Hythe: Experts restore railway used by 100-year-old train

Hythe Pier Heritage Association (HPHA) is restoring the first 45 metres of track on the 640-metre pier - the seventh longest in the UK.

Rails that had been in place for decades have been lifted and old sleepers at the shore-end station have also been taken up.

HPHA members are hoping the train will be able to use a new platform at the station by the end of the year. A temporary platform currently in use will then be dismantled and removed.

Work has started on a project to restore the narrow gauge railway on Hythe Pier (Image: Anthony Smith)

Work began soon after a planning application was approved by New Forest District Council.

The station had already been closed, with a temporary platform installed 45 metres down the pier to allow the work area to be isolated.

READ MORE: Hythe Ferry passenger notches up 30 years of crossings

A HPHA spokesperson said: "The original Victorian beams have been painstakingly cleaned by hand and painted with several coats of a high-quality protective paint and will remain in place, but will no longer be load-bearing.

"A large crane was employed with impressive skill to lift new steel beams into position.

"The planning proved flawless as all three beams lined up with the pre-prepared bolt holes – a remarkable job considering that very little of the pier is actually straight.

"The crane then unloaded new wooden beams that would sit on top of the steel beams to support the new planks that form the pier deck.

"Apart from a few minutes when the planks and beams were being lifted overhead, access to the pier, train, and ferry was maintained throughout."

One of the new beams is lifted into position. The first phase of the project is expected to cost £77,000 (Image: John Greenwood)

The Victorian pier is used by the Hythe passenger ferry, which operates between the end of the jetty and Town Quay in Southampton.

Said to be the oldest continuously operating public pier train in the world, the narrow gauge electric railway takes passengers to and from the ferry's landing stage.

In 1944 it was used by King George VI, who visited the Southampton area during the build-up to the D-Day landings.

READ MORE: Historic Hythe Pier awarded Grade II-listed building status in potential funding boost

The pier has been awarded Grade II-listed building status in a move that could help HPHA secure vital grants.

The first phase of the restoration scheme is set to cost £77,000, with further work due to take place when funds permit.

HPHA is financing the project using grants and donations.