The development by Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison in 1879 of the incandescent electric light bulb was to have far reaching effects because it launched the electricity supply industry. Up to that time, generators were used in plating works which did not need much power. There were arc lights but while these illuminated large spaces such as railway stations, they were too bright and unsuitable for small rooms in offices or domestic houses. The incandescent light bulb did not give off the fumes or heat of gas lights or candles and the energy needed to power them could be transmitted comparatively easily through wiring. The electric motor followed and created new demands for electrical power, particularly with the development of transport systems on both railways and tramways. Magnus Volk opened his small railway on the front of Brighton on 4 August 1883, but development was slow elsewhere for some years. Electricity had many advantages over older forms of power distribution. Compared with line-shafting, it could be distributed over longer distances and to less accessible places. As long as line-shafting was running, there were frictional losses in the bearings but, although electricity had to be constantly available, distribution losses were not apparent to the domestic consumer.