Haywain
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You mean like this: link to BBC page showing cars being carried.
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Funicular and other inclined cable railways in UK
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What a splendid link. An extension to the recent thread about Motorail services perhaps!
Wikipedia does mention a reservoir, but the reference dates from 1897, so the use of the term may not mean what we first think of today.
The official web site does mention 'holding tanks': https://www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk/about-the-railway/how-it-works/
A 1903 map also shows "Tank":
Thats sad. I loved that when I was a kid
Shimbleshanks
Established Member
You can still take your car on the Johnstown Inclined Plane in Pennsylvania, or at least you normally can. According to the website, it's currently closed for renovation but due to open again next Spring: https://www.inclinedplane.org/
It definitely is water powered, you can watch the driver fill the tank at the top, and see the water pour out at the bottom. No doubt someone has a video showing it on YouTube
I never suggested otherwise. I have used it a few times.
I did. I was wrong....
philthetube
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I assume Lynton is the only one to have a RRB bus service when closed for maintenance.
Didn't know that. A much longer route than the railway!
Haywain wrote "The 2021 edition listed 14 cliff railways and a further 4 cable hauled tramways across Great Britain." the 14 must be Aberystwyth, Bournemouth (3), Bridgnorth, Folkestone, Hastings (2), Lynton & Lynmouth, Saltburn, Scarborough (2), Southend and Babbacombe. The four others Great Orme, Shipley Glen, Cairngorm and ???
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blackfive460
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Scarborough has been known to provide a replacement bus when the Spa lift is out of action.
Bowes Incline perhaps? Not exactly a tramway though
I've been on at least one of the Scarborough cliff lifts: in I think 1979 and 1983 as a child, and in 1999. Not sure how many of them are still in operation: I think there used to be at least three, but at least one of them has been out of action for many years.
Haywain
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14: Aberystwyth, Bournemouth (2), Bridgnorth, Hastings (2), Lynton, Saltburn, Scarborough (2), Southend, Babbacombe, Llechwedd Slate Caverns and Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth.
4: Shipley Glen, Great Orme (2), and Legoland.
Folkestone and one of Bournemouth’s cliff railways were already closed, along with Cairngorm; the latter is classified as a cliff railway.
How can you class the Southend Cliff Railway as a funicular if it only has one car?
Correct me if I'm wrong but AIUI a funicular consists of two cars, and as one goes up the other automatically comes down to counterbalance the system, whereas with a cable railway or tramway the cars can operate independently of each other.
John Luxton
Established Member
Though no longer operating the undergound Clifton Rocks Railway at Bristol is worth a mention. Back in the 1960s and early 70s the Hotwells Station entrance used to fascinate me as a youngster when my father drove past on the way to our Devon / Cornwall holidays. I was first able to read about it in a long out of print David & Charles paperback book on cliff railways and cable cars, early 1970s. A similar book to the much more recent Oakwood offering.
Abandoned in the 1930s Clifton Rocks was converted to BBC Studios and air raid shelters during WWII. The newly formed BOAC also had offices on the site.
A conservation group now looks after the remains and organises open days.
So far I have not been in the area when open days have been held but I did buy an excellent book on the railway about four years ago from the Clifton Suspension Bridge visitor centre shop nearby. It is very detailed and must be the longest book one could buy on such a short railway.
This is a link to the wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Rocks_Railway
This is the railway society web site: https://www.cliftonrocksrailway.com/
Abandoned in the 1930s Clifton Rocks was converted to BBC Studios and air raid shelters during WWII. The newly formed BOAC also had offices on the site.
A conservation group now looks after the remains and organises open days.
So far I have not been in the area when open days have been held but I did buy an excellent book on the railway about four years ago from the Clifton Suspension Bridge visitor centre shop nearby. It is very detailed and must be the longest book one could buy on such a short railway.
This is a link to the wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Rocks_Railway
This is the railway society web site: https://www.cliftonrocksrailway.com/
Southend has a counterweight which runs on its own track, so it is functionally a funicular. Although most lifts do as well so it's a bit of a grey area
A bit of Googling suggests that the long-lost funicular at Devil's Dyke near Brighton had two cars, but these were not linked, but wound independently. The nature of the route would imply that counterweights could not have been used. Makes the distinctions even greyer!
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I have in Scarborough but also Chattanooga TN. I will try and upload a photograph later.
busestrains
On Moderation
Are there any funiculars left anywhere with more than two cars? I know the Bristol one had four cars but was that the only one with four cars?
JGurney
Member
Perhaps the freight incline at St Michaels Mount could be added to that list.This site by Mark Hows is well worth a look - not just funiculars but other unusual railways too. It may be a bit out of date now but it's very comprehensive:
Funicular Railways
www.hows.org.uk
I was particularly intrigued in the Private Funiculars section by the cog railway (strictly speaking not a funicular) that brings beer supplies to the Jolly Sailor at Bursledon on the South Coast, the funicular serving Boots the Chemist in Torquay and someone that appears to have one in his own garden somewhere in the West Midlands.
I seem to remember reading an article in 'A to B' magazine some years ago written by someone who had constructed a short minature-gauge incline alongside a set of steps connecting his house to a road. I think it ran past the house and into his back garden, and was mainly meant for hauling gardening supplies like compost up the slope.
John Luxton
Established Member
On October 27, I visited the Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway for the first time since I was a child. My last ride had been circa September 1970 when I was a 10 year old. I had been on it when I was much younger as well, but my parents took my back to see the recently reopened first section of the SVR. As a youngster I recall being rather unimpressed by the very short ride and perhaps that is why despite visiting the SVR quite a few times over the years I have never headed into Bridgnorth itself for a trip on this line.
I was glad to put it right. Found it almost exactly the same as I recall it as a youngster. The Castle Walk station at High Town now has a cafe which provides a view into the winding area, though I didn't get to go into the cafe.
Only return fares are offered £2.00 strictly cash only - refreshing to see this as more and more seem to want card payments.
This is a link to the photos I took:
www.jhluxton.com
I was glad to put it right. Found it almost exactly the same as I recall it as a youngster. The Castle Walk station at High Town now has a cafe which provides a view into the winding area, though I didn't get to go into the cafe.
Only return fares are offered £2.00 strictly cash only - refreshing to see this as more and more seem to want card payments.
This is a link to the photos I took:
Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway - John Luxton
The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Cliff Railway, is a funicular railway in the town of Bridgnorth in the English county of Shropshire. The line links the Low Town of Bridgnorth, adjacent to the River Severn, with the High Town, adjacent to the...
The cars are an unusual art deco design. A bit fifferent to the usual box on wheels designs.On October 27, I visited the Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway for the first time since I was a child. My last ride had been circa September 1970 when I was a 10 year old. I had been on it when I was much younger as well, but my parents took my back to see the recently reopened first section of the SVR. As a youngster I recall being rather unimpressed by the very short ride and perhaps that is why despite visiting the SVR quite a few times over the years I have never headed into Bridgnorth itself for a trip on this line.
I was glad to put it right. Found it almost exactly the same as I recall it as a youngster. The Castle Walk station at High Town now has a cafe which provides a view into the winding area, though I didn't get to go into the cafe.
Only return fares are offered £2.00 strictly cash only - refreshing to see this as more and more seem to want card payments.
This is a link to the photos I took:
Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway - John Luxton
The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Cliff Railway, is a funicular railway in the town of Bridgnorth in the English county of Shropshire. The line links the Low Town of Bridgnorth, adjacent to the River Severn, with the High Town, adjacent to the...
Wonder if anyone has modelled one of these funicular railways...
notverydeep
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They appear to have a good supply of water draining from the quarry that forms much of the rest of the site. There are several small lakes and ponds in the area directly above the upper station of the funicular. The cafe restaurant is quite good value too and a good location to combine with a visit to the nearby Corris Railway...
Last time I walked past (a couple of months ago), the Inclined Lift adjacent to the north end of the Millenium Bridge was still in place, but the building immediately beyond is being re-developed and so scafolding support structures (substantial but clearly temporary) were in place at various points on the track, suggesting to me that the intention is to re-instate the lift once the works are completed, as I would have thought that it would have been removed first if this wasn't the case.
===gricer===
Member
Okehampton Funicular Railway from the newly opened station car park down to Simmons Park coming soon ....
IIRC the Bridgenorth cars were embodied in the 1950s by a firm which specialised in bus coachwork. They reused the original underframes.
I do know of someone who built a working funicular in N gauge, inside the case of a very old television. Winding was achieved by a very out-of-scale Meccano mechanism buried behind the cliff face!
John Luxton
Established Member
I seem to remember the German manufacturer Brawa, that also made cable car sets, advertised a working funicular set late 70s early 80s in HO and possibly also in N.
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I recall that Launceston Steam Railway bought the bought the components of the Scarborough North Cliff Railway when it closed in the 1990s, presumably to provide a link between the lower and upper part of Launceston. Nothing ever happened. Perhaps the parts are still available and could be used at Okehampton.
Have visited LSR a few times but have not seen the Scarborough components, presumably stored off site?
DaventryRabbit
Member
Can confirm it definately no longer Exists! Last time I was there (April) its location was surrounded by hoardings for Building Works.
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Apparently it was never very reliable anyway (It spent more time out of action than working)
John Luxton
Established Member
Two pictures of a line which no longer exists except under water!
This is the Geevor Mine Sub Incline which was constructed at Geevor to extend the mine into the lower workings of the neighbouring Levant Mine ('The Mine Under The Sea') under the Atlantic Ocean.
Opened by Her Majesty in 1980 it operated for around 10 years. Unfortunately, the tin market crisis of the late 1980s finished the mine off and the lower workings below adit were abandoned to the flood waters in 1990.
During the 1980s Geevor operated deep mine tours for keen visitors and I did two of them.
Both the trips included a ride on the incline as well as some of the extensive network of undergound lines.
They were an experience I will never forget - basically a hard hat, overalls and boots experience
I took quite many photos but looking back I wish I had taken more.
One image shows the driving position. The driver relied on the indicator and bell signals from the various landings where the line intersected the levels. As well as the passenger car there was a wagon which enabled the mine locos or another item of rolling stock to be brought up to the main part of Geevor.
Incidentally at the end of the shift most of the miners didn't wait for the passenger car but used to ride up on the mineral conveyor as it was much quicker it can just be seen in one of the photos.
Today Geevor surface working are open as a museum - but nothing will compare to a ride on the Victory Shaft Sub Incline railway!!!
This is the Geevor Mine Sub Incline which was constructed at Geevor to extend the mine into the lower workings of the neighbouring Levant Mine ('The Mine Under The Sea') under the Atlantic Ocean.
Opened by Her Majesty in 1980 it operated for around 10 years. Unfortunately, the tin market crisis of the late 1980s finished the mine off and the lower workings below adit were abandoned to the flood waters in 1990.
During the 1980s Geevor operated deep mine tours for keen visitors and I did two of them.
Both the trips included a ride on the incline as well as some of the extensive network of undergound lines.
They were an experience I will never forget - basically a hard hat, overalls and boots experience
I took quite many photos but looking back I wish I had taken more.
One image shows the driving position. The driver relied on the indicator and bell signals from the various landings where the line intersected the levels. As well as the passenger car there was a wagon which enabled the mine locos or another item of rolling stock to be brought up to the main part of Geevor.
Incidentally at the end of the shift most of the miners didn't wait for the passenger car but used to ride up on the mineral conveyor as it was much quicker it can just be seen in one of the photos.
Today Geevor surface working are open as a museum - but nothing will compare to a ride on the Victory Shaft Sub Incline railway!!!
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