Our Aims

To:

• develop a locally-based society to promote the restoration of the narrow gauge railway in Halesworth and the upper Blyth Valley
• conserve, protect, enhance, interpret and restore the remaining artefacts of the railway
• provide a waymarked railway and river footpath through the Blyth Valley, along the trackbed and the Blyth Navigation and River, forming connections with local bus services, with Greater Anglia’s train services, and with other footpaths and cycleways
• find a suitable site, and reproduce features of the original Halesworth narrow gauge Station and Trans-shipment platform, providing a living museum of Halesworth’s transport history
• build a working replica of the 1879 Sharp Stewart 2-4-0 side tank steam locomotive “Halesworth”, together with modernised typical Halesworth narrow gauge railway coaches
• acquire land to rebuild the narrow gauge line from Halesworth east along the Blyth Valley towards Wenhaston, to provide a family-friendly tourist attraction, a historic re-enactment, and- if possible – a rail-based transport system and park-and ride for Halesworth, using both steam and ultra-light-rail motive power
• co-operate with the established Southwold Railway Trust “Steamworks” visitor attraction in Southwold, providing transport and other connections between the two railway termini, and ultimately to restore the entire railway route
• promote, to the majority of tourists who currently only visit the coast, the visitor attractions of Halesworth and the upper Blyth Valley
• ensure that the views of the members are always taken into account in all decision-making

          AND

Above all:

to ensure that the views of the community are respected by the Society in all its activities