Frederick Hester : A brief history in pictures - Page 15 : The Mono Rail
Artists Tom Merry's 1902 impression of Hester's Horse drawn Mono
Rail
Again from A.A.Daly called 'A History of Canvey Island' the above picture shows a wonderful contraption, in reality it was a little more plain. Below is an interesting photograph of the horse drawn metal mono rail. We are looking south east from where Somnes Avenue now runs. The grass bank would be Central Wall - The Winter Gardens path and I believe the large house is Kingsley Hall that stood near the west end of Mornington Road. The two big trees in the centre of the photo are probably the two that straddled Furtherwick Road where the Job Centre now stands.
The Horse Drawn Mono Rail
The really interesting thing about this photo is the fact that there are electrification poles in situ! R.S.Morgan wrote of early memories of riding for three miles through 'fields of waving corn' before arriving at Leigh Beck, very near to Marlborough House. Apparently there were passing places and the odd derailment wasn't unknown!