Aldeburgh Branch Line

The Aldeburgh branch line was a railway branch line linking the town of Saxmundham on the East Suffolk line and the seaside resort of Aldeburgh. There were intermediate stops at Leiston and Thorpeness. Part of the line remains in use for nuclear flask trains servicing Sizewell nuclear power station.

The line opened as far as Leiston on 1 June 1859 and was extended by four miles to Aldeburgh on 12 April 1860.

The line was proposed by Samuel Morton Peto and supported by local agricultural machine manufacturer Richard Garrett. The Leiston Works Railway operated to link the line to Garrett's Leiston works. Operated initially by the Eastern Counties Railway, it was taken over by the Great Eastern Railway in 1862.

Most trains started their journey at Saxmundham railway station and travelled half a mile northwards along the East Suffolk line to Saxmundham Junction where the Aldeburgh branch diverged eastwards across fields towards Leiston. The line climbs sharply over a ridge of higher ground before falling gently towards the coast. The first station is Leiston (4.5 miles) which as well as goods sidings served the Richard Garrett & Sons works. 16 chains east of the station was a siding on the north side of the line which originally served the town gasworks but was later in service as a coal siding until the 1960s.

There was another industrial siding at Sizewell which was originally provided for cattle traffic off the local marshes . and this location is the present day terminus of the line. It is believed this siding was opened in 1860. Thorpeness station (6.5 miles) was a single platform affair and in latter year its station buildings consisted of three former carriage bodies supported by concrete sleepers at the back.

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