The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, popularly known as “The Middy”, has announced that preserved Beyer Peacock & Company 0-4-0 saddle tank No.1827, built in 1878, will be visiting the railway until the end of June (subject to contract).

The locomotive was originally used as a shunter by Beyer Peacock at their works at Gorton in Manchester. In 1966 it was saved for preservation and for some time was located at the Oswestry base of the Cambrian Railway Society. It moved to the Foxfield Railway in 1996 and re-entered service there in 2013. During May 2019 the locomotive visited Wolsztyn in Poland and ran on the main line.

Following an overhaul in which it was returned to its original 1950 Gorton Foundry livery, the locomotive returned to service on the Foxfield Railway in September 2021.

The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is located at Brockford station near Wetheringsett, not far from Stowmarket in Suffolk. On Saturday, 28th, and Sunday, 29th May the railway is running Middy in the War Years. This is one of the largest events in the railway’s calendar and features a number of re-enactors to help create a great 1940s atmosphere.

As well as a grand array of displays and exhibits, including the German Alpine Corps, the event will showcase some of the contributions made by women at the time, with displays about the WVS, Women’s Land Army, and American Women in East Anglia.

There will be a range of military and civilian vehicles of the period, and stalls selling everything from clothing, collectables, toys, military memorabilia, wartime paperwork, and magazines.

A flypast from the Hawker Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is scheduled for Saturday 28th May, as ever, subject to weather conditions,

Both days will feature 1940s style music, with Kitty Collins on Saturday 28th May and the Laxfield Community Choir on Sunday 29th May.