Brighton and rottingdean seashore electric railway
The Extraordinary Daddy-Long-Legs Railway of Brighton by Martin Easdown
The unique, but sadly short-lived, Brighton & Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway must have presented quite an amazing spectacle, even during those late Victorian days of engineering excellence. Affectionately known as the Daddy-Long-Legs, spider car or sea car, the railway resembled a piece of seaside pier that had broken away and was moving by itself through the sea. Although closed over a hundred years ago, interest in the Daddy-Long-Legs Railway remains strong and it has become a Brighton icon. The book details the history of the Daddy-Long-Legs and features the best collection of photographs of it so far assembled, along with plans, timetables and posters and associated features such as Volks Electric Railway and the piers assembled as a landing stage for the Daddy-Long-Legs. This will be the first book to concentrate solely on this unique and fascinating piece of British seaside history.
Brighton Daddy Longlegs Seashore Train (actually in the water at high tide). Built 1896
This was a proposal by Magnus Volk for a railway that ran along on rails underneath the sea for about 50 to yards offshore, from where his existing electric railway finished all the way to Rottingdean, where it was connected to a pier.
Martin Easdown
Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway
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 and Facing unfavourable geography, Volk decided to construct a line through the surf from a pier at Paston Place to one at Rottingdean. The tracks were laid on concrete sleepers mortised into the bedrock, and the single car used on the railway, a huge pier-like building which stood on four 23 ft 7. It was officially named Pioneer, but many called it Daddy Long-Legs. Construction took two years from to The railway officially opened 28 November , 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
An exiled emperor on the pier
The Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was a unique coastline railway in Brighton , England that ran through the shallow coastal waters of the English Channel between and Magnus Volk , 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. 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 to
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The Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was a unique coastline railway in Brighton, England that ran through the shallow coastal waters of the.
Volk's Brighton to Rottingdean Seashore Electric railway. A 'sea voyage on wheels' on the Daddy Long Legs, Brighton, England. Report by urban75 editor, June.