Magnus Volk's Electric Train Of Thought, Hendrick's Horseless Carraige of Curiosities, Jubliee Square, Brighton, May 24 until May 30

But surely Magnus Volk is one of the greatest of all Brightonians.

He put electric light into the Royal Pavilion. He created the first telephone exchange in Brighton. He invented the electric fire alarm. He even devised the world’s first electric car and made a big, gold ball that used to go up and down the pole atop the Clock Tower and irritated the neighbours no end.

The man fascinates Nick Brice, the brains behind Brighton’s Bite-Size Plays company, whose 25-minute short about Volk is showing at Hendrick’s Carriage in Jubilee Square seven times a day for the next eight days.

“He’s so Brighton in that he is unconventional,” Brice says. “He is enthusiastic. He expresses himself and he was completely resolute. Who would think of running a train out at sea?”

The seafaring carriage, constructed under the auspices of Brighton And Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railways, was a train-cum-boat design with four 24ft “Daddy Longlegs” supporting its bulk.

It ran along tracks 200 metres off the coast and at the time was the widest gauge railway in the world.

It travelled at a snail’s pace, four miles an hour, and was powered by electricity from wires suspended over the sea. But disaster struck after only six days,when a hurricane knocked over the Pioneer, as Volk liked to call it.

Magnus Volk’s Electric Train Of Thought, written by Liz Tait (who wrote Argus Angel-winner Here Comes The Bride at last year’s Fringe), begins the day after this tragedy.

The audience are a Victorian board of directors with Volk, played in turnby Robert Cohen and Michael Adams, trying to convince the businessmen to finance a rebuild.

“This guy had just had his whole legacy and dream smashed by the weather,” says Brice, explaining why it makes such a compelling tale.

“He is in a state of stress. Whatever legacy he thought he was going to build has just been destroyed.

His credibility and validity as an engineer are in doubt. And in those times, the engineers were the stars.”

Volk fits perfectly into Bite-Size Plays’ remit to bring to life colourful, unconventional characters from Brighton’s past.

The company, which formed in 2006 at Hove’s former Sanctuary Cafe, has another site-specific show in the Fringe celebrating extraordinary characters.

The Big Bite-Size Banquet mixes mini-plays with nibbles at The Brunswick in Holland Road. Every room features another personality with a story to share.

“I’m always shocked by the diversity of taste in an audience,” says Brice. “I’ve seen award-winning shows I’ve hated and vice-versa.

“The beauty of Bite-Size is the audience don’t have to sit through something they don’t like.”

* On the hour, every hour, from midday to 6pm, £4.50, call 01273 709709.