The Brighton Belle was a named train which was operated by the Southern Railway and subsequently by British Rail from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. Commissioned as the flagship of the Southern Railway's mass electrification project, which commenced in January 1931, the world's only electric all-Pullman service ran daily between London Victoria and Brighton from 1 January 1933 until 30 April 1972.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) began using Pullman cars in its express trains in 1875, and in December 1881 they introduced the first all-Pullman train in the UK. Known as the Pullman Limited, this ran between London Victoria and Brighton via Horsham and subsequently ordinary rolling stock was added to the service. In 1888 a second all-Pullman service was instituted, using cars lit by electricity and designed by William Stroudley. [1]
The LB&SCR was the origin of the British umber and cream Pullman livery. In 1903 R. J. Billinton changed the colour of the ordinary LB&SCR coaches to umber brown with white or cream upper panels, and in 1906 this colour scheme was also adopted by the Pullman Car Co., with the name of the car in large gilt letters on the lower panel and flanked on each side by a coloured transfer of the Pullman Company's crest.
Another all-Pullman service was introduced in 1908 under the name of the Southern Belle. Contemporary advertising by the LB&SCR claimed that this was "... the most luxurious train in the world...". In 1908 this could be experienced for a special London Victoria to Brighton day return fare of 12 shillings, a premium rate at a time when average earnings were around £1 a week (or 20 shillings). The Southern Belle was steam hauled until 1 January 1933, when electric units were introduced. Trial trains had commenced running between London and Brighton on 2 November 1932, using an experimental five-coach unit (No. 2001) and examples of the new rolling stock were exhibited at London Victoria and Brighton stations from 29 December 1932. [2] With the arrival of the mid-day Victoria to Brighton service at Brighton Station on 29 June 1934, the Mayor of Brighton, Margaret Hardy, [3] renamed the train the Brighton Belle, [4] and it retained this title until withdrawal. The service was scheduled to take 60 minutes for the 51-mile express journey.
Three five-car all-Pullman electric multiple units designated 5-BEL were commissioned by the Southern Railway as the flagship of the world's then-largest electrification project, which covered over 160 track miles. The 15 cars – built in 1932 by Metropolitan-Cammell at its Saltley works in Birmingham – were operated in trains comprising two units, the remaining unit normally held in reserve. The 'spare' multiple unit set was used for a Sunday Pullman service from Eastbourne, known as the Eastbourne Pullman for much of the 1950s, but this service was discontinued in 1957.
During the Second World War the service was suspended after Unit 3052 was badly damaged by aerial bombing at London Victoria; all cars were placed in safe storage at Crystal Palace (High Level) station, but the service was progressively reinstated in 1946.
In the early 1950s the train was used by the BBC for filming London to Brighton in Four Minutes , a speeded up version of the journey. [5] The trains were refurbished and overhauled in 1955, but by 1972 the stock was old and rode poorly by contemporary standards. Despite protests, [6] the decision was taken to not replace the rolling stock and the service was withdrawn on 30 April 1972. Every car was preserved, in most cases to meet the ambitions of major breweries to 'bolt on' Pullman restaurants to pubs and hotels, although most were removed relatively quickly because of the high cost of maintenance and refurbishment. [7] A number were progressively acquired by the Venice Simplon Orient Express, while one still remains in use as B&B accommodation at the Little Mill Inn, Rowarth, Derbyshire. [8] Motor brake car 90 was used for passenger service on the Nene Valley Railway between 1980 and 1990, but was subsequently moved in early 1991 to the former Steamtown Depot at Carnforth for a 5-year restoration project, but was scrapped in July 1991 after being gutted by fire caused by an electrical fault. [9]
The Southern ran three Pullman trains with the suffix Belle. The others were the Bournemouth Belle and the Devon Belle . British Railways introduced the Thanet Belle (later renamed the Kentish Belle) in 1948. [10]
A campaign [11] to return the Brighton Belle to mainline service was launched by the 5-BEL Trust [12] in 2009. The trustees had been concerned for some time about the worrying state of electric train preservation in Britain and wanted to raise the profile of the issue and to deal with the issues of financial support and covered accommodation. The project was launched at the National Railway Museum following the acquisition of two of the surviving 14 cars; by early 2009 four out of the five cars needed to form a complete unit [13] had been acquired and the trust had set in place agreements to cover refurbishment of the cars, which began at Pullman restoration specialists Rampart Engineering at the Barrow Hill Engine Shed in February 2009.
When the 5-BEL project is completed, it will be returned to mainline service. Despite the high cost of the restoration (approaching £6 million) the programme is seen as an investment for future generations. Progress with the restoration of the Brighton Belle to mainline use will depend in part on the level of public donations. This is the first time that a complete train will have been restored in Britain. [14] A short train of three cars will undergo mainline proving trials in the near future, with mainline excursions with a four car unit commencing upon testing success. [15] The latest expectation is for testing on the rails in spring 2020 [ needs update ] so that charter and public runs might commence a few months after. [16]
During February 2011, Driving Car 88 was displayed on the Brighton seafront to celebrate the acquisition of the Trust's fifth car. [17] The fifth 5BEL car required was Pullman First Doris, then based at the Bluebell Railway for the Bluebell's pullman rake, and thus a swap was arranged. The 5-BEL Trust had purchased Golden Arrow Pullman Kitchen Car Carina and supplied this to the Bluebell railway in exchange for Doris, allowing the Bluebell Railway to complete a five-car all-Pullman Golden Arrow rake. Carina is of considerable heritage importance, having formed part of Winston Churchill's funeral train which carried the principal mourners from London to Bladon on 30 January 1965.
The 5-BEL Trust said at the time that acquiring Doris as the trust's fifth car was not only the right move from a heritage standpoint but also it demonstrated the benefits of like-minded organisations working together. The following year, on 6 September 2012, the 5BEL Trust announced [18] that, following two years of complex negotiations with the owners of the Black Bull at Moulton, near Richmond, it had purchased Pullman first 'Hazel' (no. 279) the previous month and had removed the car by road to the Brighton Belle shed at Barrow Hill. The car had been in continuous use as a highly praised restaurant since 1972 and her removal was an extremely delicate operation, involving the use of two of the largest mobile cranes in Britain. The acquisition of a second first class car, originally considered as an impossible outcome, permits the correct unit configuration of two motor brakes, two trailer kitchen firsts and a trailer parlour third, with a trailer held in reserve.[ citation needed ]
On 23 September 2010, the then Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Geoffrey Wells, and Sir William McAlpine jointly unveiled [19] a commemorative Brighton Belle street mural. This striking feature has been painted into the arches in Trafalgar Street underneath Brighton Station, and runs along the length of the Brighton Toy and Model Museum.
The Bluebell Railway is an 11 mi (17.7 km) heritage line in West Sussex in England. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, with intermediate stations at Horsted Keynes and Kingscote.
Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street, the main line station is a terminus of the Brighton Main Line to Gatwick Airport and Brighton and the Chatham Main Line to Ramsgate and Dover via Chatham. From the main lines, trains can connect to the Catford Loop Line, the Dartford Loop Line, and the Oxted line to East Grinstead and Uckfield. Southern operates most commuter and regional services to south London, Sussex and parts of east Surrey, while Southeastern operates trains to south-east London and Kent, alongside limited services operated by Thameslink. Gatwick Express trains run direct to Gatwick. The Underground station is on the Circle and District lines between Sloane Square and St James's Park stations, and on the Victoria line between Pimlico and Green Park stations. The area around the station is an important interchange for other forms of transport: a local bus station is in the forecourt and Victoria Coach Station is nearby.
The Southern Railway (SR), sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed by the amalgamation of several smaller railway companies, the largest of which were the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR). The construction of what was to become the Southern Railway began in 1838 with the opening of the London and Southampton Railway, which was renamed the London & South Western Railway.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, covering a large part of Surrey. It was bounded on its western side by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR), which provided an alternative route to Portsmouth. On its eastern side the LB&SCR was bounded by the South Eastern Railway (SER)—later one component of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR)—which provided an alternative route to Bexhill, St Leonards-on-Sea, and Hastings. The LB&SCR had the most direct routes from London to the south coast seaside resorts of Brighton, Eastbourne, Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor Regis, and to the ports of Newhaven and Shoreham-by-Sea. It served the inland towns and cities of Chichester, Horsham, East Grinstead and Lewes, and jointly served Croydon, Tunbridge Wells, Dorking and Guildford. At the London end was a complicated suburban and outer-suburban network of lines emanating from London Bridge and Victoria, and shared interests in two cross-London lines.
The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designations 4-COR, 4-RES, 4-BUF and 4-GRI to the different types of electric multiple unit built to work the route between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour. The 4-COR type units survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 404. The COR designation had previously been used for the 6-PUL units and was reused by them during World War II when the Pullman car was stored, but this stock was different from the 4-COR units.
The Spa Valley Railway (SVR) is a standard gauge heritage railway in the United Kingdom that runs from Tunbridge Wells West railway station in Royal Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge, where it links with the Oxted Line.
The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designation 5-BEL to the five-car all-Pullman electric multiple units which worked the prestigious Brighton Belle trains between London Victoria and Brighton. These units survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated TOPS Class 403. Between 1933 and 1935 the units were designated 5-PUL.
The Southern Railway (SR) gave the designations 6 PUL, 6 CITY and 6 PAN to electric multiple units built to work the routes between London and Brighton, West Worthing and Eastbourne. None of these units survived long enough in British Rail ownership to be allocated a TOPS class number. The 6 PUL units were designated 6 COR until 1935.
The Brighton Main Line is a railway line in southern England linking London to Brighton. It starts at two termini in the capital, London Victoria and London Bridge, and the branches from each meet at East Croydon, from where the route continues southwards via Gatwick Airport to the coast. The line serves the suburbs of South London, as well as the towns of Redhill, Horley, Crawley, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill.
Coulsdon North is a closed railway station that served Coulsdon, Croydon, England, on the Brighton Main Line.
Wandsworth Common railway station is in the London Borough of Wandsworth in south London. It is 4 miles 5 chains (6.5 km) down the line from London Victoria.
East Grinstead railway station is one of the two southern termini of the Oxted line in the south of England and serves East Grinstead in West Sussex. It is 30 miles 4 chains from London Bridge, although trains mostly run to and from London Victoria. The station is managed by Southern.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 class is a class of British 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton railway works. The class has received several nicknames, initially being known as "Rooters" by their south London crews. However, the engines were more famously known as "Terriers" on account of the distinctive 'bark' of the exhaust beat. Later in their careers, some engines were known as "Hayling Billy" on account of their work on the Hayling Island branch line. A pub of this name on the island was briefly home to the engine which is now No. W8 Freshwater.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E4 class is a class of 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Robert Billinton. They were introduced in 1897 and were essentially a larger version of the E3 Class. The cylinder diameter was reduced from 18 to 17.5 inches by the Southern Railway.
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948 until 1992 when railways were re-privatised. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The region was largely based upon the former Southern Railway area.
The Devon Belle was a luxury express passenger train in England which ran between London Waterloo station and Ilfracombe and Plymouth in Devon in the years from 1947 to 1954.
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company (PCC) from 1874 until 1962, and then by British Railways from 1962 until 1972. Many named mainline service trains have subsequently used the word 'Pullman' in their titles, but most of these have been normal trains with increased first-class accommodation. Since 1982 however, some railtours have been operated by companies using Pullman coaches dating from the 1920s to 1950s to recreate the ambience of the heyday of Pullman travel.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway H2 class was a class of 4-4-2 steam locomotives for express passenger work. They were designed when D. E. Marsh was officially Locomotive Superintendent, and were built at Brighton Works in 1911 and 1912. As Marsh had worked on the Great Northern Railway as Chief Assistant to Henry Ivatt, the design closely followed that of the GNR Class C1. The entire class was scrapped by British Railways, but a replica entered service on the Bluebell Railway in 2024.
Belmond British Pullman is a private luxury train that operates day and weekend journeys around Britain. Until 2023, it also served as the British leg of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) service between London and Venice.
London to Brighton in Four Minutes is a short film produced by the BBC Film Unit in the early 1950s showing a train journey from London Victoria to Brighton in England. The camera was manually undercranked to produce a fast motion film so that the journey lasted only four minutes instead of the actual time of about one hour.
The latest expectation had been for testing on the rails during 2020. ... After some commercial test running, charter and public runs will start. This could be August 2020 – watch these pages for updates.
