Funicular Railways, Scarborough
There have been 5 funicular railways in Scarborough to transport passengers up and down the cliff.
South Cliff Lift
1873 The first funicular railway was commissioned in the UK by the Scarborough South Cliff Tramway Company Limited.
The system to link the South Cliff Esplanade to the Scarborough Spa, was designed and engineered by Mr Lucas. Constructed by Crossley Brothers of Manchester for a cost of £8000, the track is 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) wide and 284 feet (87 m) long, on 1 in 1.75 gradient. Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Co of Birmingham constructed the two cars, each capable of carrying 14 seated passengers, to the bottom of which is attached a water tank. Each car is also attached to a twin-steel cable rope, which is operated by a brakeman at the top station.
Using seawater pumped by two Crossley gas engines through a hydraulic system designed by Tangyes Ltd in Smethwick, Birmingham, the upper car's water tank is filled until the counterbalance point is reached. The cars then proceeded along their individual tracks, controlled by the brakeman. When the upper car reached the bottom of the incline, both cars were braked, and the seawater released. The procedure was then repeated.
1875 The railway opened on 6 July
1879 The gas engines were replaced by steam pumps
1934-5 The cars were replaced by two built by Hudswell, Clarke and Co
1947 after refurbishment the water system was replaced by 90 hp electric engine.
1993 Scarborough Borough Council bought the funicular
1997 the lift was modified to be completely automatic.
Queen's Parade, Cliff Lift
1878 The Scarborough Queen's Parade Tramway Company Limited was created on 4 March, to link Queen's Parade, on the top of the North Cliff, to the Promenade Pier. The track was 87 m long on a 1 in 2.5 gradient and 4 ft (1,219 mm) wide, two cars ran up and down the lift.
A cabin broke loose on 8 August 1878, the opening day, the lift closed for the rest of the year.
Accidents continued every year; there were pump engine and water supply failures and a further landslip in 1887 stopped the use of the lift.
Central Tramway
1880 The Central Tramway Company Scarborough Limited was established
1881 The Central Tramway started operating on 1 August. The funicular was operated by steam, the steam house was situated away from the top station. Since drivers had no view of the 2 cars, they used marks on the rope to indicate the car positions. The track was 71 m (233 ft) long on a 1 in 2 gradient. The track was 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.
1910 the funicular was converted to electric drive.
1932 the cars were replaced and the motor placed under the top station. Driving was done from a driving station at the top of the station with full view of the cars.
St Nicholas Cliff Lift
1929 The St Nicholas Cliff Lift was built by the Medway's Safety Lift Co Ltd. on the far side of the Grand Hotel from the Central Tramway, near the Aquarium. The track is 31 m long on a 1 in 1.33 gradient, the track gauge is 7 ft 6 in (2,286 mm).
Originally there was no bottom station - passengers stepped into the tramcars directly from the pavement.
2007 The lift was closed in February because the town council could not afford the upgrade to meet health and safety standards.
2011 The town council announced it would sell the lift because of the cost of repairs.
North Cliff Lift
1930 Built by the Medway's Safety Lift Co. The funicular was run by two cars and was electrically powered. The track was 51 m long with a track width of 6 ft 6 in (1,981 mm).
1996 Lift closed in September. It has been dismantled and been placed in storage.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Wikipedia [1]