Portal:Brighton/Selected article

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Volk's Electric Railway (VER) is the oldest operating electric railway in the world. It is a narrow gauge railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, with the first section being completed in 1883.

Today the line runs between terminal stations at Aquarium (adjacent to the Palace Pier) and Black Rock (adjacent to Brighton Marina), with an intermediate station and depot at Paston Place. The line has a gauge of 2ft 8½in (825mm), is electrified at 150 V DC using a third rail, and is 1¼ miles (2 km) long.

The initial 1883 line was intended as a temporary summer attraction and ran for only ¼ mile (400 m) between Swimming Arch and Chain Pier. It was built to a gauge of 2ft (609mm) and electrical power was supplied to the cars using the two running rails, at 50 V DC. In 1884 the line was extended from Chain Pier to Paston Place, the gauge widened to 2ft 9in (838mm), and the electrical supply increased to 150 V DC. In 1886 a third rail was added to avoid power loss along the extended line, and the gauge tightened up to its current 2ft 8½in.