The West Sussex Railway was an long standard gauge light railway between Chichester and Selsey, in West Sussex. The line, which opened in 1897, was also known as Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway. It was opened as a rail tramway in order to avoid having to comply with regulations that managed conventional railways in the United Kingdom. The line was built under the auspices of the light railway entrepreneur, Colonel Stephens, who would later manage the line as the West Sussex Railway (Tramway Section).
In December 1910 the line was inundated (flooded by seawater) when an embankment failed at Pagham Harbour. It was not reinstated so work had to be carried out to raise the line above the waters. Although the line was successful in the decades before the First World War, it suffered financially as road transport increased in the 1920s. Despite attempts to be more efficient through modernisations, such as the introduction of petroleum driven rail car services, the railway closed to all traffic in January 1935. Very little remains of the railway's infrastructure because of land redevelopment and urban expansion along its permanent way.
Origins
thumb|Selsey Tramway Station
The passing of the Light Railways Act 1896 prompted local businessmen to consider whether a light railway connection to Selsey could be made. The town lies on the coast about south of the City of Chichester. As they prepared their scheme, they found that it would be possible to get authorisation much more simply under the Railway Construction Facilities Act 1864. By structuring the line as a tramway, the numerous public road level crossings would not require the special safety arrangements required for railway operation, and accordingly they formed the Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway. The company was incorporated on 29 April 1896.
thumb|Lift bridge at crossing of the Chichester CanalH. F. Stephens was appointed as engineer to design the line and supervise construction;
The line opened to Selsey Town station on 27 August 1897 and it was extended to Selsey Beach in 1898. The construction and land purchase had cost £21,570 and rolling stock had cost £3,268.
Operation
thumb|Map of West Sussex RailwayThe first passenger coaches were newly built bogie vehicles with open verandas at the end; one was built by Hurst Nelson, and three by Falcon of Loughborough. About 1900 another new coach of similar design was acquired from Hurst Nelson. the station was some distance south of the village. Suffering from the 1910 inundation, the station was closed from 15 December 1910 until June 1911; the track level was raised by about at the station level crossing; there was a loop siding here;
- Ferry; Butt names this Ferry Siding Halt; Cobb says Ferry Siding at first and renamed Ferry in 1911;
- Golf Club Halt; this was private
- Selsey Bridge; the main road crossed the line here, the only road bridge on the line; there was a short siding and, some time after 1911 a brick works had a private siding;
- Selsey Town; renamed Selsey from 1911; the engine shed was located here, with a goods siding and run-round loop;
- Selsey Beach; opened 1 August 1898 and closed October 1904;
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Passengers !! Receipts
|-
| 1919 || 102,292 || £3,912
|-
| 1924 || 31,352 || £949
|-
| 1929 || 22,676 || £557
|-
| 1933 || 21,088 || £427
|}
During this period freight traffic remained relatively steady at about £2,000 a year.
Steam locomotives
The following steam locomotives were used on the line:
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! Name
! Number
! Builder
! Date<br>built
! Wheel<br>arrangement
! Driving<br>wheels
! Cylinders
! Boiler<br>pressure
! Notes
|-
| Selsey
| 2
| Peckett and Sons
| 1897
| 2-4-2T
| 2 ft 9in
| 10" x 15"
| 140 psi
| New
|-
| Sidlesham
| 3 or 2
| Manning Wardle
| 1861
| 0-6-0ST
| 3 ft 2in
| 11" x 17"
| 120 psi
| Ex-industrial
|-
| Hesperus
| 4 or 2
| Neilson and Company
| 1871 or 1872
| 0-4-2ST
| 3 ft 1in
| 10" x 18"
| 90 psi
| Ex-PDSWJR
|-
| Ringing Rock
| 5 or 2
| Manning Wardle
| 1883
| 0-6-0ST
| 3 ft 2in
| 12" x 17"
| 120 psi
| Ex-industrial
|-
| Chichester (first)
| 1 or 3
| Dodds of Rotherham
|c 1865
| 0-4-2ST
| 3 ft 6in
| 11" x 18"
| 120 psi
|Built as 0-6-0ST
|-
| Chichester (second)
| 6 or 4
| Hudswell Clarke
| 1903
| 0-6-0ST
| 3 ft 1in
| 12" x 18"
| 120 psi
| Ex-industrial
|-
| Morous
| 7 or 4
| Manning Wardle
| 1866
| 0-6-0ST
| 3 ft 2in
| 11" x 17"
| 120 psi
| Ex-SMR
|}
Sources for the above table include Kidner Woodcock. and Mitchell and Smith A section of about a , now a farm track between Pagham Harbour and the Selsey Golf Club and a section (now a public footpath) west of Hunston Village can be traced. The northern end of the latter ends at the abutments of the now defunct Tramway bridge across the Chichester Canal. A short section of trackbed is now a footpath from north of the Chichester Canal to Stockbridge Road, Chichester. The platforms of Hunston and Chalder station can also still be located in fields although badly overgrown. However, the First World War put paid to the idea.
Local colour
It was known locally as the Selsey Tram. It was also sometimes called "The Siddlesham Snail" after one of the villages having a station of that name. Sidlesham station's nameboard originally perpetuated the old spelling "Siddlesham". A song was written criticising the line which verse went
Accidents
On 3 September 1923, the 8:15 a.m. train to Chichester derailed near Golf Club Halt, killing the fireman, H. Barnes, and injuring the driver, C. C. Stewart. None of the few passengers were injured. The locomotive, Wembley and the three coaches left the track. The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death, but the jury expressed the opinion that the Chief Engineer of the company was indirectly to blame, as there was evidence of neglect in the upkeep of the track.
Modelling
Model kits for the Shefflex railcar (in several scales) are available from Steam and Things.
References
Further reading
External links
- The line's early steam years, via Gravel Roots
- Later steam photographs, via Gravel Roots
- The petrol cars, via Gravel Roots
- The area and line with the 1910 flood, via Gravel Roots
- The line on a contemporary navigable map, via National Library of Scotland
- The line, via Colonel Stephens Society