Hythe Pier railcar’s identity is confirmed

HYTHE Pier Heritage Association and volunteers at The Shed (at the Pier), who are renovating the second of the original two railcars of the 2ft gauge pier railway, have rediscovered its identification tag under decades of grime while stripping back the roof.

The tag pictured identifies this carriage as the second of the two ordered in October 1921, arriving at Hythe the following June. Its uncovering dispels all lingering doubt about the status of the first carriage being the first, which was renovated and returned to the track last May.

The two bespoke carriages were ordered from the Drewry Car Company of London by Thomas Percy, on behalf of his General Estates Company. They were for the tramway he proposed to establish on the pier using Baguley tractor units he procured from a War Office redundant plant catalogue in 1920.

The railway began running in July 1922, and on July 23 this year, the association will stage a centenary celebration which will incorporate its annual music festival, Rock the Pier, which has been rebranded Rock the Train for 2022.