Great Orme Tramway

[03_179]

The wife and I are hoping to visit it in a couple months time. Which lead me to try work out how long the line is.

Track maps has a very small representation of it in the book and I managed to work out this from it (Western/Wales book 34B if anyone wants a look at it)

Victoria to Half way 489ft. (872yds) - 7.4 Chains
Halfway to Summit 379ft. (827 yds) - 5.7 Chains

Now I was browsing the net and came across this:

The Cable Car Home Page - The Great Orme Tramway, By A. R. Ellison

Says:

The total length of the line is 1678 yards, exclusive of sidings. It is divided into two sections: the lower one, the tramway, 828 yards in length, and having an average gradient of 1 in 6.24, and the upper section, the tramroad, 850 yards in length, with an average gradient of 1 in 16.4, both sections being 3 feet 6 inches gauge. The terminus at the town is about 90 feet above O.D.; the end of the tramway or first section is 490 feet above O.D., and the altitude of the terminus at the summit is about 640 feet above O.D

And this :

Great Orme Tramway - Tram route

View, print and download the tram route 'Great Orme Tramway' from Dromos (5,010 ft).

www.routeyou.com

Which is a neat little interactive but I'm not sure of the actual mileage is shows.

I think I will go with the Trackmaps mileage/distance.

What do others think ?

 

[gazthomas]

I was an attendant (the lookout on the tram as the "driving" is really one by winchmen in the power house") and the Trackmaps mileage looks spot on.

 

[03_179]

I was an attendant (the lookout on the tram as the "driving" is really one by winchmen in the power house") and the Trackmaps mileage looks spot on.

Brilliant thank you very much

 

[pdeaves]

Victoria to Half way 489ft. (872yds) - 7.4 Chains
Halfway to Summit 379ft. (827 yds) - 5.7 Chains

Your numbers look 'out'. The two halves are 872y and 827y, but that converts to 2,616ft/2,481ft or 39.6ch/37.6ch respectively. Each half is nearly half a mile.

 

[Trackman]

I was an attendant (the lookout on the tram as the "driving" is really one by winchmen in the power house") and the Trackmaps mileage looks spot on.

Going slightly OT: The person who stands at the front? What do those wheels do?, I've seen them moving one of them about.

 

[gazthomas]

Going slightly OT: The person who stands at the front? What do those wheels do?, I've seen them moving one of them about.

Yes, the person at the front. They apply breaking to the tram, but really to augment what the winchmen is going and I only ever used it on the upper section, for example if a car was crossing the road just after half way house. I would also apply this break in the stations

 

[03_179]

Your numbers look 'out'. The two halves are 872y and 827y, but that converts to 2,616ft/2,481ft or 39.6ch/37.6ch respectively. Each half is nearly half a mile.

You're correct I calculated the wrong ones