Many of us have noticed it, but only a few know what it is. The beach, which has been growing south over the years, is slowing making it disappear, but if you have a look in low tide you can still spot it.
What you will discover is what is left of an old train track, going all the way from the Banjo Groyne at Kemp Town to Rottingdean.
The man behind this project was Magnus Volk. With the Electric Railway already working in parts of the city, he wanted to bring it all the way to Rottingdean. With the cliffs in the way, he figured out that building a railway underwater was the best solution.
Volk named his creation ‘The Pioneer”, but locals soon renamed it the “Daddy Long Legs”, because the single car running through the tracks was being held up by 23ft (7m) high legs.
The project was very unusual because the tracks were under the sea, with the carriage above the surface of the water. Despite already being a similar underwater track in Brittany, this was the first electric-powered railway of its kind.
Construction began in 1894 and the line was officially opened on the 28th of November 1896. Its life was troubled and short-lived, despite being very popular with the locals.
Only a few days after inauguration, a violent storm was close to destroying the Daddy Long Legs. It reopened in July of the following year, but the bad weather and high tides always made the trip difficult.
It eventually closed permanently in 1901 for lack of funds, as the council had required Volk to divert his line around the beach protection barriers they were building at the time.
As well as visiting the beach to see the rest of the tracks, you can head over to the Brighton Toy and Model museum, where they keep a model of the railway car on display in the foyer.
Featured image ©jedigo on Flickr.
