Framlingham branch

The Framlingham branch was a six-mile (9.7 km) single-track branch railway line from Wickham Market railway station on the East Suffolk Line to Framlingham in Suffolk, England, with three intermediate stations, Parham, Hacheston Halt, and Marlesford.

The Framlingham branch started from a junction at Wickham Market station and was officially opened on 1 June 1859.

[2] The Ipswich Journal of 4 June 1859 reported on the opening on the official opening day: "The bells rang merrily throughout the day, a cricket match was played, and tea was provided by Mr. John Pipe of the Crown Inn, in his usual style, of which 40 of the gentry and inhabitants of the town partook; appropriate speeches were made, songs sung, and a merry and convivial evening spent."

Unfortunately an evening concert at the Corn Exchange was cancelled as the band leader Edward Plantin was involved in a serious accident at the station and died of his injuries a few days later.

Passenger business came from trips to the developing seaside resorts, not just easy access to Ipswich and London.

[10] Allen compiled a number of photographic books about railways in East Anglia, in which the Framlingham branch often featured.