Two children looking up at the car of the Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway.
Only this section ran underwater.
But Volks plan was to take it all the way to Rottingdean.
The only obstacle was the geography.
Magnus Volk chose neither.
Construction of the line started in 1894.
The line ran almost 200 feet from the cliffs, affording travelers a fine view of the sea front.
The Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway, affectionately known as Daddy Long-Legs, was essentially a ship.
Pioneer carried a number of lifejackets for the passengers and even had a lifeboat.
The railway opened in November 1896.
Operating the line turned out to be more difficult than Volk had anticipated.
Bad weather caused frequent breakdowns disrupting the timetable for weeks on end.
The railway was also severely underpowered.
During high tides it moved no faster than a slow, leisurely walk.
New and powerful motors would have solved this but Volk was short of money.
At the turn of the new century, Volk faced a new problem.
The Pioneer was left to rot until the remnants of the railway was sold for scrap in 1910.
The tracks of the former railway still visible on the shores of Brighton.
