Saltburn Cliff Tramway

The Saltburn Cliff Tramway is the oldest operating water-balanced funicular in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1884 to replace a vertical lift that carried visitors between the town of Saltburn and the pleasure pier and beach. Two twelve-person cars fitted with 1,500-litre water tanks run on parallel standard-gauge tracks. A brakeman at the top regulates the movement by adding or removing water in the tanks, aided by an electric pump that was installed in 1924. Designed by George Croydon Marks, the lift rises 37 m at a gradient of 71 per cent. Since the Second World War it has been owned by the local authority. Both stations have been restored to their original character. The car bodies were replaced in 1955 but little of the mechanism has changed since its installation. The journey takes 55 seconds and the service is used by 150,000 passengers per year.