Pier Railways and Tramways

The nineteenth century craze for building pleasure piers around the coast of Britain has left a legacy of seaside fun unmatched around the world. Although a number of Britain’s piers have succumbed to fire and storm damage over the years, over 50 of these remarkable structures are still standing today. A number of these were built with railways and tramways to convey holiday-makers to the end of the pier, several of which survive today, including the longest pier, at Southend-on-Sea, which opened an electric railway in 1890, when the pier was rebuilt to its present extent; the oldest seaside pleasure pier, at Ryde, which has a railway from the pier head that links to the rest of the network on the Isle of Wight, and the Hythe Pier Railway which takes passengers to and from the ferry link at the end of the pier.

In this book author Martin Easdown who has been researching and collecting material on Britain’s piers and its railways for many years presents a photographic survey of these pier railways and tramways around UK and Ireland. The photographs show both self-contained pier railways and tramways and pier railways connected to the National Rail Network. As well as the vehicles, pier stations are shown, including those pier stations that were not actually on the piers but the shore beside them. This book the whole range of pier railways around Britain and Ireland, with examples from more obscure and long-lost railways along the more famous. With many rare and fascinating photographs, this book will be of interest to railway enthusiasts and those nostalgic for the quintessential British seaside holiday.