VOLK'S RAILWAY at Brighton, opened in August, 1883, was the first electrified
line in the country. For this reason alone, the history of this famous little
railway is well worth recording. The pages which follow contain a story
of success—and how proud the inventor, Magnus Volk, would have been
to have known that, very many years after its inauguration,
his pioneer enterprise would still carry his name and still be giving happiness
to countless holiday makers.
Although Magnus Volk is best remembered today for his electric railway,
it was only one of his many achievements.
Born in Brighton in 1851, Magnus Volk was a true pioneer of electrical engineering. His house was the first in Brighton to have electric lighting, and in his workshop he made telegraph sets, telephone exchanges, an electric motor-car, and much more. A full account of the life of this very remarkable man has been written by his youngest son, Conrad Volk, and is published by Phillimore of Chichester with the title: Magnus Volk of Brighton; we commend it to those readers whose interest is awakened by the necessarily brief survey in this booklet.
Magnus Volk is buried in the quiet churchyard at Ovingdean, within the County
Borough of Brighton. His name is still remembered with pride and affection.
ON AUGUST 4th, 1883, there opened in Brighton the first electric railway to provide a regular service in Britain, and one of the first electric lines in the world. It was essentially a light railway, and remains so today, in its extended form. Its originator was the remarkable Magnus Volk, born at 40, Western Road, Brighton, on 19th October, 1851.
Magnus showed an early interest in things mechanical, and made windmills
and steamships from the clock parts in his
father's workshop. When his father died, he was only 17, but somehow the
workshop was kept together and Magnus later expanded the output to include
telegraphic instruments, electric bells and "shocking" coils.
He was always inventing things and trying out new ideas, and his street
fire alarm system gained him a gold medal in 1881. In the preceding year,
he equipped his house with the first telephone and electic light system
in Brighton.
The Corporation then employed him to supervise the installation of electric light in the Royal Pavilion and he completed this successfully in 1883. At this time he had on his hands, an electric motor which he had made, a Siemens D.5 dynamo and a 2 h.p. Crossley gas engine. He realised that with this combination he could move a railway car, and sought permission from the Corporation to build a short line on the sea front to try out his plan.
A six-month licence was granted, and Magnus moved his gas engine and dynamo to the Royal Humane Society's Arch under the promenade. A Brighton man, J. T. Chappell, laid him a light 2 ft. gauge track on a shingle embankment extending about a quarter of a mile east from the Swimming Arch (near the Aquarium) to the old Chain Pier. The 50 volt output of the power plant was fed to the two running rails, which were flat-bottomed and spiked to well-tarred longitudinal sleepers. Another Brighton man. Pollard, of (church Street, constructed a simple double-ended, four wheeled car, with tiny end platforms, and a canvas canopy. Volk equipped this with his motor, using a belt to drive the axles, the current reaching the motor through the wheels via wires rubbing the tyres, and returning through wooden-centred wheels to the opposite running rail.
Small brushes were fitted before each wheel to sweep the rails clear of
seaweed, etc. The sides of the car were decorated
with the flowery capitals, "V.E.R." The opening ceremony took
place precisely at 12 noon on Saturday, August 4th, 1883,* when the car
carried the Mayor and other dignitaries as well as Magnus, wearing a peaked
cap. The following Monday, Bank Holiday, saw the 1O passenger car doing
a great trade, and it shuttled up and down at 6 m.p.h. for 11
hours, effectively demonstrating the tireless efficiency of electric traction.
Encouraged by this success, Magnus obtained a further concession from
the authorities and in January, 1884, he closed
the line for reconstruction and extension. The gauge was converted to 2
ft. 9 in., and the eastern terminus brought to the Banjo Groyne opposite
Paston Place, Kemp Town. The passage under the Chain Pier involved a cutting
through the piled-up shingle, dipping at 1 in 28 on the west side, and climbing
up at 1in 14 on the east. The line was now about three-quarters of a mile
long, with a loop and stopping place about halfway.
A new four-wheeled, double-ended car was provided to work it, with a 10 h.p. motor placed under the centre of the floor and controllers above the driver's head, on the ceiling. Six passengers could sit on each platform, and the little saloon, which seated 18, had embossed plate-glass windows and a panelled ceiling decorated with hand-painted flowers and gold heading. There were blue silk curtains looped with blue and white silk tassels, cloth cushions, small mirrors, a clock and a barometer. Tare weight was two tons and the bodywork was solid mahogany, french polished.
Power was now produced by a 12 h.p. Crossley gas engine, driving a Siemens
dynamo in a cave opposite the eastern
terminus. This replaced the original 50 volt dynamo, which Magnus Volk had
used to light his house, and later presented
as a curiosity to the Brighton College of Technology, where it may still
he seen. The rebuilt line was opened on April
4th, 1884, and the first car was so loaded with overweight Aldermen that
the springs were brought right down and the frame grounded on the timber
of a level crossing.
A second car, identical with the first, was delivered later in 1884, and
from then on, a regular 5-6 minute basic service was operated summer and
winter, until 1940, apart from short interruptions due to gale damage. At
first the line was a great novelty, for there was nothing to show what made
the car go. People asked so many questions that Volk produced a penny pamphlet
which explained by means of simple language and diagrams the principle of
the dynamo, motor and controller. This booklet, of which a copy may be seen
at the Science Museum in London, also answers such silly questions as
- How can the car he run backwards and forwards if the electricilv is always
flowing in one direction? and can it go Uphill?
Volk also took the opportunity to advertise his ability to build similar lines and equip tramways, and the pages contain such headings as;
VOLK'S LIGHT ELECTRIC RAILWAYS ARE EASILY WORKED, A MAN AND BOY CAN MANAGE A LINE ONE MILE LONG.
At the seaside, a Volk-type line would "pay 25%" and "could
be constructed in three months"; complete estimates would
he given. For the Brighton line. Volk claimed a ratio of expenses to receipts
of 55% and a running cost of 2d. a car mile.
Medical opinion was quoted in support of the Brighton Railway:—
"As a physician I can conceive of no more advantageous mode of administering
the reviving and purifying influence of sea air than by the action of these
smoothly gliding cars, conducted almost on the sea itself." (So spoke
Dr. Hawkesley of London and Lewes Cres cent.)
"Almost on the sea" was also a disadvantage Volk found, and serious
damage was wrought by the gales of September,
1883, December, 1884, October, 1886, and December, 1896. He also met trouble
from cabmen who felt their trade menaced along the Madeira Drive and from
the boatmen who thought the line cut off the beach and made people less
interested in boating. These gentlemen were apt to sabotage the line in
the small hours. But the general feeling in Brighton was that it was an
asset to the town and an attraction for visitors.
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