Saltburn Cliff Lift
Encyclopedia
The Saltburn Cliff Lift is a funicular
railway located in Saltburn-by-the-Sea
, Redcar and Cleveland
and the ceremonial county
of North Yorkshire
, England
. It is the oldest operating water-balance cliff
lift
in the United Kingdom
.
arrived in Saltburn
from Redcar
on 17 August, 1861, prompting a growth in day and holiday travellers. Like many seaside resorts, this created a local business initiative, resulting in various pieces of construction, including the Saltburn Pier
completed in 1869. Access to the pier from the town via the steep cliff top was difficult, so a solution was sought.
The Saltburn Pier company contracted John Anderson to engineer a solution, which was the wooden Cliff Hoist. Allowing up to 20 people to be placed in a wooden cage and then lowered by rope to beach level, it opened on 1 July, 1870, some 14 months after the opening of the pier. Approached from the town by a narrow walkway, the passengers then descended 120 feet (36.6 m), after water had been added to or taken away from a counterbalance tank.
They commissioned Sir Richard Tangye's
company, who had built the two earlier
vertically inclined water powered funicular railways
in Scarborough, to build a replacement. Tangye had appointed George Croydon Marks head of the lift department, in which role he was in charge of the design and installation at Saltburn. Marks designed and constructed a funicular with a height of 120 feet (36.6 m) and a track length of 207 feet (63.1 m), creating a 71% incline.
in the upper station. The car at the top has its water tank filled until its mass
exceeds the mass of the car at the bottom. It then travels down the incline, counter-balanced by the mass of the other car, which travels to the top, with the brakeman controlling safety and the speed of travel. When the car reaches the bottom, its water is released thus reducing the mass of the lower car, and pumped back up to the top of the cliff.
The original cars, capable of seating 10-12 passengers, had stained-glass windows. But when the Cliff Lift was refurbished in 1955, the car bodies were replaced without these. When the wholly new aluminium
cars were introduced in 1979, modelled on the original design, stained-glass windows were reinstated.
Owned since post-World War II
by the local council, Marks design was so good, that beyond maintenance and refurbishment, little has changed since 1884. In 1924 an electrically operated water pump was installed, and in 1998 the main winding wheel was replaced for the first time, together with the installation of a new hydraulic braking system.
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...
railway located in Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Saltburn-by-the-Sea is a seaside resort in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The town is around east of Middlesbrough, and had a population of 5,912 at the 2001 Census.-Old Saltburn:...
, Redcar and Cleveland
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
and the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is the oldest operating water-balance cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
lift
Lift
Lift may mean:* Lift , a mechanical force generated by an object moving through a fluid* Lift , rising air used by soaring birds and glider, hang glider and paraglider pilots for soaring flight...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Cliff Hoist 1870-1883
The Stockton and Darlington RailwayStockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
arrived in Saltburn
Saltburn railway station
Saltburn Railway Station serves the town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is the terminus of the Tees Valley Line and is operated by Northern Rail who provide all passenger train services...
from Redcar
Redcar Central railway station
Redcar Central railway station serves the town of Redcar in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It is located on the Tees Valley Line and operated by Northern Rail who provide all passenger train services. Redcar Central is a staffed Monday...
on 17 August, 1861, prompting a growth in day and holiday travellers. Like many seaside resorts, this created a local business initiative, resulting in various pieces of construction, including the Saltburn Pier
Saltburn Pier
Saltburn Pier is a pier located in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is the last pier remaining in Yorkshire.-Background:...
completed in 1869. Access to the pier from the town via the steep cliff top was difficult, so a solution was sought.
The Saltburn Pier company contracted John Anderson to engineer a solution, which was the wooden Cliff Hoist. Allowing up to 20 people to be placed in a wooden cage and then lowered by rope to beach level, it opened on 1 July, 1870, some 14 months after the opening of the pier. Approached from the town by a narrow walkway, the passengers then descended 120 feet (36.6 m), after water had been added to or taken away from a counterbalance tank.
Cliff Lift 1884-present
After the pier company was sold to the Middlesbrough Estate in August 1883, the new owners had the Cliff Hoist inspected by independent engineers, who condemned it due to numerous rotten timbers. The Cliff Hoist was therefore demolished in late 1883.They commissioned Sir Richard Tangye's
Richard Tangye
Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye was a British manufacturer of engines and other heavy equipment.-Biography:...
company, who had built the two earlier
Scarborough funiculars
The British town of Scarborough has had a total of five cliff railways, two of which remain open to the public. Two of these funiculars were on Scarborough's North Bay and three on South Bay; both of the North Bay railways have been demolished, and one on South Bay is extant but out of use since...
vertically inclined water powered funicular railways
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...
in Scarborough, to build a replacement. Tangye had appointed George Croydon Marks head of the lift department, in which role he was in charge of the design and installation at Saltburn. Marks designed and constructed a funicular with a height of 120 feet (36.6 m) and a track length of 207 feet (63.1 m), creating a 71% incline.
Operational theory
The two 10 person cars are each fitted with a 1000 gallons (4,546.1 l) water tank, and run on parallel standard gauge funicular railway tracks. Double steel wire ropes are attached to both cars, controlled by a brakemanBrakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
in the upper station. The car at the top has its water tank filled until its mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
exceeds the mass of the car at the bottom. It then travels down the incline, counter-balanced by the mass of the other car, which travels to the top, with the brakeman controlling safety and the speed of travel. When the car reaches the bottom, its water is released thus reducing the mass of the lower car, and pumped back up to the top of the cliff.
Operations
It is believed that the Cliff Lift opened on Saturday 28 June, 1884, but there was a period of inconsistent operation at the start. The opening of the Cliff Lift allowed the pier company to undertake an extension to that structure.The original cars, capable of seating 10-12 passengers, had stained-glass windows. But when the Cliff Lift was refurbished in 1955, the car bodies were replaced without these. When the wholly new aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
cars were introduced in 1979, modelled on the original design, stained-glass windows were reinstated.
Owned since post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by the local council, Marks design was so good, that beyond maintenance and refurbishment, little has changed since 1884. In 1924 an electrically operated water pump was installed, and in 1998 the main winding wheel was replaced for the first time, together with the installation of a new hydraulic braking system.