Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway
Encyclopedia
The Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was a unique coastline railway in Brighton
, England
that ran through the shallow waters of the English Channel
between 1896 and 1901.
, its owner, designer and engineer, had already been successful with the more conventional Volk's Electric Railway
, which had then not been extended east of Paston Place. Facing unfavourable geography, Volk decided to construct a line through the surf from a pier at Paston Place to one at Rottingdean
. This was also home to Volk's Seaplane Station which was used by his son George Herbert Volk
.
The railway itself consisted of two parallel gauge tracks, billed as 18 ft (5.5 m) gauge, the measurement between the outermost rails. The tracks were laid on concrete sleepers mortised into the bedrock. The single car used on the railway was a 45 by pier-like building which stood on four 23 ft (7 m)-long legs. The car weighed 45 LT (50.4 ST; 45.7 t). Propulsion was by electric motor. It was officially named Pioneer, but many called it Daddy Long-Legs. Due to regulations then in place, a qualified sea captain was on board at all times, and the car was provided with lifeboats and other safety measures.
Construction took two years from 1894 to 1896. The railway officially opened 28 November 1896, but was nearly destroyed by a storm the night of 4 December. Volk immediately set to rebuilding the railway including the Pioneer, which had been knocked on its side, and it reopened in July 1897.
s built near the railway were found to have led to underwater scouring under the sleepers and the railway was closed for two months while this was repaired. Immediately afterward, the council decided to build a beach protection barrier, which unfortunately required Volk to divert his line around the barrier. Without funds to do so, Volk closed the railway. In 1901 the right-of-way was broken up for construction of the barrier. One further attempt was made to raise money for a conventional over-water viaduct along roughly the same route.
A model of the railway car is on display (along with a poster for the railway) in the foyer of the Brighton Toy and Model Museum
.
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that ran through the shallow waters of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
between 1896 and 1901.
Background and Construction
Magnus VolkMagnus Volk
Magnus Volk was a pioneer British electrical engineer. He is most notable for having built Volk's Electric Railway, the world's oldest extant electric railway. He also built the unique, but short lived, Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway, together with its unusual Daddy Long Legs...
, its owner, designer and engineer, had already been successful with the more conventional Volk's Electric Railway
Volk's Electric Railway
Volk's Electric Railway is the oldest operating electric railway in the world. It is a narrow gauge railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton...
, which had then not been extended east of Paston Place. Facing unfavourable geography, Volk decided to construct a line through the surf from a pier at Paston Place to one at Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
. This was also home to Volk's Seaplane Station which was used by his son George Herbert Volk
George Herbert Volk
George Herbert Volk , known as "Bert", was an automobile and general engineer noted as a pioneer builder of seaplanes...
.
The railway itself consisted of two parallel gauge tracks, billed as 18 ft (5.5 m) gauge, the measurement between the outermost rails. The tracks were laid on concrete sleepers mortised into the bedrock. The single car used on the railway was a 45 by pier-like building which stood on four 23 ft (7 m)-long legs. The car weighed 45 LT (50.4 ST; 45.7 t). Propulsion was by electric motor. It was officially named Pioneer, but many called it Daddy Long-Legs. Due to regulations then in place, a qualified sea captain was on board at all times, and the car was provided with lifeboats and other safety measures.
Construction took two years from 1894 to 1896. The railway officially opened 28 November 1896, but was nearly destroyed by a storm the night of 4 December. Volk immediately set to rebuilding the railway including the Pioneer, which had been knocked on its side, and it reopened in July 1897.
In Use
The railway was popular, but faced difficulties. The car was slowed considerably at high tide, but Volk could never afford to improve the motors. In 1900, groyneGroyne
A groyne is a rigid hydraulic structure built from an ocean shore or from a bank that interrupts water flow and limits the movement of sediment. In the ocean, groynes create beaches, or avoid having them washed away by longshore drift. In a river, groynes prevent erosion and ice-jamming, which...
s built near the railway were found to have led to underwater scouring under the sleepers and the railway was closed for two months while this was repaired. Immediately afterward, the council decided to build a beach protection barrier, which unfortunately required Volk to divert his line around the barrier. Without funds to do so, Volk closed the railway. In 1901 the right-of-way was broken up for construction of the barrier. One further attempt was made to raise money for a conventional over-water viaduct along roughly the same route.
Legacy
The track, car and other structures were sold for scrap, but some of the concrete sleepers can still be viewed at low tide. Eventually Volk's Electric Railway was extended onshore, covering a portion of the same distance; it remains in operation.A model of the railway car is on display (along with a poster for the railway) in the foyer of the Brighton Toy and Model Museum
Brighton Toy And Model Museum
The Brighton Toy and Model Museum is one of the world's finest toy museums, located in Brighton, East Sussex. Its collection of toys and models extends over four thousand square feet of floorspace, through four of the early Victorian arches supporting the forecourt of Brighton railway station...
.
External links
- The Volks Electric Railway Association, with some information about 'Daddy Long Legs'
- Daddy Longlegs Illustrated feature on Volk's Brighton to Rottingdean Seashore Electric railway with 3D animation
- Daddy Longlegs by John Roles, Brighton Museum
- In Search of Daddy Longlegs The story of the Rottingdean Seashore Railway