The Mid- Suffolk Light Railway has lots of locomotives moving around this year, with a wide variety to be spotted running services.

Departures include Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 saddle tank engine No. 2315, which arrived at the railway in summer 2025; however, it suffered a significant mechanical failure and will now be heading for repairs in Somerset.

Ahead of their season start around Easter, R2 class 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive No. 1370, May will arrive, on loan from the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

No. 1370 will start the season alongside Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 engine Illingworth, who will depart for refurbishment.

The East Anglia Railway Museum is loaning a Railbus to the railway in June, which will mark the first time a Railbus operates at the railway.

Lastly, following its complete overhaul and new boiler certification, Class Y7 No. 953 will return to service in the summer, alongside No. 2315, which will return by August.

Further information on the railway’s 2026 plans can be found on their website.

“This is a very important arrival at the railway. Despite the original Middy being a completely steam operated only railway, up to the closure of the line in 1952. This railbus demonstrates what might have been, as it operated on the branch line of the region in the 1960s.

“Our visitors will this June therefore have the opportunity to experience what might have been, as they take a trip to Aspall Halt aboard E79963 and speculate that this is what the Middy would have been like if it had survived into the 1960s.

John Durrant the Mid-Suffolk railway’s Locomotive Manager