Bridgnorth Cliff Railway
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The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Castle Hill Railway, is a
funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
in the town of
Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. History B ...
in the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
county of
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
. The line links the Low Town of Bridgnorth, adjacent to the
River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
, with the High Town, adjacent to the ruins of
Bridgnorth Castle Bridgnorth Castle is a castle in the town of Bridgnorth, Shropshire. It is a scheduled monument, first listed in 1928. History 12th century The castle was founded in 1101 by Robert de Belleme, the son of the French Earl, Roger de Montgomery, wh ...
. The line is one of four funicular railways in the UK built to the same basic design (the others were the
Clifton Rocks Railway The Clifton Rocks Railway was an underground funicular railway in Bristol, England, linking Clifton at the top to Hotwells and Bristol Harbour at the bottom of the Avon Gorge in a tunnel cut through the limestone cliffs. The upper station is ...
in
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
; 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 ...
in
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
; and the Constitution Hill Railway in
Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
). It is one of the steepest railways in the country, and at least one source (the information panel outside the
top station A top station or upper stationFor example, se''Chairlift Blausee (upper station)''at www.outdooractive.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019. is usually the highest station of an aerial lift, a funicular, a T-bar lift or a rack railway. The lowest station is ...
) claims it is both the steepest and shortest. However, the East Hill Lift Railway, Hastings is graded at a steeper 78%.


History

Following a public meeting in 1890 to discuss an alternative method of communication between the two parts of Bridgnorth to the 200 steps between High Town and Low Town, a proposal to build a
Patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
Cliff Railway was put to the
town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...
. Engineered by
George Croydon Marks George Croydon Marks, 1st Baron Marks, CBE (9 June 1858 – 24 September 1938), known as Sir George Marks between 1911 and 1929, was an English engineer, patent agent and Liberal (later Labour) politician. Background and education Marks was ...
, plans were accepted for funicular railway on the current route. ''The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway Company Ltd'' was registered in 1891, and construction started on 2 November 1891. The company, which still operates the railway today, was founded by Sir George Croydon Marks (later Lord Marks of Woolwich), who became its first managing director from 1891 until 1901. His brother, Edward Marks, became its second managing director from 1901 until 1924. George was also the founder of the patent attorneys Marks & Clerk, who continue to trade. The railway was opened on 7 July 1892 by
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
John Anderson, with a public holiday being proclaimed to celebrate the occasion. Most of the original funding came from George Croydon Marks' business partner, Sir George Newnes, MP, the wealthy publisher, who purchased eighty-five per cent of the share capital in Bridgnorth Cliff Railway and who became its first chairman. Newnes was already chairman of Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway and went on to collaborate with Marks on other funicular projects. Newnes, who had previously founded ''Tit-bits'' and ''
The Strand Magazine ''The Strand Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine founded by George Newnes, composed of short fiction and general interest articles. It was published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950, running to 711 issues, though the ...
'', went on to publish '' Country Life''. Originally the railway was powered by a simple system using water and gravity. Water was pumped into a tank beneath the top car until its weight, a maximum of , overcame that of the lower car. When the car reached the bottom station the tank was emptied and pumped up to a tank on the top of the upper station. Between 1943 and 1944 the system was rebuilt to use electricity, with an official re-opening on 9 May 1944 by Mayor T.C. Pembro – who had taken office only 2 hours previously. In 1955 the original heavy
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
en
cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
were replaced by the 'up-to-date' stronger and lighter ()
aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
ones still in use today. Each car can carry up to 18 passengers. The
rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...
were replaced in about 1972 with the bullhead design formerly used on mainline
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s.


Current situation

A vital part of the town's
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
, the railway operates 362 days a year (it is closed on
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
,
Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
and
New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
). Each journey takes about 1 and a quarter minutes, and on an average day approximately 200 trips are made. As of return tickets cost £2.00 with discounts available for groups of 15 or more. Single tickets are not available. The line has the following technical parameters: *Length: *Height: *Maximum Steepness: ''64%'' *Cars: ''2'' *Capacity: ''18 passengers per car'' *Configuration: ''
Double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
'' *Track gauge: *Traction: ''Electricity'' *Operation: ''Manually driven from upper station'' The railway is owned and operated by a private company, ''The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway Company Limited'', which was incorporated on 5 October 1891. The current owners, who acquired the company and cliff railway in 2011, are direct descendants of George Croydon Marks' third cousin, all being descended from one Nicholas Jonas (later Jones) of
Tawstock Tawstock is a village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon in the English county of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Barnstaple, Bishop's Tawton, Atherington, Yarnscombe, Horwood, ...
near
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
, north Devon. Other descendants of Jonas were the brothers Tom and Bob Jones, who founded
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 ...
, which was also engineered by the Marks brothers. On 10 January 2013, the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway was featured in an episode of the fourth series of
Great British Railway Journeys ''Great British Railway Journeys'' is a 2010-2021 BBC documentary series presented by Michael Portillo, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister who was instrumental in saving the Settle to Carlisle line from closure in 1989. The docum ...
; when presenter
Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as ''Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Journ ...
interviewed the company's secretary. On 1 August 2015 Sir Robert McAlpine Bt unveiled a Transport Trust Red Wheel plaque at the cliff railway's top station commemorating Sir George Croydon Marks. A director of Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway, and one of his sons, being distant cousins of both Marks and the current Bridgnorth directors, were present. Also present for the unveiling were Edward Marks' grandson and other descendants. In June 2017, three weeks before the 125th anniversary of the cliff railway's inauguration, the company published the fourth edition of George Croydon Marks' booklet "Bridgnorth and Its Castle Hill Railway" which had first appeared on the inaugural day. The fourth edition was a facsimile of the first, but with the foreword page having been written by a current director of the company, being the granddaughter of Marks' third cousin. On 5 October 2018 Bridgnorth Cliff Railway featured as the answer to a question in the long-running BBC television quiz 'Mastermind'. In the general knowledge round contestants were asked which Shropshire town on the River Severn had a funicular railway connecting its High Town with its Low Town. In December 2022 the railway was closed amid safety concerns over a serious crack in the retaining wall, causing 14 of the 16 drivers and engineers employed to be made redundant. Work to repair the crack was due to commence on 27 March 2023, raising hopes for the staff to be re-employed when work finishes.


See also

*
Funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
*
List of funicular railways This is a list of funicular railways, organised by place within country and continent. The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways. A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline eleva ...
*
Bridgnorth railway station Bridgnorth railway station is a station on the Severn Valley Railway heritage line, serving the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth, England. It is currently the northern terminus of the SVR, home to the main engine shed and has a gift shop, station ...


References


External links

{{commons category, Bridgnorth Cliff Railway
Official siteBBC Shropshire article
1892 establishments in England Heritage railways in Shropshire Funicular railways in the United Kingdom Works by George Croydon Marks 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in England Bridgnorth