Hayling Seaside Railway - www.simplonpc.co.uk

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	Hayling Seaside Railway East Hayling Light Railway until 2003 Each image links to a larger copy which will open in a new window
	The Hayling Seaside Railway is a 2ft narrow gauge railway on Hayling Island, Hampshire. It operates weekends and Wednesdays throughout the year and daily during all school holidays. It runs for just over one mile between Beachlands and Eastoke Corner. Prior to the current narrow railway, there were two previous miniature railways on Hayling Island. The first was a 12in gauge line around 1930. This railway used a Great Northern style 4-4-2 and a freelance 4-6-2. During the 1970s a 10¼in was operating which used a 4-4-4 originally built in 1909, plus a 4-6-4 Bubbles built by Bullock in 1936. Origins of the Hayling Seaside Railway date back to the 1980s when plans by Bob Haddock and the Hayling Railway Society to rebuild a standard gauge line along the closed Hayling Island branch were refused by Hampshire County Council, who planned to make it a footpath. Suggestions that it could be both a narrow gauge railway and a footpath were turned down by society members. Various sites were looked at but Havant Council were initially uncooperative, and eventually the East Hayling Light Railway (EHLR) was laid within the Mill Rythe holiday village, where it ran for twelve years. Perhaps inspired by the success of the EHLR, Havant Council included a railway in their draft plans for the Beachlands Pleasure Beach complex. Bob Haddock and colleagues submitted a plan for such a narrow gauge railway meeting the specification to Havant Council. Surprisingly, these plans were initially rejected. Twelve years of campaigning passed before the decision was overturned by the Department of the Environment and work could commence on the new EHLR. The Mill Rythe line was closed and work on the new station at Beachlands commenced in October 2001, with track laying along the coast starting in May 2002. The railway opened to passengers on 5th July 2003, now renamed the Hayling Seaside Railway. Facebook:- The Hayling Seaside Railway Website:- www.haylingseasiderailway.com - official website currently under construction Phone:- 07775 696912

	Sections on this Page EHLR/HSR Postcards EHLR/HSR Images EHLR/HSR Locomotives No.1 Ace/Alan B No.3 Jack No.4 Alistair No.5 Edwin EHLR/HSR Rolling Stock Bogie Coach No.10 Bogie Coaches Nos.11,12,14 4 Wheel Coaches Nos.4-7 Wagons EHLR/HSR Stations Beachlands Eastoke Corner Contacts Facebook:- The Hayling Seaside Railway Website:- www.haylingseasiderailway.com - under construction Phone:- 07775 696912 http://www..com	Associated Pages UK Excursion Vessels Cruise Ships Ocean Liners World Ferry Fleets Simplon Postcards. Home Page Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates - Simplon Postcards facebook page Other Miniature & NG Railway Pages Miniature & NG Railways Header Page 1: South East England East Hayling Light Railway - this page! Evesham Vale Light Railway Hayling Seaside Railway - this page! RH&DR Postcards RH&DR Images References The Hayling Seaside Railway - History & Guide by Ian Edwards & Malcolm Harris - EHLR2008 http://www..com
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Loco No.1 is a rebuilt 4-wheel Simplex diesel-mechanical locomotive built in 1937, which had previously served with the Ibstock Brick Company at their Wormley and Hambledon brick works. No.1 entered service at the Mill Rythe EHLR site with the name Ace, but was renamed Alan B after the move to the seafront. Whilst No.1 hauled most of the works trains during the building of the seafront line, the mechanical transmission is not ideal for passenger work. A Deutz diesel engine and hydraulic pump/motor was obtained and may now have been installed. Any original Simplex parts will be offered to other Simplex owners.

Loco No.4 is a Ruston Hornsby Class 4wDM locomotive built in 1940. After industrial use in Lancashire and Hertfordshire, Alistair was donated to the Ffestiniog Railway along with sister loco Andrew. They were used in the building of the Ffestiniog deviation on the route to Blaenau Ffestiniog after which Andrew was sold to the Gartell Light Railway at Templecombe in Dorset. The engine was then purchased by EHLR members for use at the Mill Rythe site but was sidelined with engine problems. Restored in 2005, Alistair remains in the EHLR/HSR fleet.

HSR No.10 was the first coach built at the new 'Loston Bodge' Works at Beachlands in 2004. Her chassis was built for a railway at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent by Baguley's of Burton-on-Trent in the 1930s. The chassis was bought from Alton Towers where it had a Decauville-style toastrack body. This was replaced by an impressive saloon body, originally painted in EHLR brown and cream, but now in HSR green and cream. The saloon features a donated maritime chronometer which also indicates the state of the tide (although the staff do not guarantee the accuracy of the latter), hence it is known as the 'Clock Saloon' although officially named Lisa.

The HSR has four 4-wheel coaches Nos.4-7. I did not see any on my 2011 visit, but conveniently they are all shown on the HSR postcard below. No.4 was built at Mill Rythe in 1992 and was originally named Marilyn. The body was completely rebuilt after 2004 and renamed Sylvia (Marilyn being assigned to new No.11). No.4 is the second coach in the postcard below.

Coaches 5 & 6 were built at Mill Rythe as single balcony vehicles in 1996 and named Joanna and Annabel. They top and tail the set in the postcard below. No.5 has since been fully enclosed.

Coach No.7 Patricia was built in 1997 at Mill Rythe. She is third in the train shown below. She now has the new green livery.

The railway has a number of freight vehicles, including the four best kept tipper trucks that I have ever seen. Nos.1-4 are named Alex, Keith, Max and Josh after junior volunteers who helped restore them. They were donated by Redland Bricks whilst the railway was located at Mill Rythe and initially were not used. They were refurbished, painted and named in 2008. Also shown in the image below is a diesel fuel storage tanker. The tank was bought in 2007 for ground installation, but it was considered cheaper to mount it on a wagon chassis. It is known as 'the bomb'. The railway also owned two colourful wooden wagons, one grey and one red, although the chassis of the latter was used for the tank wagon.