Jacob's Ladder (Saint Helena)

Last updated

Jacob's Ladder
Jamestown Jacobs Ladder.jpg
The view down Jacob's Ladder,
looking onto Jamestown
Overview
OwnerSaint Helena Railway Company
Locale Jamestown, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Coordinates 15°55′32″S5°43′09″W / 15.9256°S 5.7192°W / -15.9256; -5.7192
Termini
Stations2
Service
Type Funicular
Rolling stock2 cars
History
Opened1829;195 years ago (1829)
Closed1871;153 years ago (1871)
Technical
Line length281.6 metres (924 ft)
Highest elevation183 metres (600 ft)
Maximum incline 87% (41°)

Jacob's Ladder is a Grade I listed staircase leading from Jamestown, Saint Helena, up the side of Ladder Hill to Ladder Hill Fort. The name is a reference to the biblical Jacob's Ladder, a ladder extending to heaven. [1]

Contents

The ladder is all that remains of a cable railway that was built there in the early 1800s. [2] Its tracks and cars were later removed, although the stairs have remained in place and have become a tourist attraction connecting Jamestown and the suburb of Half Tree Hollow at the top of the hill.

History and description

Designed by the local engineer J. W. Hoar, the Saint Helena Railway Company built a two-car inclined plane, 924 feet (281.6 m)-long, in 1829 to carry cargo between Jamestown and the fort. The cars rode on a pair of iron-plated fir rails, laid on wooden sleepers anchored into the rock of the valley wall, that were separated by a staircase of 700 steps for pedestrians. The angle of ascent varied between 39 and 41 degrees. Motive power was provided by a team of three donkeys at the top that rotated a capstan connected to the cars by an iron chain and pulleys. [2] [3]

Termite damage to the sleepers caused the Royal Engineers to remove the cars, rails and associated machinery in 1871, and it is now known as Jacob's Ladder. Subsequent roadwork covered one step so that only 699 remain. Lights were installed along the sides of the stairs in 2000 and the steps were refurbished in 2006. [1] The staircase has been declared a Grade I listed structure. [4] During the island's annual "Festival of Running", a timed run takes place up Jacob's Ladder, with people coming from around the world to take part. As of 2016, the record time to ascend the stairs is 5 minutes, 16.78 seconds. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

This article deals with traffic in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, that is all forms of traffic in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stairs</span> Construction that bridges a large vertical distance with steps

Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage to the other level by stepping from one to another step in turn. Steps are very typically rectangular. Stairs may be straight, round, or may consist of two or more straight pieces connected at angles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway track</span> Rail infrastructure

A railway track or railroad track, also known as a train track or permanent way, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties and ballast, plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable surface for their wheels to roll upon. Early tracks were constructed with wooden or cast iron rails, and wooden or stone sleepers; since the 1870s, rails have almost universally been made from steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the railway track</span>

The railway track or permanent way is the elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on the sleepers or ties embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway. It is described as a permanent way because, in the earlier days of railway construction, contractors often laid a temporary track to transport spoil and materials about the site; when this work was substantially completed, the temporary track was taken up and the permanent way installed.

Jacob's Ladder is a staircase to heaven from a dream of Jacob described in the Book of Genesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown, Saint Helena</span> Capital and chief port of Saint Helena

Jamestown is the capital city of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, located on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is also the historic main settlement of the island and is on its north-western coast. Before the development of the port at Rupert's Bay, it was the island's only port and the centre of the island's road and communications network. It was founded when colonists from the English East India Company settled on the island in 1659 and was briefly occupied by the Dutch East India Company in 1673 before being recaptured. Many of the buildings built by the East India Company in the 18th century survive and give the town its distinctive Georgian flavour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oldest railroads in North America</span> List of earliest railroads in North America

This is a list of the earliest railroads in North America, including various railroad-like precursors to the general modern form of a company or government agency operating locomotive-drawn trains on metal tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granite Railway</span> Railroad between Quincy and Milton, Massachusetts

The Granite Railway was one of the first railroads in the United States, built to carry granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, to a dock on the Neponset River in Milton. From there boats carried the heavy stone to Charlestown for construction of the Bunker Hill Monument. The Granite Railway is popularly termed the first commercial railroad in the United States, as it was the first chartered railway to evolve into a common carrier without an intervening closure. The last active quarry closed in 1963; in 1985, the Metropolitan District Commission purchased 22 acres (8.9 ha), including Granite Railway Quarry, as the Quincy Quarries Reservation.

High-speed railway track construction is the process by which Lignes à Grandes Vitesses, the land on which TGV trains are to run, is prepared for their use, involving carving the track bed and laying the track. This construction technique is used both for the French TGV network and other TGV-based networks outside of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half Tree Hollow</span> District of Saint Helena

Half Tree Hollow is the smallest by area of the eight districts of the island of Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a suburb of Jamestown and is situated at the top of Ladder Hill, which forms the southern side of the James Valley, at the base of which sits Jamestown. The hill was fortified in the late 1700s, and Ladder Hill Fort was subsequently built. The village grew during the 1960s because the James Valley lacked any room for expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail fastening system</span> Rail-tie/sleeper binding mechanism

A rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties or sleepers. The terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and track fasteners are used to refer to parts or all of a rail fastening system. The components of a rail fastening system may also be known collectively as other track material, or OTM for short. Various types of fastening have been used over the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Knoll Fort</span>

High Knoll Fort is a redoubt-style fort of the English East India Company on Saint Helena, an island and British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. High Knoll is 584 metres (1,916 ft) above sea level and is approximately one mile (1.6km) south of historic Lower Jamestown. Reopened on 18 December 2010, it is now a tourist attraction for visitors, especially those on the tourist ships that come in the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint James' Church, Jamestown</span> Oldest Anglican church in the Southern Hemisphere, on the island of Saint Helena

Saint James' Church is an Anglican church on the island of Saint Helena and is part of the Diocese of St Helena. It is situated in the capital Jamestown and is the oldest Anglican Church in the southern hemisphere; the present building was put up in 1774.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park series</span> Canadian streamlined dome-sleeper-observation cars

The Park series or Park car is a fleet of lightweight streamlined dome-sleeper-observation cars built by the Budd Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1954. Sixteen of the cars were named for a Canadian national or provincial park, while one was named for a wildlife reserve, and one was named for what was at the time a private park owned by Canadian Pacific subsidiary Dominion Atlantic Railway, but is now one of the National Historic Sites of Canada. Via Rail acquired the fleet from Canadian Pacific in 1978 and the majority of the cars remain in active service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob's Ladder, Brisbane</span> Stairway in Queensland, Australia

Jacob's Ladder is a landmark in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a long pedestrian staircase that extends from Edward and Turbot Streets up to Wickham Terrace. The name is a reference to the Biblical stairway ascending to Heaven. Jacob's Ladder has 86 steps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Staircase (Nassau)</span> Landmark in Nassau, Bahamas

The Queen's Staircase is a walkway of 66 steps in Nassau, the capital city of The Bahamas. It was carved out of solid limestone rock by 600 slaves between 1793 and 1794 to create an escape route from the fort above and is a major landmark of Nassau. The stairs are located at Fort Fincastle Historic Complex near Bennet's Hill in Downtown Nassau next to Princess Margaret Hospital and Grosvenor Campus of the University of the Bahamas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Step street</span> Type of pedestrian street

A step street is a thoroughfare fitted with steps for pedestrian traffic rather than paved or tracked for motor vehicles. It is a practical way of providing access up and down a slope that is too steep for automobiles. Step streets consist of a staircase of stone or concrete steps, often with a handrail on posts down the center, and sometimes lined with trees. Examples can be found in hilly urban areas. Step streets fell out of popularity with urban designers as the use of the automobile increased in cities. In the early 2010s, efforts were made to restore some of these open-air staircases in New York City.

T Lake Mountain is a mountain in the Adirondack Mountains region of New York. It is located north-northwest of Witherbee in Hamilton County. In 1916, the Conservation Commission built a 50-foot-tall (15 m) Aermotor LL25 tower on the mountain. The T Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station ceased fire watching operations at the end of the 1970 season. In 1977, U.S. Army Engineers tested explosive charges on the fire tower which brought the tower crashing down. A few weeks later, the remains of the tower were removed by helicopter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruperts, Saint Helena</span> Place in United Kingdom

Ruperts, sometimes also written Rupert's, is a village of the island of Saint Helena, in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, in the South Atlantic Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jacob's Ladder". sainthelenaisland.info. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Articles about the Ladder Hill incline in the Mechanics Magazine 1832 and 1834". www.railwaysofthefarsouth.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. Azéma, Michel (18 November 2010). "(SH) St. Helena - Ladder Hill Railway (1829) - Funimag photoblog". Funimag photoblog. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  4. "Saint Helena Historical Environmental Record". www.blackfreighter.net. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2016.