Southend Pier Railway

This is the 1.25mile long Southend Pier Railway, operated by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council from a station called Shore adjacent to the beach to the Pier Head station. The line is of 3ft gauge and operated by two Seven Lamb-built six-car plus a diesel-hydraulic locomotive train sets, one is named Sir John Betjeman and the other Sir William Haygate. The present operation opened on 2 May 1986 and replaces a previous electric pier railway using AC Cars built stock and prior to that a horse drawn tramway. Todat, the loco is formed at the pier head end of the line with a driving trailer at the town end. Trains operate every 30 minutes and two trains can operate at busy peak periods. The views below were recorded on 7 August 2014.