I remember doing the Southend Pier by train as a thirteen or fourteen year old on a day out with my mother and sister in the 80's. I seem to remember we walked back as it was a good day.
The nay time I ever went on it was when it was still double track and electrically powered( by 3 rd Rail. There was a Bowling Alley over the line at the shore end.
The new trains look quite nice. I've not been on one yet. A couple of things you might not know, what remains of the 1940s converted driving car is stored at Mangapps and a preserved driving car is in a shop in the coastal village of "Leigh-on-Sea"
Apparently the new battery powered pier trains have had problems before when they entered service. At least now they are now working and are lot more quieter and very enjoyable to ride on.
I was there on May 14th, my birthday. The old carriage bodies which were used as shelters had all been removed and were nowhere to be seen. The red single car, which I have never seen in use, had been moved to the pier head, on the track next to Sir William Heygate. I don’t know if it has been withdrawn.
I remember the old trains. I don't know why you would want to use batteries when providing a third rail or even an overhead wire and using a pantograph would be easy. I think we have an obsession with batteries today.
This system is relatively quick, easy and cheap to install. New electric rail installations are now illegal (seen as too dangerous). Overhead wiring is expensive, especially as the Office of Road and Rail (ORR - who set safety rules & regulations) require bridges over the railway to be rebuilt so as to create an air space around the overhead wires suitable for larger European trains rather than British trains. Their heavy-handed attitude which ignored many years of proven safe air-gap dimensions (here in the UK) dating back to railway electrification by BR in the 1950s / 1960s caused the cost of the GW electrification scheme to rise further than they should have. Media reports I read said that the ORR actually forced the expensive rebuilding of bridges that were already 'within scope' according to British practice elsewhere in the UK
It's great that the new trains used the livery of the old ones, and they are much better for accessibility and environment, but they have somehow lost the charm of the old trains. Shame also that when you get to the end of the pier there isn't a lot to do; it would be really good to see more attractions at the pier head.
How much weight do the batteries add to the weight of the new trains? I wonder if some sort of conductor rail system (maybe based on that used on the DLR) would have been more efficient. It would have saved carting those batteries up and down the pier all day!
I haven't checked recently but I understood from others that the museum was under new management and did now permit photography. Of course, the owners have the right to make and enforce whatever rules they like, but it always seemed rather a pointless restriction.
I remember doing the Southend Pier by train as a thirteen or fourteen year old on a day out with my mother and sister in the 80's. I seem to remember we walked back as it was a good day.
A video that I wasn't waiting for. But a video I needed.
Thanks for an interesting video and captioning
Thank you for watching and commenting
The nay time I ever went on it was when it was still double track and electrically powered( by 3 rd Rail. There was a Bowling Alley over the line at the shore end.
1:45 the train sounds like it's going 80 mph!
The new trains look quite nice. I've not been on one yet. A couple of things you might not know, what remains of the 1940s converted driving car is stored at Mangapps and a preserved driving car is in a shop in the coastal village of "Leigh-on-Sea"
Thanks, I've heard about the driving car in a shop in Leigh-On-Sea, the Pier Museum also have a preserved car.
It's well worth a visit if you're in that neck of the woods and Leigh village is very pleasant but it's a tourist trap.
Interesting!
Southend Pier Railway
Yes, that’s the topic of the video
Apparently the new battery powered pier trains have had problems before when they entered service. At least now they are now working and are lot more quieter and very enjoyable to ride on.
I was there on May 14th, my birthday. The old carriage bodies which were used as shelters had all been removed and were nowhere to be seen. The red single car, which I have never seen in use, had been moved to the pier head, on the track next to Sir William Heygate. I don’t know if it has been withdrawn.
I remember the old trains.
I don't know why you would want to use batteries when providing a third rail or even an overhead wire and using a pantograph would be easy.
I think we have an obsession with batteries today.
This system is relatively quick, easy and cheap to install.
New electric rail installations are now illegal (seen as too dangerous).
Overhead wiring is expensive, especially as the Office of Road and Rail (ORR - who set safety rules & regulations) require bridges over the railway to be rebuilt so as to create an air space around the overhead wires suitable for larger European trains rather than British trains. Their heavy-handed attitude which ignored many years of proven safe air-gap dimensions (here in the UK) dating back to railway electrification by BR in the 1950s / 1960s caused the cost of the GW electrification scheme to rise further than they should have. Media reports I read said that the ORR actually forced the expensive rebuilding of bridges that were already 'within scope' according to British practice elsewhere in the UK
"prochaine station bonaventure"
The diesel trains where my favorite they seem to have a character about them the new ones are boring and look cheap
It's great that the new trains used the livery of the old ones, and they are much better for accessibility and environment, but they have somehow lost the charm of the old trains. Shame also that when you get to the end of the pier there isn't a lot to do; it would be really good to see more attractions at the pier head.
How much weight do the batteries add to the weight of the new trains? I wonder if some sort of conductor rail system (maybe based on that used on the DLR) would have been more efficient. It would have saved carting those batteries up and down the pier all day!
I haven't checked recently but I understood from others that the museum was under new management and did now permit photography. Of course, the owners have the right to make and enforce whatever rules they like, but it always seemed rather a pointless restriction.
Thank you.