The cliff railway has an accident free history and continues to be used daily by locals and tourist alike - saving them the arduous walk up and down the steep cliffside.
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The cliff railway was built in 1890, it works on a simple
balancing principle - water is piped from the West Lyn river over a mile
away and is stored in reservoirs. Each of the car lifts has a 700 gallon
tank fitted between the wheels, (plus a smaller tank for the braking system).
As water is discharged form the bottom car, the heavier top car descends
and pulls the lower car lift up the cliff. The top station is 500 ft above
the lower with rails that are 862 ft in length. The car lifts are connected
by a continous cable which runs around the pulley wheels mounted at the
top and bottom of the track bed. The all important brakes were patented
in 1888, they were the forerunner to the 'deadman's handle' which is used
on high speed trains and the London Underground. the cars hold up to 40
passengers and weighs 10 tons when fully laden.
The cliff railway has an accident free history and continues to be used daily by locals and tourist alike - saving them the arduous walk up and down the steep cliffside. |