DEVIL'S DYKE BRANCH
STORIES FROM THE SHOVEL
Extracted from a book
about the Dyke Railway
One morning when the first train was retuning to Brighton it met a large horse on the line. Whistling and the blowing of the cylinder drain cocks made no impression on the beast. The fireman was sent forward to remove the animal but as he advance shouting and waving his arms, the horse looked coolly at him. Then began it began to walk purposefully towards the advancing fireman, who, not being a country lad, was overwhelmed by the size of the beast. After a final yell, it was the fireman who bolted - for the engine! The horse turned round and walked down the line, followed at a respectful distance by the train.
On many occassions the drivers of the Dyke trains had to put out, on the way back, the lineside fires their locomotives had started on the way up. During at least one winter a train was unable to reach the terminus owing to a snow drift which had to be shovelled through.
Driver A. Geere, of Brighton, remembers working the last train from the Dyke one night when the Train Staff was accidently left on the platform at the terminus. Its abscence was not not realised until the train had all but reached Dyke Junction and there was nothing for it but to go back to the summit to collect the Staff.
Brighton driver Fred Gambling, recalls that the Billington E4 0-6-2 tanks were the locomotive best suited to the line. Fred also recalls that double-heading was used on some heavy loaded services but an E4 with four bogies was the norm duringh a busy period.
Fred remembers taking a ballast train up to the Dyke with a class C2 0-6-0. In addition to the brake van at the rear of the train, another was included half way just in case the locomotive stalled and splitting the load became necessary. On this occasion, however, the summit was reached.
He also remembers that after dark, golfers wishing to join the last train from the Dyke would strike matches to signal to the driver to stop the train at the unlit Golf Club Halt!
