The Cliff Railway – 1890

An Act for making Lifts between Lynmouth and Lynton
in the county of Devon and for other purposes.
[5th July 1888]

Whereas the present means of communication between Lyn-
mouth and Lynton in the county of Devon are circuitous
and inconvenient and the same would be greatly improved by the
construction of the lifts hereinafter mentioned which would be
of public and local advantage:

So commenced the Act of Parliament that was to overcome an adversity that had faced the communities of Lynton & Lynmouth for many years. Until the end of the 19th century, the trade of the isolated twin villages was mostly by sea as travelling across Exmoor’s wild countryside was a difficult and arduous journey. The 500-ft (154 m) cliff between the villages was a major obstacle as the only way that commodities arriving at Lynmouth harbour could reach Lynton was by cart or packhorse having to ascend the steep Clooneavin Path. An alternative route up the zigzag Westerway Path was equally daunting. ”A stiff climb” was how an exhausted writer described it in the mid 19th century. Even today, a decision to walk up these winding tracks is not taken lightly. A road built in 1820 that is still the main route between the communities has a gradient of 1:4 over much of its 700-yard (646m) length and was difficult for horse drawn vehicles to negotiate. The problem was intensified by an increasing number of tourists coming to Lynmouth by steamer during the late 19th century. Those passengers wishing to visit Lynton either had to walk up the steep hill in their restrictive Victorian clothing or were charged 6d (2½p) to travel the arduous route on one of the donkeys belonging to Mrs Arnold. It was a hard life for these poor animals - and a short one.

The idea of a water lift between the communities was first suggested in 1881. This proposal fired the imagination of Thomas Hewitt, an eminent London lawyer who had a summer home at The Hoe on Lynton’s North Walk. He was able to get a Bill through Parliament in October 1886 allowing the scheme to go ahead. Unlike neighbouring Minehead and Ilfracombe, Lynmouth did not have a pier. Local boatmen would meet the steamers off shore making passenger embarkation difficult or impossible if the sea was rough. This loss of trade was of great concern to the people of Lynmouth.

In 1885, it was planned to build a 112-yd (103 m) pier on the west side of Lynmouth that would allow the steamers to dock on any tide. An esplanade would be constructed from a point near the Rhenish Tower to provide access to the pier. The railway was to be the third phase of the plan. However, the financial backers withdrew their support for a pier when they realised the steamers would bring boisterous day-trippers to Lynmouth and the resort could lose its exclusivity.

Lynmouth was never to have a pier. An esplanade was constructed in 1887 but cautious investors had lost interest in a cliff railway. Nothing happened until that summer when a famous publisher came to Lynton on holiday and immediately fell in love with the area. He was to become a great benefactor of the resorts and is responsible for much of their surviving character.

Thomas Hewitt had invited his friend George Newnes and his wife Priscilla to holiday at Lynton during the summer of 1887. George had made his fortune by publishing the popular Titbits magazine and his entrepreneurial character was roused when Hewitt explained the idea of a lift to him. Newnes immediately realised the benefits that a cliff railway would bring to both resorts. As an animal lover he had also been dismayed to see the condition of horses that strained with heavy loads up the steep incline. “Is anyone capable of building such a lift?” he asked. “Bob Jones” said Hewitt - and arrangements were hurriedly made to meet the local builder that evening at Hewitt’s home. After a long discussion into the early hours, the three men made a decision to build a railway.
The first cliff railway in Britain was built in the Yorkshire town of Scarborough in 1876 and another was built at the east coast resort in 1881. A third was constructed in 1884 at nearby Saltburn. Water to operate all three railways was pumped to the top station with hydraulic machinery manufactured by Tangye of Smethwick in Birmingham.

The manager of this reputable company was George Croydon Marks (1858 – 1938), who was later to become Lord Marks of Woolwich. By chance, Bob Jones was a cousin of his grandmother and Marks was commissioned to design the proposed Lynton & Lynmouth railway. Because of a trade recession and on the strength of the commission he decided to leave Tangye and set up as an independent consulting engineer at Temple Street in Birmingham.

A patent application No 9535 for the railway was eventually filed on 30th June 1887 in the names of Newnes, Marks, and Jones.

The 1899 Patent Application showing the braking systems. In practice, the driver’s controls were moved to one end of the car.

On his first visit to Lynton to inspect the proposed site of the railway, George Marks realised that an efficient and safe braking system on the carriages would be paramount. Three of the five main features of the patent were for brake systems. Each car would have four brakes operated by two separate systems. A hydraulic buffer was devised by Marks to cushion the carriages when they docked at Lynmouth. This historic shock absorber was the first to be built and it can still be seen operating today. The design has since been adopted for use on many applications throughout the world.

Although some people criticised the scheme saying it would scar the scenery, the railway had overwhelming support and work started in 1887. In December that year, the North Devon Journal reported that ... many thousands of tons of material have been removed from the hillside. It may be that notice was taken of dissenters for the tracks were recessed 45-ft (13.8m) into the hillside although a practical reason was a need for the railway to pass under North Walk and Westerway Path. Excavation of the line was helped by the tracks following a natural fissure in the cliff. Much of the spoil was used to extend the Esplanade.

Working conditions were difficult for those who toiled on the steep hillside but the project continued steadily until it was finished three years later. Careful planting of shrubs screened the track within a few years of its opening and also helped absorb the noise of cable rollers.

The Lady of the Manor of Lynton Mrs Ada Medland Jeune opened the railway on the afternoon of Whit Monday 7th April 1890, and the ceremony was followed by a luncheon at the Valley of Rocks Hotel.

At the time of opening it was claimed that the railway was the steepest in the world. It had been completed at a total cost of £8,500 and was an immediate success. With easy access between the resorts trade improved for local businesses and encouraged the development of both resorts. Many of the properties seen in Lynton & Lynmouth today were built in the early 1890s, soon after the railway opened.

A guidebook of 1899 mentions that the carriages ran ...every weekday between 7.0 am and 8.30 pm (July, August, September to 9.30 pm). On Sundays, they run at various intervals to suit church and chapelgoers.

Rising 490-ft (151m), the railway has a gradient of 29.11° (just under 1:1¾) and a track length of 862-ft (265m) making it the longest cliff railway in Britain. Each carriage rides on a rail gauge of 3 ft 9 inches (1.15m) that is narrow for a cliff railway but was chosen to keep the cutting unobtrusive. The tracks are only 8” (203 mm) apart for the same reason but they widen midway to allow the carriages to pass.

The railway works on a water balance principle. With both carriages docked at each station, the driver of the top car fills the 700-gallon water tank mounted below his carriage. When a signal confirms that both carriages are ready to move, each driver releases the safety-locking device and turns a weighted hand wheel that frees the brakes. The brakes are automatically applied if the wheel is released and are an early example of the ‘dead man’s handle’.

The driver of the lower carriage discharges water from his tank, which makes the top carriage heavier and it descends to Lynmouth while hauling the lighter carriage upwards. If the speed increases while descending, a governor driven by the bogie wheels automatically operate a set of brakes that act on the top of the rails. By lifting the carriage ⅛’’ (2 mm) off the rails, maximum braking effect is realised by utilising its full weight. In an emergency, the carriages will stop within 6” (15.2 cm).

The south carriage stationed at Lynmouth in 1891 with the signal bell above. A safety rail to protect passengers has yet to be fitted on the carriage platform. Note the single hauling rope.

The discharged water drains under the Esplanade into the sea making the railway 100% environmentally friendly. No fossil fuel is used in any part of its operation. Water is supplied to the railway by gravity from the West Lyn River at Lynbridge 1½ miles away, giving a head of only 2 ft (.62 m). It flows underground through a square cast iron 6-inch (150 mm) pipe to a reservoir sited below Lea Lane that leads from Lynton to the railway. An additional water tank at the side of the lane increases the storage capacity to 250,00 gallons.

An 1899 Act of Parliament gives the Lynton & Lynmouth Lift Company perpetual rights to extract a maximum 60,000 gallons of water a day from the river. The cliff railway is the only one in the world that is supplied from a natural water supply and it has never stopped working because of a water shortage. Each of the two-⅞ inch (22 mm) steel ropes connecting the cars has a breaking strain of 27 tons. Tail ropes balance the weight of the hauling ropes and steady the carriages during travel. Depending on load, the weight of each car can be up to 10 tons but the track gradient helps affirm a safe maximum strain of just over 5 tons on the ropes. An 1888 Act of Parliament allowed a maximum fare of 6d (3p) but the fares of 3d (1½ p) up and 2d (1p) down that was charged at the railway’s inception continued for more than 60 years.

Both cars were built locally by carpenters employed by Jones Bros. and were originally painted deep red. A unique feature was the fitment of small wheels on the carriages that ran on ‘L’ section rails allowing them to be pushed off onto sunken rails set in the station platforms. Removal of the cars enabled large goods to be carried on the decking. The first commodities to be transported on the carriages were bags of mortar that were used during the railway’s construction. To facilitate removal of the cars, which happened frequently in the early days, no safety handrails were fitted, which made travelling on the platform precarious for passengers.

In the early 20th century, motor vehicles had great difficulty negotiating the 1:4 Lynmouth Hill. Wealthy motorists were grateful to let the railway convey their vehicles to Lynton for 7/6d (37½p), a princely sum in those days. Large motorcars cost 10/6d (52½p). This service died out in the 1930s when the development of motorcars enabled them to climb or descend the steep hill with comparative ease. Motorists were grateful again in March 1970 when the service was temporarily reintroduced for a week due to road works stopping traffic on Lynmouth Hill.

SS Carare sinking after hitting a magnetic mine off Foreland Point in May 1940. The bridge that was salvaged for use on the railway is seen at the centre of the vessel.

For some years, an intermediate station was sited at North Walk. It was built for the convenience of Sir Thomas Hewitt who lived nearby (the house survives today). The station that was served by the north carriage also gave the public an access to the Valley of Rocks. When the railway cutting was excavated the owner of the adjacent North Cliff Hotel was granted a lifetime free passage on the railway as part recompense for the removal of the corner of his hotel. He regularly used this station to walk with his dog on Lynmouth beach. After he died, his dog continued to wait alone on the station at the same time each day. Friendly drivers stopped the carriage to allow the animal to board and continue his daily walk alone on the foreshore. After Hewitt’s death in 1923, the service was withdrawn allowing passengers an uninterrupted journey. The small platform can still be seen next to the top bridge on the seaward side of the track.

On 28th May 1940, the 6,878-ton SS Carare that was sailing in a convoy from Bristol to Kingston, Jamaica sank near Lynmouth after striking a German magnetic mine off Foreland Point. Ten people drowned from the crew of 97 and 29 passengers. The wooden bridge was salvaged by the cliff railway company and purchased from the Receiver of Wrecks for use as decking on the north car. The ship lies at a depth of 87 ft (27m) one mile off Foreland Point and is used today as a dive site by members of Ilfracombe Diving Club. Throughout both World Wars, the railway served the communities with a limited service as few visitors came to the resorts during the hostilities. Anticipating an increase of post-war visitors, the company rebuilt both cars in 1947 with an extended stepped rear deck, which increased maximum passenger capacity from 20 to 40.

With the carriage removed, a Vauxhall motorcar that had been marooned after the flood is brought up to Lynton on the railway.

During the aftermath of the 1952 Lynmouth Flood Disaster, the railway that had been unaffected by the flood proved invaluable for transporting supplies and equipment to the stranded village. Six motorcars that were trapped on the Esplanade after the harbour road had been destroyed were also brought up to Lynton. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh travelled to Lynton on the railway during his visit to the devastated resort in October that year. He repeated the journey when he returned to Lynmouth fifty years later on 30th November 2002.

The original 700-gallon water tanks carried under the carriages were replaced in 1954-5 with a welded design. Due to its inspiring height, it is understandable that some people are hesitant to travel on this impressive railway. They can be reassured with the knowledge that the railway has never had an accident, which has incurred personal injury although a straying dog once survived minus his tail when a carriage wheel passed over it. Some of the working Victorian structures that survive in Britain today cater for more people than was ever anticipated when they were built.

The Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway is no exception to these remarkable constructions that reflect the foresight, pride, and craftsmanship of their creators in that golden age. When opened in 1890 the railway ran all year (other than for essential maintenance) and it was envisaged that 6,000 passengers would be carried annually. Now into the second century of operation, the railway has become the most popular working attraction in the West Country with over 350,000 people carried each year. With the continued dedication of those who maintain, and the many people who travel on this extraordinary railway, we can but hope that its future will long outlive its past.

This is an Excerpt form A Notable History by kind permission of Tim Prosser who has many more interesting and informative publications for sale in the local shops and TIC
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder These rights are waived if used by schools, colleges, and educational establishments.
© Tim Prosser

Back - Top