History
The idea of a cliff railway appears as early as 1890 when proposals started to grow in public favour. The idea originated with Charles Richardson C.C. of Cary Castle, St Marychurch, and taken up and promoted by George Newnes M.P. based on the similar railway at Lynton. [3] However, this scheme did not come to fruition and was abandoned in 1893. [4] The proposal was revived in 1907 but no progress was made. The proposal was still being discussed in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War.
In February 1923, the Torquay Tramway Company commissioned Waygood-Otis Ltd with the engineering and construction of the railway. Construction started in 1924, and the line was first opened on 1 April 1926. The line cost £15,648 (equivalent to £1,147,200in 2023) [5] to construct. The tramway company continued to work the line until 13 March 1935, when it was taken over by Torquay Borough Council. The line was closed in 1941, due to World War II security restrictions, and reopened in 1951 [6] after modernisation by Messrs J & E Hall of Dartford. The fare in 1951 was 6d return (equivalent to £1.83in 2023), [5] 4d up and 3d down.
The railway underwent further refurbishment in 1993 and a three-year programme of renovation commenced in November 2005. [7]
In July 2009, the ownership of the line was transferred from Torbay Council, who had inherited ownership from Torquay Borough Council as a result of local government reorganisation, to a specially created community interest company. [8] In 2019, the CIC converted to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. [9]
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