Great Orme Tramway
Encyclopedia
The Great Orme Tramway is a cable-hauled gauge tram
way in Llandudno
in north Wales
.
This is Great Britain
's only remaining cable operated street tramway and one of only three surviving in the world . It takes passengers from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme
headland. Operation of the tramway differs from the better-known San Francisco system
in that it is not a cable car
but rather a street running funicular
(similar to the Lisbon system
), where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable, and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable. As one car is ascending, the other is descending, and they meet midway.
The tramway was opened on two stages: the lower section on 31 July 1902 and the upper on 8 July 1903. The two sections operate independently, with two cars on each section which are mechanically separate. The lower section is built on or alongside the public road and has gradients as steep as 1 in 3.8. The cable on this section lies below the road surface in a conduit between the rails. The bottom half of the section is single track, but above the passing loop
it has interlaced double track. In comparison, the upper section is less steep, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 10, and is single track apart from a short double track passing loop equipped with Abt type points to accommodate the cable.
The original power house, at the Halfway station between the lower and upper sections, was equipped with winding gear powered by steam from coke
-fired boilers. This was replaced in 1958 by electrically powered apparatus. In 2001, the entire Halfway station, its control room and its power plant were completely rebuilt and re-equipped.
The tramway uses four tramcars, in service since 1902. An overhead wire telegraph was formerly used for communication between the tram and the engineer-driver in charge of winding the drum, and has been replaced with an induction-loop radio-control system.
The tramway has three main stations, the lower station named "Victoria" after the hotel that formerly occupied the station site, the middle one aptly named 'Halfway', and the Great Orme Summit station. Passengers must change trams at the Halfway station.
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way in Llandudno
Llandudno
Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
in north Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
This is Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
's only remaining cable operated street tramway and one of only three surviving in the world . It takes passengers from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme
Great Orme
The Great Orme is a prominent limestone headland on the north coast of Wales situated in Llandudno. It is referred to as Cyngreawdr Fynydd in a poem by the 12th century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr...
headland. Operation of the tramway differs from the better-known San Francisco system
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
in that it is not a cable car
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
but rather a street running funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
(similar to the Lisbon system
Trams in Lisbon
The Lisbon tramway network serves the municipality of Lisbon, capital city of Portugal. In operation since 1873, it presently comprises five urban lines, and is primarily a tourist attraction.-History:...
), where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable, and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable. As one car is ascending, the other is descending, and they meet midway.
The tramway was opened on two stages: the lower section on 31 July 1902 and the upper on 8 July 1903. The two sections operate independently, with two cars on each section which are mechanically separate. The lower section is built on or alongside the public road and has gradients as steep as 1 in 3.8. The cable on this section lies below the road surface in a conduit between the rails. The bottom half of the section is single track, but above the passing loop
Passing loop
A passing loop is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at a station, where trains or trams in opposing directions can pass each other. Trains/trams in the same direction can also overtake, providing that the signalling arrangement allows it...
it has interlaced double track. In comparison, the upper section is less steep, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 10, and is single track apart from a short double track passing loop equipped with Abt type points to accommodate the cable.
The original power house, at the Halfway station between the lower and upper sections, was equipped with winding gear powered by steam from coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
-fired boilers. This was replaced in 1958 by electrically powered apparatus. In 2001, the entire Halfway station, its control room and its power plant were completely rebuilt and re-equipped.
The tramway uses four tramcars, in service since 1902. An overhead wire telegraph was formerly used for communication between the tram and the engineer-driver in charge of winding the drum, and has been replaced with an induction-loop radio-control system.
The tramway has three main stations, the lower station named "Victoria" after the hotel that formerly occupied the station site, the middle one aptly named 'Halfway', and the Great Orme Summit station. Passengers must change trams at the Halfway station.
Incidents
- On Sunday 30 April 2000, on the day of the Llandudno Transport Festival, 37 passengers were injured with 17 requiring hospital treatment following a head-on collision between trams 6 and 7 on the passing loop of the upper section. The cause of the accident, described as the most serious since the opening in 1902, was initially thought to be a points problem.
- Shortly after midday on 15 September 2009 two trams on the upper section collided at a passing loop just above Halfway station. No serious injuries were reported, but both the Rail Accident Investigation BranchRail Accident Investigation BranchThe Rail Accident Investigation Branch is a government agency that became operational on 17 October 2005. Its primary role is the investigation of rail accidents in the United Kingdom and the Channel Tunnel in order to find a cause, not to lay blame. The agency has operational centres in The...
and the operators, Conwy County Borough CouncilConwy County Borough CouncilConwy County Borough Council is the governing body for Conwy County Borough, one of the unitary authority areas of Wales.-Political makeup:Elections take place every four years...
, launched investigations.