Mid-Suffolk Light Railway to hold Vintage & Bygones Fair & Exhibition | So Good News

On Sunday 27th November the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, commonly known as ‘The Middy’, is holding a Vintage and Bygones Fair and Exhibition.

It is the first time that the railway has such an exhibition. The range of vintage artefacts on display will appeal to anyone with even the slightest interest in early mechanical and electrical artefacts, many of which are absolute works of art in their own right.

Among the exhibits will be music boxes, planet clocks, lighting and oil lamps, stoves and cookers. There will also be model trains from clockwork to steam, vintage clothing and many other items, all of which will be in keeping with Middy’s style of recreating an Edwardian country railway.

Complementing the vintage theme of the event will be Marcia, which is a 99-year-old Peckett 0-4-0 tank engine from the Kent and East Sussex Railway, which will be in operation during the event. Weighing only 12 tons, drive wheels 2 feet 3 inches in diameter and external cylinders, Marcia looks like a narrow gauge locomotive and is certainly the smallest steam locomotive to ever grace Middy. However, its small size belies its prowess and it will carry trains with the railway’s genuine Victorian four-wheeled coaches.

On a similar theme to the vintage fair, the railway is organizing a Steam and Light Festival on January 1, 2023. On display will be an exhibition organized by the Historical Lighting Association of vintage oil lamps dating back to the mid-Victorian era, which in bygone times were common everywhere from stately homes to practical workplaces.

No pre-booking is required for either the Vintage and Bygones Fair and Exhibition or the Steam and Light Festival.

Unfortunately, this year’s Santa specials are fully sold out, although the railway has a waiting list where people can write down their names in the event of cancellations.