Babbacombe Cliff Railway

__NOTOC__Babbacombe Cliff Railway a funicular railway in the town of Torquay in the English county of Devon. It links Babbacombe Downs with Oddicombe Beach, and is owned and operated by the Torbay Council. The line runs Easter to September from 9:30am to 5pm. A bell is rung at the bottom station 30 minutes before closing.

History

On February 1923 the Torquay Tramway Company commissioned Waygood-Otis Ltd with the engineering and construction of the railway. The line was first opened April 1, 1926, but ceased operation during World War II for security reasons. The railway reopened in 1951 after modernization by Messrs J & E Hall of Dartford. The railway underwent further refurbishment in 1993 a three year programme of renovation commenced in November 2005.

pecifications

* Two cars of traditional funicular design with a 40 person standing capacity
* track with a convert|5|ft|8|in|m|sing=on gauge
* Rated speed of 2.5 meters per second
* Drive equipment located at the top station
* Direct current wattage drive system, incorporating servomotor-operated controller
* Hoisting ropes attached to upper ends of car chassis, supplemented by a compensating rope system to load balance for car position on track

ee also

*St Marychurch
*Devon
*Funicular railway
*List of funicular railways

External links

* [http://www.torbay.gov.uk/index/leisure/beaches/cliffrailway.htm Official website]
* [http://www.cliffrailway.com Friends of Babbacombe Cliff Railway Homepages]
* [http://www.friendsofbabbacombecliffrailway.org.uk Friends of Babbacombe Cliff Railway History & Technology pictures of refurbishment.]
* [http://212.104.136.164/media/press%20releases/2005/cultural/PR283.doc Press release (*.doc format) describing ongoing refurbishment efforts]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/3176028.stm BBC News article about the railway]
* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/terryleaman/Tiscali/Cliff%20Railway.html Brief description of railway with pictures]