The Spa Cliff Lift – Scarborough, UK - Public Funiculars and Incline Railways on Waymarking.com

According to the Scarborough Civic Society This was the first passenger cliff tramway in Europe (possibly the world) . The natural spring that inspired the building of the spa was discovered in 1626. There have been a number of buildings on the site, the current one dates from 1879. According to the South Cliff Lift section of this Wikipedia page “The first funicular railway in the United Kingdom, the Scarborough South Cliff Tramway Company Limited was created in 1873.

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 Carriage 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 Tangye Ltd inSmethwick, Birmingham, the upper car's water tank is filled until the counterbalance point is reached. The cars then proceeded along their individual tracks, with speed and safety 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.

The railway opened on 6 July 1875. The gas engines were replaced by steam pumps in 1879, and after refurbishment in 1947 the water system was replaced by 90 hp electric engine. The cars were replaced by two built by Hudswell Clarke & Company in 1934-1935.

Scarborough Borough Council bought the funicular from its owners in 1993. In 1997, the lift was modified to be completely automatic.”

A further 4 funiculars were built in Scarborough, but now only this and one next to the Grand Hotel are still working. This one operates all year round.

Seasonal?: Open All Year Length of Track: 284 feet (87 metres) Angle of Incline: 1 in 1.75 Funicular's Official Website: Not listed Elevation: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
To log a visit to a funicular, an original photo of the funicular must accompany the log. Please provide any updated information regarding fees, hours of operation, etc. Do not be shy about including coordinates at the other end of the track from the ones provided for the waymark

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.