From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Half-way station

VER Carriages

Detail of the tracks in front of the carriage shed showing the electrified third rail.

Volk's Electric Railway (VER) 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. It was built by Magnus Volk, with the first section being completed in 1883.

Today the line runs between terminal stations at Aquarium (adjacent to the Palace Pier) and Black Rock (adjacent to Brighton Marina), with an intermediate station and depot at Paston Place. The line has a gauge of 2ft 8½in (825mm), is electrified at 110 V DC using a third rail, and is 1¼ miles (2 km) long.

The initial 1883 line was intended as a temporary summer attraction and ran for only ¼ mile (400 m) between Swimming Arch and Chain Pier. It was built to a gauge of 2ft (609mm) and electrical power was supplied to the cars using the two running rails, at 50 V DC. In 1884 the line was extended from Chain Pier to Paston Place, the gauge widened to 2ft 9in (838mm), and the electrical supply still was 110V DC. In 1886 a third rail was added to avoid power loss along the extended line, and the gauge tightened up to its current 2ft 8½in.

In 1896 the unusual Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was built by Volk. This was unsuccessful and closed in 1901, when the Volks Electric Railway was extended from Paston Place to Black Rock. In 1933 the line was cut back from Swimming Arch to Aquarium.

In 1938 the Brighton Corporation took control of the line. It was closed during the Second World War but reopened in 1948. Winter operation ceased from 1954. 2-car multiple operation was introduced in 1964. There was a decline in visitor numbers due to package holidays. In 1995 the Volk's Electric Railway Association was formed to help preserve the line.

• Iain Frew (ed) (1983). Britain's Electric Railways Today. Published by the Electric Railway Society and Southern Electric Group. ISBN 0-85534-021-5 or ISBN 0-906988-12-8. Pages 81-82.

• Volk's Electric Railway Association
• Southern e-group photos
• Map sources for:
  • Aquarium Station
  • Paston Place Station
  • Black Rock Station

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Volk's Electric Railway

v • d • e

Railway museums and heritage railways in England

Railways: Amerton • Appleby Frodingham • Avon Valley • Battlefield Line • Bideford and Instow • Bluebell • Bodmin and Wenford • Bowes • Bredgar and Wormshill • Bristol Harbour • Bure Valley • Cambrian (Society) • Cambrian (Trust) • Chasewater • Chinnor and Princes Risborough • Cholsey and Wallingford • Churnet Valley • Cleethorpes Coast • Colne Valley • Dartmoor • Dean Forest • Derwent Valley • East Kent • East Lancashire • East Somerset • Ecclesbourne Valley • Eden Valley • Elsecar • Embsay and Bolton Abbey • Epping Ongar • Foxfield • Gloucestershire Warwickshire • Great Central • Great Whipsnade • Helston • Hythe Pier • Isle of Wight • Keighley and Worth Valley • Kent and East Sussex • Kirklees Light • Lakeside and Haverthwaite • Lappa Valley • Launceston • Lavender Line • Leighton Buzzard • Llewellyn's Miniature • Lincolnshire Wolds • Lynton and Barnstaple • Mid-Hants "Watercress" Line • Mid-Norfolk • Mid-Suffolk • Middleton • Midland • Nene Valley • North Gloucestershire • North Norfolk • North Tyneside • North Yorkshire Moors • Northampton & Lamport • Northamptonshire Ironstone • Paignton and Dartmouth • Peak Rail • Perrygrove • Plym Valley • Ravenglass and Eskdale • Ribble • Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch • Rudyard Lake • Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough • Seaton Tramway • Severn Valley • Sittingbourne & Kemsley • South Devon • South Tynedale • Spa Valley • Stainmore Railway • Steeple Grange • Swanage • Swindon and Cricklade • Tanfield • Telford • Volk's Electric • Weardale • Wells and Walsingham • Wensleydale • West Somerset • Wisbech and March "Bramleyline" • Yaxham

Centres and Museums: Barrow Hill Engine Shed • Birmingham Museum • Bressingham Steam Museum • Buckinghamshire Centre • Coventry Centre • Darlington Centre and Museum • Didcot Centre • East Anglian Museum • Kew Bridge Steam Museum • Mangapps Museum • Moseley Trust • National Museum, York • Rutland Museum • Shildon Museum • Swindon Steam Museum • The Railway Age, Crewe • Walthamstow Pump House •

Heritage Railways: England • Scotland • Wales • Northern Ireland • Isle of Man • Channel Islands