The Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway, or Southbourne Cliff Railway, is the worlds shortest public

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 ends ...

located in Southbourne (a seaside suburb of the English

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

). The line serves to link the seaside promenade and beach, with the cliff top and the town behind.

Overview

The line is owned and operated by

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Th ...

, and it has the following technical parameters:

Technical parameters

* Length: ' * Gradient: ''1:1.49 (67.11%)'' * Cars: ''2'' * Capacity: ''12 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 li ...

'' * Gauge: ' * Traction: ''Electricity''

History

Opened in 1935 by Bournemouth Corporation, Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway is the most recent of the town's three lines. Traction was originally provided by a

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

, although this was replaced in the 1960s. The passenger cabs were replaced with newer versions in April 2012. Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway is credited as the shortest funicular in the world by the 2015 Guinness Book of Records.

Nearby funiculars

There are two other cliff railways in Bournemouth, the West Cliff Railway and the East Cliff Railway (closed since 2016). All three operate between April and October.

Use as an arts venue

On Sunday 6 May 2018, Bournemouth-based sound and performance artists Language, Timothy! performed a site-specific theatre performance called 'Sound Journeys: The Longest Second' across both passenger cars of the Fisherman's Walk Cliff railway. The piece - two, one-minute vignettes created especially for the Southbourne railway - was a commission for Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe (BEAF) Festival 2018. Over 500 passengers saw one or both halves of the piece which ran for four hours during usual cliff lift operating hours.

References

External links

The official council page for the lifts, including prices

* ttp://www.hows.org.uk/personal/rail/bour.htm Article on Bournemouth's Cliff Railways from the ''Funicular Railways of the UK'' web site
Language, Timothy! "Sound Journeys: The Longest Second" event listing on BEAF website
{{Authority control Transport in Bournemouth Funicular railways in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in Bournemouth 5 ft 8 in gauge railways in England