockford Station in Wetheringsett near Stowmarket in Suffolk.

As well as travelling behind a 100-year-old steam locomotive, visitors will be able to view an exhibition of vintage oil lamps staged by the Historical Lighting Society.

Many of the oil lamps are mid-Victorian and are works of art, and would have been used across all levels of society, from lowly workplaces to grand houses.

The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway has won many awards for its heritage railway, and on New Year’s Day, it promises a historical experience for passengers, especially children, as they can travel as often as they like in genuine Victorian four-wheeled carriages formerly used by the Great Eastern Railway.

The steam locomotive hauling the trains will be Illingworth, an 0-6-0 saddle tank, built by Hudswell Clarke in 1916, which last hauled trains on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway in 2018.

Tickets can be pre-booked online at www.mslr.org.uk/booktickets or can be purchased on the day from the booking office, which is located in the Middy Shop.

During the day, the Tea Room will be open, with tasty New Year treats and beverages on sale. The museum will also be open, where visitors can learn about the history of the original Mid-Suffolk Light Railway

To make it easier to travel to the site, a free shuttle bus service will be provided by the Eastern Counties Bus Preservation Society. It will run between Stowmarket and the railway’s Brockford Station in Hall Lane, just off the A140 in Wetheringsett, IP14 5PW.

As Christmas approaches, Santa Specials will be running on the Mid Suffolk Light Railway next Saturday and Sunday, 13th and 14th December, and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, 20th, 21st, and 22nd December.