Sudbury - a market town to the north of Colchester with a population in the 1840s of approx. 5,000 was mainly an agricultural area which relied on the River Stour to transport goods in and out, by 1843 the Eastern Counties Railway had reached Colchester, a railway line to Sudbury in order to assist the movement of agricultural products between the two towns was required.
In 1846 the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury & Halstead Railway (CSVS&HR) was incorporated with a capital of £250,000 to build an 11 mile line from Marks Tey, and a branch from Chappel and Wakes Colne to Halstead, short line from Colchester to the Hythe (for Colchester riverside port) was also authorised.

During June 1847 the company obtained powers to build an extension from Sudbury via Melford to Clare, and also a branch from Melford to Lavenham and a further act on the same day for an extension from Lavenham to Bury St Edmunds.
The line from Colchester to Hythe and was opened on 31st March 1847, the line was leased to the Eastern Union Railway for 999 years, the EUR also operated all the services.

The Building on the Viaduct

In 1847 work on the Chappel Viaduct commenced, originally it was decided that the structure was to be timber arches on brick piers, however workmen found suitable brick earth on site and it was decided that brick arches would be constructed.
In total the viaduct is 1066 feet long, has 32 arches, around 7 million bricks and cost a total £32,000 and 2 years to build. The Viaduct was the design work of civil engineer Peter Bruff, who is well known for founding the seaside town of Clacton-on-Sea and expanding Walton-on-the-Naze.

Sudbury's First Station
The single track line to Sudbury opened on the 2nd July 1849.
Two intermediate stops had also been built - Chappel (3 miles 30 chains) and Bures (6 miles 64 chains) both stations had passing loops. The inital service was four trains on weekdays only - in each direction, by 1850 this had increased to five with one through service to Colchester each way.
The line terminated in the first Sudbury Station which was where the service entrance of the large Roys Store on Great Eastern Road is now located.
The picture left gives an indiciation of its location - marked by St Peter's Church which stands on Market Hill.

On 1st Jan 1854 the Eastern Counties Railway leased all lines from the Eastern Union Railway and took over their services, they also assumed responsibility for the working of the Colchester, Stour Valley, Sudbury and Halstead Railway.

The Colne Valley and Halstead Railway
By this time the powers to build the Halstead Branch had expired, a new company called the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway Company was formed and given permission to build the line to Halstead, and an extension onto Haverhill. The line opened to Halstead on 1st July 1861, and eventually reached Haverhill on 10th May 1863.

The Colne Valley and Halstead Railway was keen to remove its reliance on the Eastern Counties Railway and attempted to obtain powers to extend its own line to Colchester in one direction and Cambridge in the other.
In 1860 the Sudbury & Clare Railway Company revived the 1847 Act and in July 1860 were empowered to build a line from Sudbury to Clare via Melford, once the powers were obtained, the ECR quickly absorbed the company and applied for permission to extend beyond Clare to Shelford, and from Melford to Bury St Edmunds.

The Colne Valley and Halstead Railway were also trying to extend their railway to Cambridge, eventually the ECR won, however after a short time the Great Eastern Railways Act 1862 saw the amalgamation of a number of railway companies in the area, including the ECR.

Around this time, the timetable consisted of 4 trains per day in each direction and the fares which were governed by an act of parliament, cost 3d per mile for 1st class, 2d per mile for 2nd and 1d per mile for 3rd class. The average journey time from Sudbury to Marks Tey varied between 28 and 45 minutes.

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