The History of England’s Funicular Railways
Saltburn by the Sea, Ava Lily
Funicular railways (or ‘cliff lifts’) remain fascinating, alas there are only a few left in England. Invented during late Victorian times to take people to the beach down steep cliffs or river banks, they remain a genius feat of engineering.
Ones still existing include:
- Saltburn (Yorkshire) is the oldest funicular railway in England, and still runs on water power.
- Scarborough (Yorkshire) was the first one, located at England’s first holiday seaside resort. It used to run on water, before converting to electricity.
- Lynton and Lynmouth (Devon) is the highest and steepest, and still runs on water power. It carries passengers up a 500-foot cliff face, using watwer from the local West Lyn River.
- Bridgnorth (Shropshire) is an inland funicular railway that connects the two parts of the River Severn, again very steep with a 64% gradient.
- Clifton Rocks (Bristol) is now a preserved heritage site, after closing in 1934. Built inside a giant limestone tunnel, it carried millions of passengers.
- Bournemouth (Dorset) has two funicular railways that safely transport holidaymakers to sandy beaches. They were built in 1908 and 1935.
- Hastings (East Sussex) also has two funicular railways on both East (the steepest in England) and West Hill, in this historic bohemian town on the south coast.
