Embedded Files
Luciana Haill's mobile artwork, Pioneer AR, revives the spectacular, yet short-lived, history of an electric train that ran on rails through the sea. We will 1.3 miles on part of its route at sea level on a fully accessible flat path, a guided history is delivered as we see it life-size using a free smartphone app you are encouraged to download in advance (links above) no data is used in the walk as it uses GPS location signal detected in the phones technology.
This real train powered by electricity, travelled through the sea for 3 miles each was launched in 1896, this unique Brighton marvel was officially named Pioneer, but affectionately known as "The Daddy Long Legs." Designed by local engineer Magnus Volk, the life-size train operated for only five years, carrying upto 150 passengers who embarked from a wooden jetty near the Banjo Groyne in Kemptown (Paston Place). It was decommissioned in 1901 when the Brighton Corporation extended the coastal groynes. The faint scars of its submerged track remain visible at low tide, stretching past The Marina toward Rottingdean.
It is possible to take photos during the tour as we witness The Daddy Long Legs life-size by engaging with the free digital artwork Pioneer. The tour follows some of the route it has been travelling between its original locations since 2022. It appears through augmented reality and art viewed using smartphones and can be photographed while travelling through the sea (approximately 250 ft from the shore) on its 3-mile route between Kemptown and its final destination, Rottingdean.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse