| Saltburn Cliff Lift | |
|---|---|
 View from Upper Station | |
 Lower Station | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England |
| Transit type | Funicular railway |
| Number of stations | 2 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 28 June 1884 |
| Operator(s) | Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council |
| Technical | |
| System length | 207 feet (63 m) |
| Track gauge | Until 1921: 3 ft 9 in (1,143 mm) From 1922: 4 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,283 mm)[1] |
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.[2][3]
The Lift, constructed between 1883 and 1884, replaced an 1870 vertical cliff hoist. It has a height of 120 feet (37 m) and a track length of 207 feet (63 m), resulting in a 71 per cent incline. A pair of 12-person cars, each fitted with a 240-imperial-gallon (1,100 L; 290 US gal) water tank, run on parallel tracks; by removing or adding the water to their tanks, movement is achieved, regulated by a brakeman at the top.
The original cars have been replaced with aluminium counterparts and the top station restored, but little of the underlying mechanism has been changed since it was installed. Owned since the Second World War by the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and its predecessors, the lift remains in regular use between March and October each year. It is one of Saltburn's most popular tourist attractions.[4] Reportedly, the service was being used by an estimated 150,000 passengers per year by the twenty-first century.[5]
The lift was extensively damaged by fire in January 2024 with no date yet known for its reopening.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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SbtSCLwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Saltburn Cliff Lift". This is Redcar & Cleveland. R&CC. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ "Saltburn's Victorian town celebrates its 150th birthday." BBC News, 19 August 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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