The Southend Cliff Railway, or Southend Cliff Lift, is an inclined lift in the English city of Southend-on-Sea, constructed in 1912. [1] [2] The lift operated for the first time on Bank Holiday Monday, in August of that year. [3]
The Southend Cliff Railway, or Southend Cliff Lift, is an inclined lift in the English city of Southend-on-Sea, constructed in 1912. [1] [2] The lift operated for the first time on Bank Holiday Monday, in August of that year. [3]
The line is owned and operated by the Pier and Foreshore Department of Southend-on-Sea City Council, and has the following technical parameters: [1] [2] [4]
The line operates daily between 10:30 am and 3:00 pm subject to the availability of volunteer drivers and weather conditions. [5] As of August 2023 travel is free but donations are welcome. [6]
The line runs on the site of a pioneering moving walkway, a forerunner of today's escalator. This was constructed in 1901 by the American engineer Jesse W. Reno, but soon proved noisy and unreliable due its exposed location. [3] [7] The current lift was constructed by Waygood & Company, [3] now part of the Otis Elevator Company. Since opening in August 1912 it has been modernised three times, in 1930, 1959 and 1990. Each modernisation has resulted in the replacement of the car. [2] [8] [9]
In 2004 the line was closed due to technical problems, and refurbishment was undertaken on the stations. However, during the time that it was closed, the regulations governing its operation changed, requiring modifications before it could be reopened. [10] The line finally re-opened on 25 May 2010, after a restoration costing a total of £3 million, £650,000 on the car alone. [5] [11] [12]
The Waterloo & City line, colloquially known as The Drain, is a shuttle line of the London Underground that runs between Waterloo and Bank with no intermediate stops. Its primary traffic consists of commuters from south-west London, Surrey and Hampshire arriving at Waterloo main line station and travelling forward to the City of London financial district. For this reason, the line has historically not operated on Sundays or public holidays, except in very limited circumstances. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the line is currently only open on weekdays. It is one of only two lines on the Underground network to run completely underground, the other being the Victoria line.
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 114.5-mile (184.3 km) major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Shenfield, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. Its numerous branches also connect the main line to Southminster, Braintree, Sudbury, Harwich and a number of coastal towns including Southend-on-Sea, Clacton-on-Sea, Walton-on-the-Naze and Lowestoft.
Southend Central railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line and is one of two primary stations serving the city of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. The city's other main station is called Southend Victoria which is the terminus of a branch line off the Great Eastern Main Line. Southend Central is 35 miles 55 chains (57.43 km) down the line from London Fenchurch Street via Basildon and it is situated between Westcliff and Southend East stations. Its three-letter station code is SOC.
Volk's Electric Railway (VER) is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August 1883, and is the oldest operational electric railway in the world, though it was not the first electric railway to be built. It was preceded by electrification of Miller's line in 1875, Werner von Siemens' 1879 demonstration line in Berlin and by the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway of 1881, although none of these remain in operation.
The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway opened on 1 August 1896. It is a 778 feet (237 m) long funicular railway in Aberystwyth and is the second longest funicular railway in the British Isles, after the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. Since November 1987, the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway has been a Grade II listed structure.
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) was a single track, 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow gauge railway. It opened in May 1898 and ran for slightly more than 19 miles (31 km) through the area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although it opened after the Light Railways Act 1896 came into force, it was authorised and constructed before that act. It was authorised under its own Act of Parliament and built to higher standards than similar railways of the time. It was notable as the only narrow gauge railway in Britain that was required to use main-line standard signalling. For a short period, it earned a modest return for shareholders, but for most of its existence it made a loss. In 1923, the L&B was taken over by the Southern Railway, and eventually closed in September 1935.
The Clifton Rocks Railway was an underground funicular in Bristol, England, linking Clifton at the top to Hotwells and Bristol Harbour at the bottom of the Avon Gorge in a tunnel cut through the limestone cliffs.
Babbacombe Cliff Railway, also known as the Babbacombe Cliff Lift, is a funicular railway in the town of Torquay in the English county of Devon. It links Babbacombe Downs with Oddicombe Beach. The line formerly ran every day between 09:30 and 17:30, with a closure period in winter for maintenance. A bell is rung 30 and 15 minutes before closing.
Southport Pier is a pleasure pier in Southport, Merseyside, England. Opened in August 1860, it is the oldest iron pier in the country. Its length of 1,108 m (3,635 ft) makes it the second-longest in Great Britain, after Southend Pier. Although at one time spanning 1,340 m (4,380 ft), a succession of storms and fires during the late 19th and early 20th centuries reduced its length to that of the present day.
East Hill Cliff Railway, or East Hill Lift, is a funicular railway located in the English seaside town of Hastings. It provides access to Hastings Country Park via the East Hill, which overlooks the Old Town and Rock-a-Nore, an area to the east of Hastings. The line provides views over The Stade, home to the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe.
The British town of Scarborough has had a total of five cliff railways, or funiculars, two of which are presently operational. The town is home to the first funicular railway in the United Kingdom.
The West Hill Cliff Railway, or West Hill Lift, is a funicular railway located in the English seaside town of Hastings. It runs largely in tunnel, and provides access to Hastings Castle and St Clement's Caves from George Street, on the town's sea front. The West Hill overlooks the sea to the south, the Old Town to the east, and the current central business district of Hastings to the west.
The East Cliff Railway, or East Cliff Lift, is a funicular railway located on the East Cliff of the English seaside resort of Bournemouth. The line serves to link the seaside promenade and beach with the cliff top and the town behind. Following a landslip in April 2016 which damaged the line and associated structures, the railway is out of use indefinitely.
The Southend Pier Railway is a 3 ft narrow gauge railway in the English city of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It runs for 1.25 miles (2.0 km) along the 1.34-mile (2.16 km) length of Southend Pier, providing public passenger transport from the shore to the pier head.
The Saltburn Cliff Lift is a funicular railway in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It provides access to Saltburn Pier and the seafront from the town. The cliff lift is the oldest operating water-balance cliff funicular in the United Kingdom.
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.
The Weston-super-Mare Tramways were the electric street tramways of the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England. It operated a fleet of up to 16 standard gauge single- and double-deck tramcars on routes totalling 2.92 miles (4.70 km) to Birnbeck Pier, The Sanatorium and Locking Road. It opened in 1902 and was replaced by bus services in 1937.
Southend-on-Sea Corporation Transport was the overarching name given to the local municipal transport services provided to the town of Southend-on-Sea by the local council. Initially started as a tramway, although known officially as Southend-on-Sea Corporation Light Railway, the trams started operating on 19 July 1901 until the service was terminated on 8 April 1942. A trolleybus system was introduced in 16 October 1925, gradually replacing the tramway, before it closed on 28 October 1954. Motorbuses were first run by the Corporation in 1914, but two years later they withdrew the services. Buses did not return to the Corporation's service until 1932, eventually replacing the trams and trolleybuses. In 1974, the organisation was renamed Southend Transport, and after the Transport Act of 1985, it became involved in a bus war with rival Thamesway. The council sold Southend Transport to British Bus group in June 1993, which in turn was taken over by the Cowie group. Cowie was renamed Arriva in August 1998, with Southend Transport becoming Arriva serving Southend.
An inclined elevator or inclined lift is a form of cable railway that hauls rail cars up a steep gradient.
There have been five cliff railways in the Isle of Man, none of which remain operational. Usually referred to as 'cliff lifts', they were all railways, having wheeled carriages running on weight-bearing rails. The two Falcon lifts served the same hotel at different periods ; the first Falcon lift was moved to become the Port Soderick lift, at the south end of the Douglas Southern Electric Tramway, with the Douglas Head lift at its north end. The Browside lift served the Laxey Wheel.
