Last Updated 7th September, 2011
Blythburgh marked the half way point on the original line and was the place where token’s were exchanged. The station building design was previously used by one of the first engineers, Arthur Paine, on the Culm Valley route in Devon. The goods store is one of the few surviving remnants of the line and is still standing in 2011, albeit buried deep in the undergrowth.
The final station on my line, Blythburgh is built on the western return loop. Currently still under construction, I hope it will evolve into a detailed model of the site in the second decade of the last century.
The arrangement of sidings at Blythburgh evolved over the years, I've used the final layout, completed in 1908, as a guide, but as you can see my site is fairly straight as opposed to the curve of the original.
Having dug and shuttered the site, my usual 4 inch footing was poured followed by four courses of bricks – reclaimed from a wall that was being demolished a few doors up the road, topped by engineerings taking the top of the wall to my main track level. I've left a number of gaps between bricks on the first course to drain the whole area.
Once filled with crushed brick rubble, the top was leveled and aerated concrete blocks laid on their side to provide a flat surface overall.
Two pockets on the left hand side will be filled by planting, the long strip on the right will form the station platform.
My usual metal frame work, topped with recycled plastic plank, links the station base to the return loop point. Having finished the construction, track laying soon followed, joining the existing line from Walberswick. Each point and each track section had the outside of a sleeper drilled through and the panel was then fixed down by nailing direct in to the aerated block.
The platform area, including the station buildings, will be constructed on an MDF plank which will only come out for running sessions.
As well as the station, there were a number of goods sheds at Blythburgh, one of whch still remains.
