ECR from the outset. Woodbridge extension In November 1846 both the EUR and I&BR proposed schemes to link Ipswich with Woodbridge, about 8 miles away. Both schemes were drawn up by Bruff and the EUR scheme involved a 1,000 yard tunnel under Ipswich reaching Woodbridge via Kesgrave and Martlesham. The I&BR scheme bill was passed on 9 July 1847, authorising share capital of £200,000. In 1853 the East Suffolk Railway started to extend from Halesworth southwards towards Woodbridge and the EUR plans were amended to accommodate through running. The EUR was leased by the ECR on 7 August 1854, so it was under the ECR that the line was opened on 1 June 1859. That day the ECR also took over operations of the East Suffolk Railway. The Stour Valley and The Hythe The Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway was promoted in 1845 with Bruff as engineer. It was to be a 12-mile branch from a triangular junction at Marks Tey, 5 miles south of Colchester, to Sudbury, Suffolk, and from Chappel to Halstead. The authorising Act was passed on 26 June 1846 with share capital authorised at £250,000. In fact the Halstead branch was not built and the powers lapsed; they were revived by a separate company, the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway, which built the line later. The intended triangular junction at Marks Tey was also not built in that form; the junction was only made towards Colchester. Another short line was built by the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway: it was from a junction with the Eastern Counties at Colchester to The Hythe, where the Borough of Colchester owned a quay to and from which small sea-going ships used to make their way; this was opened on 31 March 1847. The company had running powers over the ECR between Marks Tey and Colchester. The CSVS&HR arranged to lease its line for 999 years to the Ipswich & Bury Railway; by the time this came into legal effect the I&BR and the EUR had amalgamated, so that the (new) EUR was the lessee. The annual rent was £9,500, ratified by act of Parliament of 7 June 1847. The line is notable for the Chappel Viaduct over the Colne Valley at Chappel. Until 1982 it was the longest bridge in East Anglia, with a total of 32 arches of 30 ft span, and a maximum