Hythe Pier, Railway and Ferry
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
port city of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and the Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
village of Hythe
Hythe, Hampshire
Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is located by the shore of Southampton Water, and has a ferry service connecting it to Southampton...
on the opposite side of Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
. This link is heavily used by commuters and shoppers from Hythe, as well as forming an important link in the Solent Way
Solent Way
The Solent Way is a 60 mile long-distance footpath in Hampshire, southern England. With the exception of a few inland diversions, the path follows the coast of the Solent, the sea strait that separates the mainland England from the Isle of Wight...
and E9 European
European walking route E9
The E9 European long distance path or E9 path, also the European Coastal Path , is one of the European long-distance paths, running for 5000 km from Cabo de São Vicente in Portugal to Narva-Jõesuu in Estonia.The path follows the west coasts of Portugal, Spain and France as far as Roscoff...
coastal paths.
The pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
, railway and ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service are currently all operated by White Horse Ferries Ltd
White Horse Ferries Ltd
White Horse Ferries is a company that operates ferries along the English south coast. They operate the Hythe Ferry and the pier as well....
of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. The railway is the oldest continuously operating public pier train in the world.
Hythe Pier
Hythe Pier stretches 700 yards (640.1 m) from the centre of Hythe to the deep water channel of Southampton Water. It is approximately 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, and carries a pedestrian walkwayWalkway
In US English, a walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. These include sidewalks, footbridges, stiles, stairs, ramps, paseos or tunnels...
and cycleway on its northern side, and the track of the Hythe Pier Railway on its southern side.
An act of parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
was passed granting permission for the construction of the pier in 1878. Construction started in 1879 and the pier opened in 1881.
Hythe Pier Railway
The Act of Parliament made provision for the construction of a tramway along the pier, although one was not originally laid. Sometime before 1914,, a narrow gauge railway was constructed for the transport of goods. The vehicles on this original railway were hand-propelled, and the track was laid flush with the pier decking.In 1922, the railway was reconstructed and electrified, attaining its current form. The track is laid to gauge, and is electrified at 250 V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
by means of a third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
on the seaward side of the track. The line consists of a single track, with no passing loops, although there are two non-electrified sidings at the landward end.
The line is operated by two four-wheeled electric locomotive
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
s built by Brush
Brush Traction
This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
with works numbers 16302 & 16307. These locomotives were built in 1917 and were originally battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
powered, being used at the wartime mustard gas
Sulfur mustard
The sulfur mustards, or sulphur mustards, commonly known as mustard gas, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. Pure sulfur mustards are colorless, viscous liquids at room temperature...
factory at Avonmouth
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and suburb of Bristol, England, located on the Severn Estuary, at the mouth of the River Avon.The council ward of Avonmouth also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston.- Geography :...
. The locomotives were transferred to Hythe after the war, where they were converted to collect power from a third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
and had their batteries removed. The two locomotives are currently crudely numbered No1 & No2 on their seaward sides.
The line owns four bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
passenger cars, two of which are equipped with a driving cab at their seaward ends. In normal operation, the single train in service is made up of one of the locomotives propelling three passenger cars, with a four wheel flat car for baggage. The locomotive is always located at the landward end, whilst the seaward passenger car must be one of those cars with a driving cab. The line also possesses a four-wheel oil-tank car, which is used to carry fuel to the Hythe ferries.
Hythe Ferry
Each train on the Pier Railway connects at the pier head with an arrival and departure of the Hythe Ferry. The ferry service carries both passengers and bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s, and takes about 10 minutes for the crossing. En route, the ferry passes the terminal used by the passenger liners and , and by various other cruise ships, giving good views of these vessels when they are in port.
The Southampton terminal of the ferry service is at the Town Quay. This is also the terminal of the Red Funnel
Red Funnel
The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, which trades as Red Funnel, is a ferry company that carries passengers and vehicles on routes between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight...
ferries to the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. Town Quay is a short walk from the city centre, and is linked to both the city centre and Southampton Central railway station
Southampton Central railway station
Southampton Central railway station is a main line railway station serving the city of Southampton in Hampshire, southern England. It is on the Wessex Main Line, the South Western Main Line and the West Coastway Line...
by a free shuttle bus.
A ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
has operated from Hythe to Southampton since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and it is marked on a map by Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton
Christopher Saxton was an English cartographer, probably born in the parish of Dewsbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England around 1540....
of 1575. Steam vessels
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
were first introduced in 1830. The current ferry service is operated with two very different vessels:
- The is a catamaranCatamaranA catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
ferry which originally worked on the White Horse Ferries service across the River ThamesRiver ThamesThe River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
from TilburyTilburyTilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
to GravesendGravesend, KentGravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
. - The was built in 1946 and has served on the Hythe Ferry ever since.
The Hotspur IV was the last in a line of similar ferries. One of her earlier half-sisters, the Hotspur II
MV Kenilworth
The MV Kenilworth is a historic passenger ferry. Built in 1936 as MV Hotspur II, she was the Hythe Ferry service across Southampton Water until 1978...
of 1936, saw further service as a ferry on the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
under the name Kenilworth.
Incident in 2003
In the evening of November 1, 2003 the dredger collided with the pier, tearing a 150 feet (45.7 m) hole through the pier's mid-section and completely isolating the pier head from the land. The dredger did not collide with the pier train, and there were no human casualties. The incident occurred few minutes after a crowd of people were heading home after a footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
match. Repairs to the pier were carried out by Dudley Barnes Marine with Beckett Rankine as the designer; the cost was £308,000 and the pier reopened on January 7, 2004.
The master
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
of the dredger was subsequently sentenced to eight months in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
after pleading guilty to an act likely to cause the death of or serious injury to any person while under the influence of drink and causing damage to a structure while under the influence of drinking.
External links
- Hythe Ferry website
- Description of a journey on the Hythe Ferry and Pier Railway
- MAIB report on the 2003 collision
- Map sources for:
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