Latest Meeting Report:

Meeting Report of the Ipswich and District Historical Transport Society on March 25th 2026.

A total of 60 members and visitors attended our March meeting.

The subject of the talk at this meeting was “The History of the Colne Valley Railway”, presented by Paul Lemon (Former Chairman of the CVRPS).

In 1856, the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway Company (CV & HR) was formed by local people to build a branch line from Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station to Halstead. It was authorised by the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway Act 1856 on 30 June 1856, and opened on 16 April 1860 between Chappel (north of Marks Tey) and Halstead, a distance of 6 miles (10 km).

A further thirteen-mile extension was authorised by an Act of 1859 which opened in stages – the first being from Halstead to Castle Hedingham in 1861. The next stage opened in 1862 from Castle Hedingham to Yeldham and finally the Yeldham to Haverhill section opened in 1863.

The line began operations with two locomotives borrowed from the Eastern Counties Railway which had opened the line from Shoreditch to Colchester in the 1840’s. In 1862 the CV & HR bought a 2-2-2 WT (Well Tank) locomotive from the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway for £500. Interestingly: the driver came with it. It may be noted that the weather protection on this engine was minimal. Three more engines were purchased from Manning Wardle in 1863 by a Mr Brewster. He loaned these 2-4-0 WT engines to the railway – which was always strapped for cash. These engines operated until 1890.

By then new locomotives were needed and three F9 2-4-2 tank engines were acquired from Hawthorne Leslie and Co. Ltd. in the late 1880’s. They were a huge improvement on the previous locomotives. They were numbered 2, 3 and 4 and operated for a further 40 years until the 1930’s. In 1932 Class J15 tender engines were used on the line.

The railway from 1923 was nominally operated by London and North-Eastern Railway. The lines of the former CV & HR still retained some independence and individual character.

There were no turntables on the line and therefore the J15’s were fitted with tender cabs so that crews were protected from the weather when working trains in reverse. A good 50% of the traffic at that time was coal haulage.

From 1948 BR Standard Class 2MT’s were used and in the final years diesel multiple units of the Derby Lightweight, Craven and Metropolitan Cammell

types handled passenger traffic. The end was now in sight and the line closed on January 1st 1962, before the Beeching Plan came into being. The line was dismantled. The infrastructure was demolished or recovered by contractors a year later and the land on which the heritage railway station now stands resold to a local landowner.

The site was acquired from the landowner in 1973. The original station at Sible and Castle Hedingham was a mile away from the new proposed site and it was moved brick by brick to the new site. Track was laid and a Hunslet “Austerity” 0-6-0 Saddle Tank arrived to work trains.

The first rides on a short section of track began in 1976. For twenty years a school Victorian event was held on the line every year until Coronavirus brought an end to it.

In 2005 Australian businessman; Christopher Young acquired the Colne Valley Railway Company (CVRC). The Colne Valley Railway Preservation Society (CVRPS) agreed a negotiable 5-year lease to take over the running of the railway. In 2015 Young’s plans changed and he decided to build a housing estate on the land. This was a threat to the very existence of the railway.

In 2015 the CVRPS became a charity and were able to purchase their original site having acquired a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and with additional support from Braintree District council. The mile long line was safe.

Paul ended by taking questions from the audience and received thanks from our Chairman and warm applause for an enlightening talk from an engaging  and knowledgeable speaker.

Mervyn Russen

Paul Lemon.

Former LB & SCR 2-2-2WT locomotive outside Halstead Shed in 1861.

2-4-2T locomotive No. 4 at Hedingham decorated for Tory Party Fete at Hedingham Castle.

Unidentified J15 locomotive fitted with side windows and tender cab pictured on the line.

All photos by permission of Paul Lemon.