Brighton [Dotd 7.5.20]

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Brighton - at the extreme end of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train services - has a rich transport history ...

Brighton Belle - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6751089/Brighton-Belle-train-restored-glory-6m-revamp-wider-seats-todays-passengers.html
Brighton Electric Railway - http://www.urban75.org/railway/volks-electric-railway.html
Brighton Piers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_Palace_Pier
Brighton Speed Trials - https://www.veterancarrun.com
Brighton Station - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_railway_station
Brighton Trams - https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Brighton_trams
Brighton to Rottingdean Seashore Electric railway - http://www.urban75.org/railway/brighton-sea-railway.html
Devil's Dyke Arial Cabelway - https://fulking.net/the-aerial-cableway-1894-1909/
Devil's Dyke Branch - http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/d/dyke/ and http://devils-dyke-railway.yolasite.com/the-route-of-the-dyke-railway.php and https://fulking.net/the-dyke-railway-1887-1938/
Devil's Dyke Old Tram - http://www.urban75.org/railway/devils-dyke.html and https://fulking.net/the-steep-grade-railway-1897-1909/
Kemp Town Branch - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemp_Town_railway_station
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run - https://www.veterancarrun.com
Trolley buses - https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/category/topics/topictrans/trams-and-trolley-buses

Some old pictures (all prior to 1912!)

[infoman]

Nice pictures Grahame,I got the fourth one but where are the first three?

[grahame]

Nice pictures Grahame,I got the fourth one but where are the first three?

? - I could read that question several ways

1. All four should appear on your browser; some will come up larger if you "view image in new frame"

2. All sourced from within the links at the top of the article and out of copyright due to age (but that is complex!)

3. The images are as follows:
i. Devil's Dyke Station, 1911
ii. The old tram (sort of cliff lift) at Devil's Dyke - closed 1909, removed 1913
iii. Volks electric railway (foreground, opened 1883), Chain Pier (destroyed 1896) in background
iv. Sea Railway which ran from 1896 to 1901

[bradshaw]

The NLS^▸ (Nailsea & Backwell station) map of 1914 shows the aerial flight and incline, the route of the latter can still be traced and also seen on Google Earth.
That of 1895 also shows a switchback railway and “bicycle railway” by the hotel

[SandTEngineer]

Grahame. Think you might have missed one in your list. Devils Dyke Switchback Railway: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/saddlescombe-farm-and-newtimber-hill/features/history-devils-dyke-victorian-funfair# and in this historic film clip here: https://youtu.be/SWAwnWYJ3YM

[grahame]

Grahame. Think you might have missed one in your list. Devils Dyke Switchback Railway: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/saddlescombe-farm-and-newtimber-hill/features/history-devils-dyke-victorian-funfair# and in this historic film clip here: https://youtu.be/SWAwnWYJ3YM

Oh goodness - now that one is really obscured in history!



And the "bicycle railway" is even more hard to trace - what look like  couple of frames in that old video, little more

From http://poynings.net/poynings/dyke-railway

In September 1887 a spur was taken off of the main Brighton to Portsmouth railway line at Aldrington to provide a route to the Dyke. This was no mean feat as the line would need to climb a gradient of 1 in 40 and in order to make the line as level as possible it ran in a series of 20-40 foot deep cuttings and on 40 foot high embankments. The total journey time was around 20 minutes and cost 1/6d for a First Class return.

The first building at the Dyke was a disused bathing machine put there in 1818. In 1831 a Hotel was erected and this was improved in 1835. Amusements were provided at the Dyke: everything from a zoo, funfair, switchback, bicycle railway and a fortune teller to a 7 ton replica Naval gun. Among the attractions were an Aerial Railway which spanned the Dyke Gorge and a Funicular Railway which ran down the north side of the Dyke to Poynings. Some evidence of these two attractions still remain for the observant to find.

[infoman]

Thank you.

[bradshaw]

Have just found a photo of the upper level of the funicular railway at Devils Dyke, taken on a visit some years ago. It shows the base 'station'
The second shows the Devil's Dyke itself, across which the aerial flight was constructed

[Surrey 455]

Have just found a photo of the upper level of the funicular railway at Devils Dyke, taken on a visit some years ago. It shows the base 'station'
The second shows the Devil's Dyke itself, across which the aerial flight was constructed

It's a great location for a walk. I did it 3 years ago starting from Ditchling Beacon. The views from the top of both are tremendous, and walking on the valley floor is a great feeling. During the walk I also took a look at the Jack and Jill windmills.

[grahame]

Brighton to Rottingdean Seashore Electric railway - http://www.urban75.org/railway/brighton-sea-railway.html

A fascinating further article ...  from the Railway Museum

https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/daddy-long-legs-a-weird-and-wonderful-railway/

Photographic Archives Volunteer Nick sheds some light on an unusual discovery.

One of the most unusual photographic collections in the National Railway Museum’s archives which I’ve come across as a volunteer cataloguer is one by Ellis Kelsey, an amateur photographer who lived in Eastbourne, Sussex, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work was regularly exhibited at the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) exhibitions in London between 1899 and 1914.

[bradshaw]

You can still see the line of the rails at low tide, marked bu the ‘sleepers’. They can be seen from the road from Rottingdean as you approach Brighton.