The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway () opened on 1 August 1896. It is a long

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

railway in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

and is the second longest funicular railway in the British Isles, after the

Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway is a water-powered funicular railway joining the twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth on the rugged coast of North Devon in southwest England. Lynton and Lynmouth are separated by a high cliff, making it har ...

. Since November 1987, the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway has been a

Grade II listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. The Cliff Railway was developed as an element of Constitution Hill, a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

business venture by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company in the 1890s. The funicular took visitors to the top of the hill, where attractions such as a

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

were established. The cliff railway was originally a water balance system, but it was electrified during 1921. Passengers numbers were high during its initial decades, but dropped after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and stayed depressed for decades. The cliff railway is now owned and run by Constitution Hill Ltd, a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

. It is open to passengers during the summer months, typically operating between April and October, with a reduced timetable during the rest of the year.

Location

The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway was part of the Constitution Hill development built by the Aberystwyth Improvement Company, established in 1895. It was an early

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, consisting of arcades and restaurant at the foot of the hill, and a

and park at the top. The funicular railway was developed to transport people between the areas. Constitution Hill was designed and engineered by George Croydon Marks who also designed the pavilion for the Aberystwyth Royal Pier, and a meandering footpath as an alternative to the Cliff Railway. Around 12,000 tonnes of rock was excavated for the middle section of the footpath to accommodate a footbridge over the cliff railway. The area is surrounded by the gardens and pleasure grounds of Constitution Hill.

Design

Aberystwyth Cliff Railway - 4 - geograph

The cliff railway was originally a cable-drawn balanced system moving a pair of cars, with a maximum capacity of 30 passengers, permanently connected via a continuous cable. When opened, it operated using a water balance system, which used a

Worthington Corporation The Worthington Corporation was a diversified American manufacturer that had its roots in Worthington and Baker, a steam pump manufacturer founded in 1845. In 1967 it merged with Studebaker and Wagner Electric to form Studebaker-Worthington. Th ...

compound steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder, then having given up heat ...

water pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such ...

housed in the lower station to move water to the upper station. Each passenger car had a tank in their chassis that could hold 4 tonnes of water. Water was added to the tank of the top car, which descended under

gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

, hauling the lighter lower car on the parallel track to the top station. The railway is straight, ascending about over a horizontal distance of , a maximum gradient of more than 1:2 (50 per cent). The gauge is , slightly narrower than

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

, and laid on timber sleepers. In 1921, the railway was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

using a 41 kW Morley

DC motor A DC motor is an electrical motor that uses direct current (DC) to produce mechanical force. The most common types rely on magnetic forces produced by currents in the coils. Nearly all types of DC motors have some internal mechanism, either el ...

. In 1934, after changes to the town’s electricity supply, a

mercury arc rectifier A mercury-arc valve or mercury-vapor rectifier or (UK) mercury-arc rectifier is a type of electrical rectifier used for converting high-voltage or high-Electric current, current alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC). It is a type of c ...

and

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

were installed in the lower station to provide a 440V DC power output. The cars are moved using a high-tensile

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

cable attached to both vehicles. It passes around a drum, mounted on a vertical axis between the tracks at the top. The motor drives the drum controlled by an automated

cut-off A cut-off, cut, kutte or battle vest (when sleeveless) and a battle jacket or patch jacket (regardless of sleeves), is a jacket adorned with patches related to the wearer's subculture or general interests. Patch jackets are generally made using ...

which stops the motor and the cars when required. Its twin carriages are named ''Lord Geraint'' and ''Lord Marks.''

Operations

The cliff railway opened to the public in 1896; and was credited with stimulating the development of Constitution Hill as a popular leisure area."Aberystwyth Cliff Railway."
''historypoints.org'', Retrieved: 22 June 2018. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the cliff railway was popular with visitors but during and after the

, passenger numbers declined significantly. In 1948, seeking to revive its fortunes, the Aberystwyth Pier Company bought it and carried out repairs and upgrades. The new owners were unable to increase passenger numbers. In 1976, the railway was closed briefly on account of a fault in its braking system. During the late 1970s, a local mining company acquired a majority stake and formed the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway Company to operate it. In 1978 a new electrical system was installed which is used to the present day. It takes its power from and returns surplus energy to the National Grid. In November 1987, the cliff railway was recognised as a

. In 1998, it was purchased by Constitution Hill Ltd, a registered

, the

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s are volunteers; all profits generated support the railway's maintenance and restoration activities. The cliff railway has received some external funding, including grants from

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

funds. The railway is operated under a

light railway order The Light Railways Act 1896 ( 59 & 60 Vict. c. 48) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. History Before the act each new railway line built in the country required a specific act of Parliament to ...

. The line is open to passengers during the summer months, typically operating between April and October, while transitioning to a limited timetable during the colder months. The upper station was refurbished with a café and gift shop during 2005 and roof repairs were made in 2014. Ramps and other adaptations make the service accessible to

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

users. The ticket office at the lower station has been converted into a holiday apartment. Of the four original timber bridges constructed to carry hillside paths over the railway, three remain at the northern half of the route for foot traffic.

In fiction

The railway makes appearances in the work of author

Malcolm Pryce Malcolm Pryce (born 1960) is a British author, mostly known for his Hardboiled, ''noir'' detective novels. Biography Born in Shrewsbury, England, Pryce moved at the age of nine to Aberystwyth, where he later attended Penglais Comprehensive Schoo ...

.Katsoulis, Melissa
"Something fishy in Wales."
''The Telegraph'', 7 May 2005.

References

External links