The Hayling Billy remembered | Nostalgia

At its peak thousands of people used the Hayling Island branch line to visit the seafront during the summer.
The Hayling Billy crossing Langstone Bridge for the last time in 1963.The Hayling Billy crossing Langstone Bridge for the last time in 1963.
The Hayling Billy crossing Langstone Bridge for the last time in 1963.

The carriages were pulled by dinky steam locomotives and the service was known locally as the Puffing Billy.

To see the whole collection of pictures, click here.

If you’ve enjoyed these pictures, you might like these too showing Portsmouth 70 years ago.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
A splendid shot taken from the train looking towards Havant from Langstone level crossing. When the gates were shut traffic queued back to the town.A splendid shot taken from the train looking towards Havant from Langstone level crossing. When the gates were shut traffic queued back to the town.
A splendid shot taken from the train looking towards Havant from Langstone level crossing. When the gates were shut traffic queued back to the town.

The majority of images are available to purchase should you wish to do so on our Photosales section, or you can call 0330 403 0033 or email [email protected].

A message from the editor, Mark Waldron.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as our new Puzzles section.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.