During a recent holiday (before ya know) I was visiting London from Canada for a couple of weeks. For my one trek out of town, I decided to visit Southend and explore with my camera for a couple of days. What a wonderful place to discover! As a senior with brand new knees, I took the train to the end of the pier and walked back. Absolutely brilliant (practicing my British) afternoon, with great photos, although it might have helped if it had stopped raining...
A day-trip to Southend needed to be timed to ensure that the tide was ‘in’ rather than ‘out’. If not, the prospect (unlike that shown here) was just a vast expanse of ugly and somewhat malodorous mud flats for as far as the eye could see (making the need for the pier only too self-evident). Often enough, early on a sunny Sunday, my dad, a WW2 sailor, would check the newspaper for the time of high tide at Tower Bridge and could then tell if a trip toSouthend would actually be to Southend-on-Sea rather than Southend-on-Mud - its nickname. A real treat in the ‘50s for a kid from grimy Islington - the train ride down from Liverpool St. station was an event in itself - bucket and spade in hand. Then bus to Thorpe Bay (less crowded) for a day on the beach (sandy sandwiches), followed by a walk back into Southend, Cadbury’s flake ice cream, a visit to the funfair by the pier (Peter Pan’s Gardens), fish and chips. Then time to enjoy the illuminations before the train back to London - smelling of Nivea from mild sunburn! Happy days, simple pleasures, which didn’t cost the earth! (Suggesting the Hythe-New Romney railway for a future exploration).
Often called it Southend-on-Mud, but still love it. It was an adventure from my home strange for by-passing so many really British seaside resorts. A few summers my Grandfather took me to Hythe for the canal and the railway which we spent most of ourtime on. One year I befriended a local kid; got to polish in the engine sheds; and a free footplate ride for an afternoon as a result!
I have been to Southend twice (I live in Leicester). The first time I was about 5 so it would be 1966. Loved the trains on the pier. Went back when I was about 32 still loved the trains. I have very happy memories of Southend pity it is so far from Leicester.
@@johnm2012 Well given where I grew up no choice really, it had to be the Liverpool St line. But we would be getting on at Romford. It was though far more likely that we, the mum's and kids of a group of neighbors would get the train to Walton on the Naze for a day out in the school summer holidays. This was in the 70's. Walton is nice, as no mudflats, it has a pier, but of course no railway.
horrible place -_- so much time and money pumped into a place barely anyone gives a crap about anymore, while the historic area across the water gets neglected, forgotten and used as a dumping ground. England: screw history, it's problematic.
@@geoffcross6529 one episode a shady character falls off the end of the pier. I would like to be able to take my grandchildren to these places but not certain if they would appreciate it.
The worst trains that ever graced the pier. They are so ugly looking. The best were the Green and Cream which had so much character. I was born in Southend and haunted the seafront all my life, including bait digging and working in the Kursaal. If only we had 'Time Machine' rides along the front.
Growing up in Woodford, Southend-On-Sea was our nearest seaside resort, just one hour away down the A127. My father owned an Austin Cambridge, grey with a red stripe running through the middle. They were magnificently grand cars. When we arrived in Southend (pronounced "Sowff-Einned" in the Essex accent), we would stop at the Kosher Deli to buy Beigals, Salmon, Cream-cheese.. and then drive down to the beech. Our visit wasn't complete without a trip to the pier. Before going on the pier, we would stare at that large display box with a man, tied down to a bench, looking up terrified as an ax, swinging from the ceiling, gradually got lower and lower. It never actually reached him but we used to stop and stare for ages. My brother and I would play a game, by walking as fast as we could and try and beat the green train to the end of the pier, which wasn't that difficult as it often took a long time to start off. We would then take the train back. To this day, I know how long it takes to walk a mile because of the pier. I remember those old green trains. Particularly the smell. From the outside they smelt of burnt electric cables, sea salt and old engine oil. The inside smelled of Coal tar disinfectant. There is a wonderful single Malt Whisky produced by the Bruichladdich distillery in Islay, called Octomore. It is the heaviest peated whisky ever made with some releases reaching 208 PPM. . Whenever I smell and drink this, its coastal briny, burnt, coal tar flavours bring me right back to those old green trains on the Southend-On-Sea pier.
There's a ship near the pier called the Montgomery that sunk in WWII, i believe, fully laden with explosives. If that goes up there won't be much of that pier left or possibly not much of Southend. You can see its mast at low tide but they're talking about cutting the mast off as it's attracting sightseers. Apparently it's too dangerous to do anything with it so it's literally just lying there.
The SS Montgomery is much closer to Gillingham, Kent, than it is Southend. The mast is likely to fall onto the cargo, as well as attracting tourists, which is considered quite a risk On the matter of explosives, further along the coast towards the East are the testing ranges at Shoeburyness and Foulness Island.
In the early 70’s I attended Southend Technical College. Every Wednesday we had “sports” and somehow angling managed to feature on the list. This took place at the end of the pier. We used the elegant AC green and cream EMU’s to travel along the pier. It would run in all weathers. I also remember the somewhat complex point work underneath the shore end of the pier that housed the sidings for the trains. That was as interesting at the trains themselves. I think the current units are ugly by comparison with the great and cream ones.
I too remember the green and cream 1949 stock. In the 50s they were still quite smart .. yes, they smelled of electicity, but not of Jeyes fluid. Does anybody remember the Excel Bowling ally, with the fancy 'eggbox' roof? I saw it built, and even helped paint one of its murals inside.. black and white, around the servery.
Rumour has it the replacements will be green and cream, modelled on the 70s trains. Boxy, loud and uncomfortable. The current trains have never been popular with us locals. I live over a mile away and can hear them clattering up and down if the wind is in the right direction.
In the distance shots for this video, I actually had to turn the sound down because it was too loud to be believable. You don’t expect a train that far away to be that loud.
Really enjoyed this one..... Being an East End lad, trips to the seaside were by railway. The old District Line R or CO/CP stock to Barking for a 'new' BR blue EMU to Chalkwell (for the beach), then later on an Eastern National Bristol open top bus to Southend. Peter Pans playground and a trip along the pier were always part of the day out. This was from around 1970 to after the pier fire. I rode the green & cream trains, there were two tracks when i first rode it and two or more trains operated in high summer. I remember they still ran after the fire because we went to the end to see the destruction. Some of the stall holders down there had burnt 2p coins which they showed us kids, there had be an amusement arcade at the end, along with a ghost train ride (where the fire supposedy started) and a pavilion. Happy days (well, not the fire obviously...) that i remember well.......
In the 50s an outing was to take a boat from Tower Pier to Southen then we took the old green and yellow train to the shore. The boat went off to Margate and on its return we re-boarded and back up river th Tower Pier.
You evoke similar memories of trips with my father in the 1950s - bus to Richmond then district line to Tower Hill and the boat to Southend. We would walk the pier one way and catch the pier train back. The great treat was a Rossi’s ice cream in a proper wafer cornet. My memory only says vanilla, the best I have ever had as, however sophisticated your taste subsequently becomes, nothing cannot compete with your small child tastebuds.
I remember going on those boats in the 1960's as a child with my dad. The one I remember most was the "Royal Sovereign". It was like a mini cross channel ferry. The attraction of these trips for the adults, especially the men, was the fact that the bar was open all the time in the days when the pubs used to close in the afternoon.
Growing up I lived in Basildon, a few miles from Southend. Almost every weekend would find me and a couple of mates, with our fishing gear, off to the end of the pier (or 3/4 down depending on the tides), to start a day of fun and fishing. The train was a life line at the end of a day when we needed to get back to shore. One of our favourite events was when a Spring tide occured. Several times I remember the trains being stopped because they had to cut the power to the rails due to the very close proximity of the water during the high tide. We always wondered if one day the water would touch the rails - but it never did - much to our disappointment. I think it cost us a 1d (old money) for the train plus 1d per rod - though memory could well be wrong, it was nearly 60 years ago! (Bloody hell - 60 years ago!). However I knew nothing of the history of the trains - so, once again, thanks Jago.
I remember watching water spalsh over a running Ryde pier line live in a force 9 gale ready to get the ferry back to the mainland: the trains were still running!
@@michaelgreen1515 Wow, that must have been something. Actually, Jago if you see this, maybe you could do a video on the IoW railway since the trains are/were all ex-LTE stock. So it would sort of be like a 'Tales from the Tube' - albiet with a rather long extension.
I love your video! Ukrainian, now I really want to go to Southend. Sometimes i wish that railways in Ukraine would have as fun history as the UK ones. Our ones... They just stayed... And are all in use... Not much of story there, i guess?
I just put "abandoned railway Ukraine" in the youtube search bar and it came up with an interesting video about the abandoned railways of Chernobyl. Surely there must be more interesting history to Ukraine than what you are currently aware of?
@@marcrotterdam010 maybe there is! Although it seems that the soviets always insisted on using all the railways! I'll definitely check out chernobyl railway!
@@walker_andrej The USSR had a policy that cities of over a 1,000,000 people would have a subway system so Ukraine got a few from that. The problem is most Ukrainian cities passed the population mark late in the life of the USSR so the systems were only planned or barely begun when the collapse happened, I think the Ukrainian government did end up building some small bits of all the planned lines though unlike some Russians cities such as Omsk iirc that had some construction started by the time of the collapse but have never been finished or out into service.
You should do a vid on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. I don't think it has any connection to London but I don't think it's too far for you to go either.
I agree. My father (a primary school teacher) used to take a party of his pupils down to St Mary's Bay each year during the Easter holidays. One year (when I was the same age as his pupils) I went with them, and we had a trip on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, all the way down to Dungeness and back. I still remember the railway, and would love to see a Jago Hazzard video about it - nobody would be able to do it better!
Really enjoyed this film. I have never been to Southend, but have heard about this railway. It's nice that a few older cars have been preserved. I didn't know that tourists originally arrived from London by boat. When the railway from London opened, this would have taken most of the traffic. It would be interesting if one could still make the journey by boat and arrive at the pier.
You missed the key backup to the Railway. The RNLI have a station at the wet end of the pier, so the tidal issue that caused problems for steamers doesn't do exactly the same to them. The trains can't be guaranteed to be running, or in the right place, when a crew needs to get to the end of the pier in a hurry to rescue someone. So they have two battery-electric buggies, complete with 'Blues and Twos', that run along the footway to transport crews and, if required, equipment. The trip takes six minutes. Whilst in the buggy on the way to the Lifeboat Station crews plan the upcoming rescue, talk to the Coastguard on the buggies maritime radio and, if appropriate, use the binoculars that are kept in the buggies to search for the casualty. On the way back the buggies may also run on lights and sirens, carrying one or more casualties to an ambulance at the shore end of the pier.
About the elephants: Look up the story how an actual circus elephant fell off the suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany, and fell into the river Wupper. It's name was Tuffi which is now the brand of a dairy company based in Wuppertal.
I remember the green and cream pier trains from the 1950's and early 60's. The earlier ones had seats whose backs were hinged so that passengers could choose to travel facing backwards or forwards. All before the days of health and safety of course!
When I was a boy, back in the sixties, we sometimes stayed with my Aunt and Uncle, who lived behind the Kursaal in Southend. At that time, the joints in the pier railway line were not staggered, and I would lie in bed in the evening listening to the 'thump, thump, thump' of the trains running up and down.
Going on past record, he’d announce as part of hs3, we are extending Southend pier to Rotterdam, and going to run an express train service. He likes a nice bridge, does Boris..
The train I remember was that nice green and cream AC streamline one around late 71 and listening to Elton John singing Tiny Dancer on my tranny courtesy of Radio Caroline and the carriage reeking of fish as the only other passenger was a fisherman who seemed to have caught every fish and crustacean from the North Sea.
The Parry People Mover at Stourbridge would be interesting though they are a long way from the Big Smoke Does the cliff railway being closed mean you have to go back?
I remember the old electric trains. Going to the end of the pier for fish and chips in the café at the end. It's no good I will have to go and look at the new diesels soon.
Here is a recent article about the design of the new Southend Pier trains, due to enter service next year: blooloop.com/news/severn-lamb-final-design-southend-pier-trains/
The new vehicles will be battery electric. There's something rather retrograde about a pioneering electric railway currently being run by diesel vehicles, so nice to go back to something electric again
I thought that, too. When the old trains were streamlined and electric, it seems strange to look at these boxy things that spew fumes from an obvious locomotive.
I've only been on this "line" the once, maybe ten years ago(ish). It was a foul day, with torrential rain and gale force winds and we had the train, and the pier, to ourselves. The RNLI shop, at the far end of the pier, was open and we were their only customers that day. One thing JH doesn't mention is the population of turnstones on the pier, comical birds which I had neither seen, nor heard of, before this visit. Keep 'em coming JH, these quirky wee lines are easily as interesting as their bigger relatives.👌😁
I spent a summer working on the pier in the early 2000s and was trained as a backup driver on the train though I was never actually needed to drive any passengers. It was a pretty unpleasant job and the trains were one of the few highlights. Though I don't know the full story I can say the battery train is (or at least was) primarily used for staff use, for out of hours service (night time deliveries to the pier head when one of the full trains would be excessive or moving staff around) and for large goods delivery. I've seen it used for delivering stuff for the lifeboat station on the pierhead, a pallets of building materials for maintenance and a new stove for one of the restaurants. Most smaller deliveries, e.g. food for the restaurants was loaded into one of the cariages on the regular trains.
I remember the old yellow and green liveried trains. Good days fishing at the end of the pier and getting the Royal Sovereign over the estuary to Ramsgate or Margate
I'd love to see an item on Kelvedon Low Level to Tollesbury Pier. Kelvedon has thousands of commuters into London. It has a fascinating history. Some traces still exists today including the pier itself, which was largely demolished in case invaders used it during WW2.
As both a railfan a native Southendian, I thank you for this well shot and extremely interesting video. It is fascinating how this much loved railways place in history is so often overlooked, and it's great to know that somebody takes an interest.
Such an interesting little railway. I meant to use it in January 2020, but I overslept haha. Btw just a tip, you might want to blur the background when showing an image in the foreground. Definitely inspired me to go back - thanks for sharing! :D
I rode in it before 1950. Curiously, because I was rather tiny back then I could only see out of the windows on the far side and I assumed that I was on a train that was following the shore line.
"This was before decent roads.." In Southend? We still haven't got those! AC Cars, builders of the 1949 trains, also built the Le Mans Cobra sports car, famously tested on the M1 much to the annoyance of the Transport minister, Barbara Castle.
The Isle of Wight should be on the list. Old tube stock running up and down the pier appears to be right up your alley. It also connects to the preserved steam railway, which is interesting in it's own right.
The old tube stock is going to be replaced soon. With newer old tube stock! I think this year was the plan to replace the 383s with 384s, but that might have been postponed a little.
I'm playing some Wilko Johnson here in Slovenija. Was he from "Essix" or possibly more "Kanvee Oylund" ? Regardless of this logical piss-taking what a pleasure it is indeed to remember Dr Feelgood , Lee Brilleaux et all.
We loved the pier railway as kids in the late 50's/early 60's. The shore terminus was really impressive. It looked like a mini main line terminus. The 49' stock was a treat too. I lived in Leytonstone as a kid, and we often went on excursions from what we called "the Midland", Leytonstone High Road. Cheap but slow. Happy days. Thanks, nice video.
Southend here! Went to college in Southend from Canvey, there's a nice spot under the peir that I love to sit at because it surrounds you with the sound of the waves truly an amazing place to relax
You didnt show us the pirate boat at Peter Pan's Playground - Or The World Famous Kursall. Or the late night essex boys pimped up car showing off along the sea front. Or the place at Shoeburyness where old rolling stock goes to die.
Jago Hazzard. I would have thought it worth listed building status, but a Tesco Express a fitting end to a proper bit of Southend glam. Everything else is gone, ballroom, roller coaster, rides. I now realise the spelling is Kursaal.
Jago Hazzard. War Office signs in pavements, I was told were artillery markings for home defence? There is a WD arrow carved into the kerb in Whitehall near the Trafalgar Studios and that Wetherspoons pub, worth a look? Ordnance survey etc etc
I'd suggest heading west. Bristol's Severn Beach Line travels through City Centre, Georgian Suburb, a gorge, along two different estuaries, through heavy industial landscape and finally through proper country side all in about 15 miles. The Cardiff docks railway ans Bristol Harbour Railways are also fairly unique. Barry branch is also odd.
Growing up in Newham, Southend-On-Estuary was our nearest "seaside resort", under an hour away by tube from East Ham and cross-platform interchange at Barking for the train. Sometimes we would opt for the less lairy Chalkwell. But I liked the arcades at Southend.
What about visiting the Hythe Pier Railway in Hampshire, the oldest continuously operating electric pier train. It's in the Guinness Book of Records & everything?
I used to live in a town near Southend, the Pier being one of the main local attractions. The shoddy, rattly trains are part of the experience - They have a certain charm to them, but they're as old as I am now and its no surprise they're considering replacing them. Some of the older electric stock is preserved in the museum below the shore station - Perhaps it'd add to the novelty if the new trains were built to look like them aesthetically on the inside and out, but with modern tech and air conditioning underneath. Maybe with wider doors, too. It's a shame they never replaced the shops and arcade on the pier head after the 2005 fire - You go all the way to end, and there's not a lot to see other than the lifeboat station, an art gallery and an overpriced cafe. But the mile long walk, or train ride along it over the water into the estuary is always a novelty in itself, I suppose.
It is a shame about the pier head, after the bowling ally fire and demolition I used to go out on the end of the pier and discovered the little fish and chip kiosk next door to the pub (they did some of the best chips in Southend in that kiosk!) When they were deciding what to do with the rebuilt pier head I was gutted that they decided to go this route rather than the small holdings that were there. There hasn't been that same feeling of community ever since.
Back in 1989 I lived in Southend. I went on those trains almost every weekend 😂 There was a bowling alley at the start of the pier until it burnt down. And then the end of the pier burnt down a few years later.
@@pierre-de-standing and before the Bowl there was a very nice pier Pavillion which burnt down in 1959. Following that and before the Bowl, they levelled the floor and made it a roller-skating rink.
Ah yes, visited it about 20 years ago. We walked down to the end of the pier and took the train on the return journey which was a relief for me, as I get nervous near deep water and the walkway was just a little too narrow for my liking.
I have both walked and trained. I found pride in being able to say I had done both rare world class achievements. I remember being distressed by the fire when we heard on the local news and for ages after.
Being born in Basildon I spent a lot of my childhood in Southend, then as a teenager I got my tattoos there. I recall the piers railway reopening in '86 as remembering stuff a child is told is important when aged 7 who then spends the rest of his life without anyone asking about it; but it has finally happened and I can guess that none of you are queing up for me recollection of that momentous journey of some 34 years ago....🙄
@@rowdyyates4273 crabbing, I had forgotten all about doing that as a kid, jeesus that takes me back to an age when those stupid jelly shoes were considered good beach wear, by parents of course 🙄
The chugging of that steam train at the start is a perfect sample for a techno track... sounds just like Ryuji Takeuchi - West, Not East (B1) [LK 003] - ua-cam.com/video/UE_Uhx_7nwM/v-deo.html
Thanks for this. I grew up near Southend and often rode on the pier railway AC Cars trains. If you like quirky, you really ought to visit the Hythe Pier Railway near Southampton.
1986 - On June 30th the tanker MV Kingsabbey sailed off course and cut through the pier between the old and new Pier Heads, there was a passenger footbridge connecting the two, for a while. Also major fire in 2005 burnt out the station and buckled the tracks. No elephants hurt.
How about taking a look at The Crouch Valley Railway from Wickford to Southminster, Essex. Mostly single track with some interesting Station names along the way. Battlesbridge has nothing to do with a military conflict as I recently discovered, but I'll leave you to do the research. I'm a new subscriber working my way through your videos. Thank you.
On the other side of the river you've got The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, a quaint little 2 mile, 2'6''narrow gauge, steam engine community preserved line. You should give it a visit, now that its re-opened
AC Cars at Themes Ditton who would go on to build rail buses.... and supply the bodies/chassis/running gear for the most iconic performance car ever!!! Carroll Shelby's AC Cobra. You missed that bit.
I would like to see one of your video's on The Isle of Wight Railway, Dimchurch, Festinioge & maybe Ridgeway Park in chingford. Very good video & commentary by the way!
Ruislip Lido railway please (I know it's not a REAL railway but .....). I was born in Ruislip in 1947 and have vague memories of it. I've been an Aussie since 1954 and would love to see how the "railway" is fairing.
Two requests (and if you’ve already done them I apologize), Glasgow Subway and why did Britain start off so early on underground railways and then failed to build any outside London and Glasgow.
Yes, it was the AC cars that I travelled on during the 1950s and also I also experienced the same company's 'attempt' at an early diesel (two car) railcar on the Watford Junction to St.Albans branch of BR.
Beautiful day Jago, not a cloud in the sky - a point of curio that I have noticed (with some research knowledge) and something you have undoubtedly noticed too - prior to around 1900 there are very few construction or operational photographs of British railways - they, for the most part, are sketches - now, before the scorning mockery of the profane scream “IT WAS JUST INVENTED!!!” I ask a pause of indigence - everyone and they’re aunt Fanny had at leased one new fangled photograph taken, usually looking quite austere and stern - people were taking pictures of everything and by the 1890’s it was far from “new” yet, particularly in the construction phases, there are little to no real photographs - Interesting - much love to you Jago 🌞
The English ;language is so flexible, as long as it's used with care! At 4½ minutes we hear that the railway "needed refurbishment badly" - surely it badly needed refurbishment? It's an old language, it's a new language - and it's ever-changing!!!
I do wonder if the Ashton-court & Avon Line miniature railway still runs... never remember seeing it with a full service, but the 2¼ inch track was used during festival days to ferry visitors from the local bus-hub and up to the Manor complex and exhibition center... an odd railway, much like a theme park or garden railway, yet built to quite comfortably carry dressed up picnic goers... went all the way up Avon gauge it did, a good eight or so miles (122 furlongs) long.
I think you've got the track gauges mixed up a bit. For instance the A C cars ran on 2ft gauge with centre live rail. Possibly 2ft 6in ---may be wrong.
I love pier-reviewed videos.
Be very careful, they can be very deceptive. Often they are NOT what they appier.
Ho Ho Ho.That pun is pierless.
I found the pun! Pier it is!
I prefer pier-iod pieces.
Some women may have been like paddle steamers in that they would like to have been engaged to a peer/pier.
During a recent holiday (before ya know) I was visiting London from Canada for a couple of weeks. For my one trek out of town, I decided to visit Southend and explore with my camera for a couple of days. What a wonderful place to discover! As a senior with brand new knees, I took the train to the end of the pier and walked back. Absolutely brilliant (practicing my British) afternoon, with great photos, although it might have helped if it had stopped raining...
Rain is part of the seaside charm
Skylark Murphy it certainly made it interesting! But fun for sure.
Glad you enjoyed our town. At least we have things to do when it rains, lol.
A day-trip to Southend needed to be timed to ensure that the tide was ‘in’ rather than ‘out’. If not, the prospect (unlike that shown here) was just a vast expanse of ugly and somewhat malodorous mud flats for as far as the eye could see (making the need for the pier only too self-evident). Often enough, early on a sunny Sunday, my dad, a WW2 sailor, would check the newspaper for the time of high tide at Tower Bridge and could then tell if a trip toSouthend would actually be to Southend-on-Sea rather than Southend-on-Mud - its nickname. A real treat in the ‘50s for a kid from grimy Islington - the train ride down from Liverpool St. station was an event in itself - bucket and spade in hand. Then bus to Thorpe Bay (less crowded) for a day on the beach (sandy sandwiches), followed by a walk back into Southend, Cadbury’s flake ice cream, a visit to the funfair by the pier (Peter Pan’s Gardens), fish and chips. Then time to enjoy the illuminations before the train back to London - smelling of Nivea from mild sunburn! Happy days, simple pleasures, which didn’t cost the earth! (Suggesting the Hythe-New Romney railway for a future exploration).
Often called it Southend-on-Mud, but still love it. It was an adventure from my home strange for by-passing so many really British seaside resorts.
A few summers my Grandfather took me to Hythe for the canal and the railway which we spent most of ourtime on. One year I befriended a local kid; got to polish in the engine sheds; and a free footplate ride for an afternoon as a result!
nice picture you paint with words.
I have been to Southend twice (I live in Leicester). The first time I was about 5 so it would be 1966. Loved the trains on the pier. Went back when I was about 32 still loved the trains. I have very happy memories of Southend pity it is so far from Leicester.
Liverpool Street or Fenchurch Street? That is the big question.
@@johnm2012 Well given where I grew up no choice really, it had to be the Liverpool St line. But we would be getting on at Romford. It was though far more likely that we, the mum's and kids of a group of neighbors would get the train to Walton on the Naze for a day out in the school summer holidays. This was in the 70's. Walton is nice, as no mudflats, it has a pier, but of course no railway.
A lot of people demanded a video about the Southend Pier railway, guess the creator gave in to pier pressure in the end.
Southend, the exotic location for outside filming of Eastenders - As Blackpool is to Corrie.
Southenders
A cafe there used to display a sign eadtenders filmed here! 😝
horrible place -_- so much time and money pumped into a place barely anyone gives a crap about anymore, while the historic area across the water gets neglected, forgotten and used as a dumping ground. England: screw history, it's problematic.
@@geoffcross6529 one episode a shady character falls off the end of the pier. I would like to be able to take my grandchildren to these places but not certain if they would appreciate it.
@@CrashHeadroom Which place ? Margate??
The worst trains that ever graced the pier. They are so ugly looking. The best were the Green and Cream which had so much character. I was born in Southend and haunted the seafront all my life, including bait digging and working in the Kursaal. If only we had 'Time Machine' rides along the front.
Growing up in Woodford, Southend-On-Sea was our nearest seaside resort, just one hour away down the A127. My father owned an Austin Cambridge, grey with a red stripe running through the middle. They were magnificently grand cars. When we arrived in Southend (pronounced "Sowff-Einned" in the Essex accent), we would stop at the Kosher Deli to buy Beigals, Salmon, Cream-cheese.. and then drive down to the beech.
Our visit wasn't complete without a trip to the pier. Before going on the pier, we would stare at that large display box with a man, tied down to a bench, looking up terrified as an ax, swinging from the ceiling, gradually got lower and lower. It never actually reached him but we used to stop and stare for ages.
My brother and I would play a game, by walking as fast as we could and try and beat the green train to the end of the pier, which wasn't that difficult as it often took a long time to start off. We would then take the train back. To this day, I know how long it takes to walk a mile because of the pier.
I remember those old green trains. Particularly the smell. From the outside they smelt of burnt electric cables, sea salt and old engine oil. The inside smelled of Coal tar disinfectant.
There is a wonderful single Malt Whisky produced by the Bruichladdich distillery in Islay, called Octomore. It is the heaviest peated whisky ever made with some releases reaching 208 PPM. . Whenever I smell and drink this, its coastal briny, burnt, coal tar flavours bring me right back to those old green trains on the Southend-On-Sea pier.
Did you perhaps mean the A127? The A27 runs from Whiteparish to Pevensey along the South coast.
Remember the distinct clatter sound those trains made too.
@@thebestspork Yes, Corrected. A12->A127. Thanks. Gants Hill-Newbury Park-Romford and then straight on..
@@adscri Absolutely.
You should try Lagavulin,, its also very peaty.
There's a ship near the pier called the Montgomery that sunk in WWII, i believe, fully laden with explosives. If that goes up there won't be much of that pier left or possibly not much of Southend. You can see its mast at low tide but they're talking about cutting the mast off as it's attracting sightseers. Apparently it's too dangerous to do anything with it so it's literally just lying there.
The SS Montgomery is much closer to Gillingham, Kent, than it is Southend. The mast is likely to fall onto the cargo, as well as attracting tourists, which is considered quite a risk On the matter of explosives, further along the coast towards the East are the testing ranges at Shoeburyness and Foulness Island.
It is the Liberty Ship SS RICHARD MONTGOMERY.
If you keep your eyes to the Southend side of the river, you can see a sunken Mulberry harbour.
What a rich and interesting history. I wish there was more period footage and photos. And yes, more quirky little railways please.
In the early 70’s I attended Southend Technical College. Every Wednesday we had “sports” and somehow angling managed to feature on the list. This took place at the end of the pier. We used the elegant AC green and cream EMU’s to travel along the pier. It would run in all weathers. I also remember the somewhat complex point work underneath the shore end of the pier that housed the sidings for the trains. That was as interesting at the trains themselves. I think the current units are ugly by comparison with the great and cream ones.
They do look rather “functional” compared to the old ones.
The new trains coming in are going to be modern take on the old cream and green ones!
I too remember the green and cream 1949 stock. In the 50s they were still quite smart .. yes, they smelled of electicity, but not of Jeyes fluid.
Does anybody remember the Excel Bowling ally, with the fancy 'eggbox' roof? I saw it built, and even helped paint one of its murals inside.. black and white, around the servery.
Rumour has it the replacements will be green and cream, modelled on the 70s trains. Boxy, loud and uncomfortable. The current trains have never been popular with us locals. I live over a mile away and can hear them clattering up and down if the wind is in the right direction.
In the distance shots for this video, I actually had to turn the sound down because it was too loud to be believable. You don’t expect a train that far away to be that loud.
I love piers and everything that goes with them ; entertainment , fish and chips and candyfloss.
Just not that Morgan!.
Really enjoyed this one..... Being an East End lad, trips to the seaside were by railway. The old District Line R or CO/CP stock to Barking for a 'new' BR blue EMU to Chalkwell (for the beach), then later on an Eastern National Bristol open top bus to Southend. Peter Pans playground and a trip along the pier were always part of the day out. This was from around 1970 to after the pier fire. I rode the green & cream trains, there were two tracks when i first rode it and two or more trains operated in high summer. I remember they still ran after the fire because we went to the end to see the destruction. Some of the stall holders down there had burnt 2p coins which they showed us kids, there had be an amusement arcade at the end, along with a ghost train ride (where the fire supposedy started) and a pavilion. Happy days (well, not the fire obviously...) that i remember well.......
In the 50s an outing was to take a boat from Tower Pier to Southen then we took the old green and yellow train to the shore. The boat went off to Margate and on its return we re-boarded and back up river th Tower Pier.
You evoke similar memories of trips with my father in the 1950s - bus to Richmond then district line to Tower Hill and the boat to Southend. We would walk the pier one way and catch the pier train back. The great treat was a Rossi’s ice cream in a proper wafer cornet. My memory only says vanilla, the best I have ever had as, however sophisticated your taste subsequently becomes, nothing cannot compete with your small child tastebuds.
I remember going on those boats in the 1960's as a child with my dad. The one I remember most was the "Royal Sovereign". It was like a mini cross channel ferry. The attraction of these trips for the adults, especially the men, was the fact that the bar was open all the time in the days when the pubs used to close in the afternoon.
In the 50s I was -50 xD
Growing up I lived in Basildon, a few miles from Southend. Almost every weekend would find me and a couple of mates, with our fishing gear, off to the end of the pier (or 3/4 down depending on the tides), to start a day of fun and fishing. The train was a life line at the end of a day when we needed to get back to shore. One of our favourite events was when a Spring tide occured. Several times I remember the trains being stopped because they had to cut the power to the rails due to the very close proximity of the water during the high tide. We always wondered if one day the water would touch the rails - but it never did - much to our disappointment. I think it cost us a 1d (old money) for the train plus 1d per rod - though memory could well be wrong, it was nearly 60 years ago! (Bloody hell - 60 years ago!). However I knew nothing of the history of the trains - so, once again, thanks Jago.
I remember watching water spalsh over a running Ryde pier line live in a force 9 gale ready to get the ferry back to the mainland: the trains were still running!
@@michaelgreen1515 Wow, that must have been something. Actually, Jago if you see this, maybe you could do a video on the IoW railway since the trains are/were all ex-LTE stock. So it would sort of be like a 'Tales from the Tube' - albiet with a rather long extension.
summer holiday in the mid 1960" from Walthamstow a green line bus, used to stay in a caravan no electric just gas lighting. Happy memories. 👍
1900 Electric transport:
2020: hold my beers I'm pi55ed
1st? Oh and I love your vids! Hi from California :)
I love your video! Ukrainian, now I really want to go to Southend. Sometimes i wish that railways in Ukraine would have as fun history as the UK ones. Our ones... They just stayed... And are all in use... Not much of story there, i guess?
I just put "abandoned railway Ukraine" in the youtube search bar and it came up with an interesting video about the abandoned railways of Chernobyl. Surely there must be more interesting history to Ukraine than what you are currently aware of?
@@marcrotterdam010 maybe there is! Although it seems that the soviets always insisted on using all the railways! I'll definitely check out chernobyl railway!
@@walker_andrej The USSR had a policy that cities of over a 1,000,000 people would have a subway system so Ukraine got a few from that. The problem is most Ukrainian cities passed the population mark late in the life of the USSR so the systems were only planned or barely begun when the collapse happened, I think the Ukrainian government did end up building some small bits of all the planned lines though unlike some Russians cities such as Omsk iirc that had some construction started by the time of the collapse but have never been finished or out into service.
You should do a vid on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. I don't think it has any connection to London but I don't think it's too far for you to go either.
It’s one I’m very fond of, and a few people have suggested it, so it may well be on the agenda.
@@JagoHazzard Nice! I look forward to that
I agree. My father (a primary school teacher) used to take a party of his pupils down to St Mary's Bay each year during the Easter holidays. One year (when I was the same age as his pupils) I went with them, and we had a trip on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, all the way down to Dungeness and back. I still remember the railway, and would love to see a Jago Hazzard video about it - nobody would be able to do it better!
I remember the green and cream trains from my childhood, where the looked like caterpillars. When it was still two tracks all the way
Cliff railway?.... Ah yes, the Richard line! LOL
Always in The Shadows…
@@dangerousandy Well cast!
I have sinister paymasters too! Pain in the arse aren't they?
Really enjoyed this film. I have never been to Southend, but have heard about this railway. It's nice that a few older cars have been preserved.
I didn't know that tourists originally arrived from London by boat. When the railway from London opened, this would have taken most of the traffic. It would be interesting if one could still make the journey by boat and arrive at the pier.
I think pleasure cruises still call at the pier. It's also used by the RNLI
@@PlanetoftheDeaf For the last few years the paddle steamer "Waverley" has regularly come down from London to Southend Pier.
During the 50's & 60's I went on many boat trips from the pier. They were operated by Daffodil and Eagle steamers if I remember rightly.
Paul Carter. I have been on the Waverley and it did stop at Southend Pier.
@@wyvernmodelrailway that's good.
You missed the key backup to the Railway.
The RNLI have a station at the wet end of the pier, so the tidal issue that caused problems for steamers doesn't do exactly the same to them. The trains can't be guaranteed to be running, or in the right place, when a crew needs to get to the end of the pier in a hurry to rescue someone. So they have two battery-electric buggies, complete with 'Blues and Twos', that run along the footway to transport crews and, if required, equipment. The trip takes six minutes.
Whilst in the buggy on the way to the Lifeboat Station crews plan the upcoming rescue, talk to the Coastguard on the buggies maritime radio and, if appropriate, use the binoculars that are kept in the buggies to search for the casualty. On the way back the buggies may also run on lights and sirens, carrying one or more casualties to an ambulance at the shore end of the pier.
About the elephants: Look up the story how an actual circus elephant fell off the suspension railway in Wuppertal, Germany, and fell into the river Wupper. It's name was Tuffi which is now the brand of a dairy company based in Wuppertal.
I remember the green and cream pier trains from the 1950's and early 60's. The earlier ones had seats whose backs were hinged so that passengers could choose to travel facing backwards or forwards. All before the days of health and safety of course!
A pier railway drawn by elephants? (2:00) Aaaaahhhhh, I see! A 'Trunk" line! (Was that you falling off your chair with laughter I just heard? LOL)
BOOM BOOM!
@@JagoHazzard Ba-dum-tssssss!
You need to be taken to tusk over that joke.
When I was a boy, back in the sixties, we sometimes stayed with my Aunt and Uncle, who lived behind the Kursaal in Southend. At that time, the joints in the pier railway line were not staggered, and I would lie in bed in the evening listening to the 'thump, thump, thump' of the trains running up and down.
Maybe you could consider reviewing Hythe Pier Railway?
You have to do the Isle of Wight!
Going on past record, he’d announce as part of hs3, we are extending Southend pier to Rotterdam, and going to run an express train service. He likes a nice bridge, does Boris..
From the longest to possibly the shortest pier railway: the Hythe Pier railway which seems so short as to beg the question why?
The train I remember was that nice green and cream AC streamline one around late 71 and listening to Elton John singing Tiny Dancer on my tranny courtesy of Radio Caroline and the carriage reeking of fish as the only other passenger was a fisherman who seemed to have caught every fish and crustacean from the North Sea.
The Parry People Mover at Stourbridge would be interesting
though they are a long way from the Big Smoke
Does the cliff railway being closed
mean you have to go back?
I remember the old electric trains. Going to the end of the pier for fish and chips in the café at the end. It's no good I will have to go and look at the new diesels soon.
It seems so weird seeing your home town reviewed on UA-cam haha it looks pretty but it’s a shite hole😬😂
Here is a recent article about the design of the new Southend Pier trains, due to enter service next year: blooloop.com/news/severn-lamb-final-design-southend-pier-trains/
The new vehicles will be battery electric. There's something rather retrograde about a pioneering electric railway currently being run by diesel vehicles, so nice to go back to something electric again
I thought that, too. When the old trains were streamlined and electric, it seems strange to look at these boxy things that spew fumes from an obvious locomotive.
I've only been on this "line" the once, maybe ten years ago(ish). It was a foul day, with torrential rain and gale force winds and we had the train, and the pier, to ourselves. The RNLI shop, at the far end of the pier, was open and we were their only customers that day.
One thing JH doesn't mention is the population of turnstones on the pier, comical birds which I had neither seen, nor heard of, before this visit.
Keep 'em coming JH, these quirky wee lines are easily as interesting as their bigger relatives.👌😁
I spent a summer working on the pier in the early 2000s and was trained as a backup driver on the train though I was never actually needed to drive any passengers. It was a pretty unpleasant job and the trains were one of the few highlights.
Though I don't know the full story I can say the battery train is (or at least was) primarily used for staff use, for out of hours service (night time deliveries to the pier head when one of the full trains would be excessive or moving staff around) and for large goods delivery. I've seen it used for delivering stuff for the lifeboat station on the pierhead, a pallets of building materials for maintenance and a new stove for one of the restaurants. Most smaller deliveries, e.g. food for the restaurants was loaded into one of the cariages on the regular trains.
I remember the old yellow and green liveried trains. Good days fishing at the end of the pier and getting the Royal Sovereign over the estuary to Ramsgate or Margate
I'd love to see an item on Kelvedon Low Level to Tollesbury Pier. Kelvedon has thousands of commuters into London. It has a fascinating history. Some traces still exists today including the pier itself, which was largely demolished in case invaders used it during WW2.
Great video 👏🏻 and yes I’d love to hear about the different kinds of railways all around the uk
Quirky is good.
So narrow gauge railways does still exist. I thought that they all died. It’s good to know that there are narrow gauge railways that are still around.
As both a railfan a native Southendian, I thank you for this well shot and extremely interesting video.
It is fascinating how this much loved railways place in history is so often overlooked, and it's great to know that somebody takes an interest.
these videos are great. just long enough you keep interest and long enough i dont want more
I love your vids Jago
Thanks!
110% agree! Love-em.
Such an interesting little railway. I meant to use it in January 2020, but I overslept haha. Btw just a tip, you might want to blur the background when showing an image in the foreground.
Definitely inspired me to go back - thanks for sharing! :D
I rode in it before 1950. Curiously, because I was rather tiny back then I could only see out of the windows on the far side and I assumed that I was on a train that was following the shore line.
Sad to see the old trains are no longer used. The new ones are outstandingly ugly!
"This was before decent roads.." In Southend? We still haven't got those! AC Cars, builders of the 1949 trains, also built the Le Mans Cobra sports car, famously tested on the M1 much to the annoyance of the Transport minister, Barbara Castle.
The Isle of Wight should be on the list. Old tube stock running up and down the pier appears to be right up your alley. It also connects to the preserved steam railway, which is interesting in it's own right.
It’s on my list! Being both an unusual railway and a home to 1938 Tube trains, I don’t think I can resist.
The old tube stock is going to be replaced soon. With newer old tube stock! I think this year was the plan to replace the 383s with 384s, but that might have been postponed a little.
I'm playing some Wilko Johnson here in Slovenija. Was he from "Essix" or possibly more "Kanvee Oylund" ? Regardless of this logical piss-taking what a pleasure it is indeed to remember Dr Feelgood , Lee Brilleaux et all.
1976 Pier ua-cam.com/video/GzF0AETdRF8/v-deo.html
Yes, anything quirky would do nicely, thanks!
We loved the pier railway as kids in the late 50's/early 60's. The shore terminus was really impressive. It looked like a mini main line terminus. The 49' stock was a treat too.
I lived in Leytonstone as a kid, and we often went on excursions from what we called "the Midland", Leytonstone High Road. Cheap but slow.
Happy days.
Thanks, nice video.
Southend here! Went to college in Southend from Canvey, there's a nice spot under the peir that I love to sit at because it surrounds you with the sound of the waves truly an amazing place to relax
You didnt show us the pirate boat at Peter Pan's Playground - Or The World Famous Kursall. Or the late night essex boys pimped up car showing off along the sea front. Or the place at Shoeburyness where old rolling stock goes to die.
High Path. I think the Kursall had been demolished.
The Kursaal is still there, but it now houses a Tesco. I actually took a shot of it, but I couldn’t fit it into this video.
Jago Hazzard. I would have thought it worth listed building status, but a Tesco Express a fitting end to a proper bit of Southend glam. Everything else is gone, ballroom, roller coaster, rides. I now realise the spelling is Kursaal.
It’s grade 2 listed, but sadly the last of the amusement aspects disappeared earlier this year.
Jago Hazzard. War Office signs in pavements, I was told were artillery markings for home defence? There is a WD arrow carved into the kerb in Whitehall near the Trafalgar Studios and that Wetherspoons pub, worth a look? Ordnance survey etc etc
I'd suggest heading west. Bristol's Severn Beach Line travels through City Centre, Georgian Suburb, a gorge, along two different estuaries, through heavy industial landscape and finally through proper country side all in about 15 miles. The Cardiff docks railway ans Bristol Harbour Railways are also fairly unique. Barry branch is also odd.
Indeed
Your voice is great for narration, thank you for bringing this very interesting bit of railway history to light!
I live in Southend and it ain’t pretty lol
I went there in July and saw the new train on the siding at the northern end.
Sounds like I need to head back!
Shame about the old trains. Streamlined...
I live there.
Lol
Have you gone back to visit the cliff railway yet? Perhaps you could visit it for your summer holiday!
Growing up in Newham, Southend-On-Estuary was our nearest "seaside resort", under an hour away by tube from East Ham and cross-platform interchange at Barking for the train. Sometimes we would opt for the less lairy Chalkwell. But I liked the arcades at Southend.
Southend-on-sea
Brighton's "daddy long legs" please :)
It’s definitely one I plan to do. It doesn’t get much quirkier.
@@JagoHazzard but it's so brilliant and nearly nobody knows of it. I have a picture somewhere.
@@JagoHazzard oh yes a train with a lifeboat mandated by law , I wait but wont hold my breath as it'll take some research:)
What about visiting the Hythe Pier Railway in Hampshire, the oldest continuously operating electric pier train. It's in the Guinness Book of Records & everything?
I used to live in a town near Southend, the Pier being one of the main local attractions. The shoddy, rattly trains are part of the experience - They have a certain charm to them, but they're as old as I am now and its no surprise they're considering replacing them. Some of the older electric stock is preserved in the museum below the shore station - Perhaps it'd add to the novelty if the new trains were built to look like them aesthetically on the inside and out, but with modern tech and air conditioning underneath. Maybe with wider doors, too.
It's a shame they never replaced the shops and arcade on the pier head after the 2005 fire - You go all the way to end, and there's not a lot to see other than the lifeboat station, an art gallery and an overpriced cafe. But the mile long walk, or train ride along it over the water into the estuary is always a novelty in itself, I suppose.
It is a shame about the pier head, after the bowling ally fire and demolition I used to go out on the end of the pier and discovered the little fish and chip kiosk next door to the pub (they did some of the best chips in Southend in that kiosk!) When they were deciding what to do with the rebuilt pier head I was gutted that they decided to go this route rather than the small holdings that were there. There hasn't been that same feeling of community ever since.
Impressive! If the current rolling stock is due for replacement, how about electric trains for this environmentally conscious age?
Those sail and human powered ones seem pretty fascinating also
Back in 1989 I lived in Southend. I went on those trains almost every weekend 😂
There was a bowling alley at the start of the pier until it burnt down. And then the end of the pier burnt down a few years later.
It burnt down regularly for insurance purposes.
@@MirlitronOne And before the bowling alley there was an ice rink ...... that also burned down.
@@pierre-de-standing and before the Bowl there was a very nice pier Pavillion which burnt down in 1959. Following that and before the Bowl, they levelled the floor and made it a roller-skating rink.
Ah yes, visited it about 20 years ago. We walked down to the end of the pier and took the train on the return journey which was a relief for me, as I get nervous near deep water and the walkway was just a little too narrow for my liking.
I have both walked and trained. I found pride in being able to say I had done both rare world class achievements. I remember being distressed by the fire when we heard on the local news and for ages after.
Being born in Basildon I spent a lot of my childhood in Southend, then as a teenager I got my tattoos there. I recall the piers railway reopening in '86 as remembering stuff a child is told is important when aged 7 who then spends the rest of his life without anyone asking about it; but it has finally happened and I can guess that none of you are queing up for me recollection of that momentous journey of some 34 years ago....🙄
Yes i caught a lot of crabs there, and not from ladys!!!---
@@rowdyyates4273 crabbing, I had forgotten all about doing that as a kid, jeesus that takes me back to an age when those stupid jelly shoes were considered good beach wear, by parents of course 🙄
Dam Brooks remember the kirsal and live rounds on the duck gallery, Baileys fish and chip shop! And the laughing policemen n the arcade 😜
Greetings XJ6. It's pronounced "Sarf-Ind" (see previous minnerrizes mispronunciation) . I always find "Essix" a very confusing area.
Why on earth did they switch from electric to diesel after so long!
Nice very informative video of this unexpected wonderful, bit crazy small gauge raiway on a long pier. Thank you very much. 👍👍👍
A quiet sleeper of a video, nicely gauged, without peer and keeping on track.
Jago, Are you sure it needed refurbishing badly? Or perhaps it badly needed refurbishing! I hope that's helpful. Simon T
The chugging of that steam train at the start is a perfect sample for a techno track... sounds just like Ryuji Takeuchi - West, Not East (B1) [LK 003] - ua-cam.com/video/UE_Uhx_7nwM/v-deo.html
I walked the pier a couple of times in 2021 and was intrigued by the train. Will be interesting to see if new rolling stock manifests.
Are there any funicular railways you'd like to chime in on?
Thanks for this. I grew up near Southend and often rode on the pier railway AC Cars trains.
If you like quirky, you really ought to visit the Hythe Pier Railway near Southampton.
1986 - On June 30th the tanker MV Kingsabbey sailed off course and cut through the pier between the old and new Pier Heads, there was a passenger footbridge connecting the two, for a while. Also major fire in 2005 burnt out the station and buckled the tracks. No elephants hurt.
How about taking a look at The Crouch Valley Railway from Wickford to Southminster, Essex. Mostly single track with some interesting Station names along the way. Battlesbridge has nothing to do with a military conflict as I recently discovered, but I'll leave you to do the research. I'm a new subscriber working my way through your videos.
Thank you.
Great video 👌🏻 how about one on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. Lots of places of interest too.
How about the Hythe Pier Railway ? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hythe_Pier,_Railway_and_Ferry
On the other side of the river you've got The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, a quaint little 2 mile, 2'6''narrow gauge, steam engine community preserved line.
You should give it a visit, now that its re-opened
Preferred the old green and cream train.
Me too. They were more distinctive. The current ones do the job, but they aren’t exactly stylish.
AC Cars at Themes Ditton who would go on to build rail buses.... and supply the bodies/chassis/running gear for the most iconic performance car ever!!! Carroll Shelby's AC Cobra. You missed that bit.
I would like to see one of your video's on The Isle of Wight Railway, Dimchurch, Festinioge & maybe Ridgeway Park in chingford. Very good video & commentary by the way!
Ruislip Lido railway please (I know it's not a REAL railway but .....). I was born in Ruislip in 1947 and have vague memories of it. I've been an Aussie since 1954 and would love to see how the "railway" is fairing.
Stagecoach national express C2C and Greater Anglia operating services from London to Southend on sea
Two requests (and if you’ve already done them I apologize), Glasgow Subway and why did Britain start off so early on underground railways and then failed to build any outside London and Glasgow.
Yes, it was the AC cars that I travelled on during the 1950s and also I also experienced the same company's 'attempt' at an early diesel (two car) railcar on the Watford Junction to St.Albans branch of BR.
Beautiful day Jago, not a cloud in the sky - a point of curio that I have noticed (with some research knowledge) and something you have undoubtedly noticed too - prior to around 1900 there are very few construction or operational photographs of British railways - they, for the most part, are sketches - now, before the scorning mockery of the profane scream “IT WAS JUST INVENTED!!!” I ask a pause of indigence - everyone and they’re aunt Fanny had at leased one new fangled photograph taken, usually looking quite austere and stern - people were taking pictures of everything and by the 1890’s it was far from “new” yet, particularly in the construction phases, there are little to no real photographs - Interesting - much love to you Jago 🌞
When arriving in Southend 👳 simply skate your way through the streets until you reach the skatepark ▶️ "funtime/good time"
The English ;language is so flexible, as long as it's used with care! At 4½ minutes we hear that the railway "needed refurbishment badly" - surely it badly needed refurbishment? It's an old language, it's a new language - and it's ever-changing!!!
1:20, sail powered trolley? And we think today's baggage handlers are nuts? Any photos? I want to see it tacking...
Southend's Ovie?
(Docker's Umbrella)
I do wonder if the Ashton-court & Avon Line miniature railway still runs... never remember seeing it with a full service, but the 2¼ inch track was used during festival days to ferry visitors from the local bus-hub and up to the Manor complex and exhibition center... an odd railway, much like a theme park or garden railway, yet built to quite comfortably carry dressed up picnic goers... went all the way up Avon gauge it did, a good eight or so miles (122 furlongs) long.
I think you've got the track gauges mixed up a bit. For instance the A C cars ran on 2ft gauge with centre live rail. Possibly 2ft 6in ---may be wrong.