One morning when the first train was retuning to Brighton it met a large horse on the line.
Whistling and the blowing of the cylinder drain cocks made no impression on the beast. The
fireman was sent forward to remove the animal but as he advance shouting and waving his
arms, the horse looked coolly at him. Then began it began to walk purposefully towards the
advancing fireman, who, not being a country lad, was overwhelmed by the size of the beast.
After a final yell, it was the fireman who bolted - for the engine! The horse turned round and
walked down the line, followed at a respectful distance by the train.
On many occassions the drivers of the Dyke trains had to put out, on the way back, the
lineside fires their locomotives had started on the way up. During at least one winter a train
was unable to reach the terminus owing to a snow drift which had to be shovelled through.
Driver A. Geere, of Brighton, remembers working the last train from the Dyke one night when the Train Staff was accidently left on the platform at the terminus. Its abscence was not not realised until the train had all but reached Dyke Junction and there was nothing for it but to go back to the summit to collect the Staff.
Brighton driver Fred Gambling, recalls that the Billington E4 0-6-2 tanks were the
locomotive best suited to the line. Fred also recalls that double-heading was used on some
heavy loaded services but an E4 with four bogies was the norm during a busy period.
Fred remembers taking a ballast train up to the Dyke with a class C2 0-6-0. In addition to the brake van at the rear of the train, another was included half way just in case the locomotive stalled and splitting the load became necessary. On this occasion, however, the summit was reached.
He also remembers that after dark, golfers wishing to join the last train from the Dyke would
strike matches to signal to the driver to stop the train at the unlit Golf Club Halt!
Unknown Brighton Enginemen holding the Devil's Dyke staff
Brighton Driver John / Jack Smith and Fireman Arthur Sinden worked the last train on the final day of the Dyke Railway.
Extracted and adapted from a book
about the Dyke Railway
Sylvia Woolford Collection
Left ~ Right: Unknown, Newhaven Driver Sydney Turner & Unknown
The photo was taken at Newhaven's Continental Station Sydney Turner is seen talking to some young ladies before departure of the boat train from Newhaven to Victoria London. These girls had been evacuated to Switzerland in 1939 as toddlers so that they were safe during the War and now that the war was over, they had now returned home as young girls.
Extracted from
'Our Newhaven' web sited
Sylvia Woolford Grand-daughter of Sydney Turne
