
This section tells of the locomotives used on the railway
Please tell us of your stories of these trusty workhorses that plyed their trade for years
When the branch line opened in 1865 (goods only) to Langstone and 1867 when services were extended to Hayling Island (for goods and passengers), neither of the two big railway companies serving Havant, the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) nor the London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) were interested in operating the branch. It was therefore the responsibility of the Hayling Railway Company to seek locomotives and stock to operate its services. For the first 7 years of services, contractors locomotives were used. Fredrick Furniss (the Contractor) also acquired ex-LSWR 4-wheel coaches to operate the passenger trains.
In 1872, the Hayling Railway Company negotiated a lease with the LBSCR for them to take charge of all the traffic on the Hayling branch line. This saw the introduction, in 1874, of a Sharp Stewart locomotive, the unique LBSCR Kitson tank locomotive in 1889 and the first Stroudley Terrier locomotives from 1890. The Stroudley terrier replacing all the previous locomotives that had worked the branch since 1865.
This was a welcome improvement for the drivers and firemen as they now had locomotives with better protection from the elements and hence were more suited to the conditions on the branch line. It also took the pressure off the Hayling Railway Company in that, for the first time, standard locomotives and rolling stock were employed on the branch line thus relieving the Company from the risk to its services due to non-availability of engines and stock. Replacements would be provided by the LBSCR under the terms of the lease if failures occurred. An early version of what we call outsourcing?