who would match local subscriptions towards a light railway to serve the district. Enthusiasm for the scheme gathered pace, and soon 296 persons had contributed nearly £1,000 towards the legal costs, with amounts varying between a shilling and £1. An application for a Light Railway Order was made in May 1899, and the Light Railway Commissioners held an inquiry in Ipswich, on 6 July 1899. It was an ambitious scheme for 50 miles of railway, described by its supporters as "the most important Light Railway scheme to be brought before the Commissioners since the Light Railway Act of 1896." The network would interconnect the Ipswich to Norwich main line and the East Suffolk line; it was to run from Haughley to Halesworth, miles, from Bedingfield to Westerfield, 14 miles, and from Debenham to Needham Market, 8 miles. Omnibuses would run in connection with trains from Westerfield to the centre of Ipswich. The railway would be standard gauge. At the hearing, the GER was cautiously supportive, subject to agreement about junction connections. It was suggested that the very large number of level crossings should all have resident keepers, but it was agreed that that would be unreasonably expensive. There was some objection to both the Haughley and Needham Market connections, and the latter was dropped, reducing the network to 42 miles. Accordingly, the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway Order was made on 5 April 1900. The share capital was to be £225,000. Public ungated level crossings were to be equipped with cattle guards. There were complex restrictions in the event of the use of electric traction—street running tramways were being installed in Ipswich and elsewhere at the time. Construction The directors wasted no time in preparing for construction, and a contract was awarded to S Pearson and Sons on 27 July 1900. However, after a few months Pearson and Sons were complaining that they had not yet had instructions to proceed; this seems to have been due to a delay in securing subscribed capital. At a board meeting on 23 November 1901, the engineers explained that there was difficulty in making the line near the River Blyth at Halesworth, and a deviation was recommended. The company's bankers were asked to give an overdraft of £1,000 to pay for additional surveys, pending the issue of shares. In fact it was not until December 1901 that a prospectus was published for the share issue. The