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| map_name = Route diagram | map_state = collapsed }} Volk's Electric Railway (VER) is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August 1883, and is the oldest operating electric railway in the world. Although it was preceded by Werner von Siemens's 1879 demonstration line in Berlin and by the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway of 1881, neither line is still operational. Operated as a historical seafront tourist attraction, the railway does not usually run during the winter months, and its service is also liable to occasional suspension due to severe weather or maintenance issues. ==History== In 1883 Magnus Volk opened a short, electric railway running for between ''Swimming Arch'' (opposite the main entrance to ''Brighton Aquarium'', and adjacent to the site of the future Palace Pier) and ''Chain Pier''. Electrical power at 50 V DC was supplied to the small car using the two running rails. In 1884 the line was extended a further ½ mile beyond the ''Chain Pier'' to ''Paston Place'' (now known as ''Halfway''), and regauged to . The electrical supply was increased to 160 V DC and the power plant was installed in the arch built into the cliff face at Paston Place. In 1886 an off-set third rail was added to minimise current leakage.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 1883-1900 )〕 In 1896 the unusual Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway was built by Volk. Due to problems concerning the construction of lengthened groynes to the east of Paston Place this fascinating railway closed in 1901, although it was not finally dismantled until 1910. Following the closure Volk's original electric railway was extended from ''Paston Place'' (today's ''Halfway'') to ''Black Rock''. Paston Place was also the home of Volk's Seaplane Station, which was used by Volk's son George Herbert Volk. In 1930 the line was cut back from Palace Pier to its present terminus, still known as ''Aquarium''. In 1935 a lido was built at Black Rock, and in the line was shortened by around to accommodate it. In 1937 a new Black Rock station was opened at the end of the shortened line.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 1900-1940 )〕 In April 1940, Brighton Corporation took control of the line. Only four months later, World War II defensive preparations caused the line to close. After the war, starting in 1947, the corporation rebuilt the line using 50 lb/yd (25 kg/m) rail for the running line and 25 lb/yd (12 kg/m) mounted on insulators for the third rail. At Black Rock a new station was built to replace the 1937 building which had suffered badly during the war. The line reopened for passengers in 1948.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】 1947 onwards )〕 Winter operation ceased from 1954, although the line did reopen temporarily in the winter of 1980 to cash in on the large numbers of sightseers who had come to look at the ''Athina B'', a freighter that had beached near the Palace Pier. Two-car multiple operation was introduced in 1964. In recent years there has been a decline in visitor numbers due to package holidays. In 1995 the Volk's Electric Railway Association was formed to help the operator of the line (Brighton & Hove City Council) promote and operate the line. And in 2003 the Volks Railway Institute of Science and Technology was formed to promote the educational and science side of the Victorian railway to schools and special interest groups.〔 In the late 1990s the Black Rock end of the line was temporarily shortened by 211 feet to permit a storm water storage scheme to be built in the marina area. The 1948 station was demolished and replaced by a new single platform station, which opened in 1998 and shares a building with a new Southern Water pumping station.〔 The new building is not quite centred with the ornamental terraces above and behind it, causing the view of the area (from out at sea) to be asymmetrical. In 2014 it was announced that the railway had been awarded a grant of £1.6 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund, a sum which must be spent by March 2017. The work to be funded is to include the provision of a visitor centre and ticket office at the Aquarium station, a new depot with viewing gallery at Halfway, the restoration of cars 4, 6 and 10 to full working order, and the provision of new educational materials about the railway. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Volk's Electric Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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