In 1890 a public meeting was called to discuss a new means of communication between the High Town and Low Town of Bridgnorth, avoiding the need to scale the 200 or so steps. The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway or Castle Hill Railway is a funicular cliff railway in Bridgnorth. Bridgnorth was once one of the busiest river ports in Europe, but nowadays, the Severn, clear and unpolluted, is a quiet haven for anglers, walkers and wildlife. Who is your father’s sports idol?. The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, also known as the Bridgnorth Funicular Railway or Castle Hill Railway, is a funicular railway in the town of Bridgnorth in the English county of Shropshire.

PIECE OF HISTORY this photographs was stored for decades and used in a newspaper press archive. In addition, a safety rope connects the 2 cars via the original head wheel. Welcome to Bridgnorth Cliff Railway England’s Oldest and Steepest Inland Electric Funicular Railway! See News Page For over a century Bridgnorth Cliff Railway has been transporting the people of Bridgnorth up and down the 111 ft sandstone cliffs that separate High Town from Low Town, and the River Severn. His brother, Edward, another engineer, became its second managing director from 1901 until 1924.The cliff railway remains a constant in the town of Bridgnorth. A second manually operated brake was the responsibility of the brakeman who rode on the bottom platform of each car.The railway opened on 7th July 1892. Marks and Mr. George Newnes, M.P. At the upper end of the track, the hauling pulley was built on solid concrete foundations, the supporting buttresses of which carried a considerable distance down the track.

Bridgnorth Cliff Railway was purchased by the Tipping family in 2011. The zenith of cliff railway construction was in the 1890s and 1900s.

Flat bottomed rails were used and the entire line was ballasted with concrete to avoid any slippage. When finished, the track measured 201 ft long, with a vertical rise of 111ft. This photograph originates from a press photo archive. The Cliff Railway is open until 8.00 pm on Fri 22nd November for Christmas Lights. Children under 6 years old free. The brake on the cars were made to operate only in the event of a rope failure. The method of power was simple – the tank on the car at the top was filled with water from a 30,000 gallon tank mounted on the roof of the top station. The speed of the cars was regulated by air brakes acting on the haulage drums, and proximity devices which would act to slow the cars as they approached either end of the track. Lane, with electrical gear supplied by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd.

When the tank was full, the total weight of the car was more than 9 tons, easily enough to counterbalance the bottom car with its 18 passengers.As the top car was being filled, the tank on the bottom car was being emptied, and the water pumped directly up to the top station tank by means of a pair of pumps driven by independent Forward Gas Engines.The cars were linked by a pair of steel ropes, the breaking strain of which was calculated to be 15 times the normal working load of the cars. Its current owners and staff are very aware of that and its proud heritage.© 2018 The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway Company Limited. Bridgnorth's historic cliff railway has shut to the public until further notice due to coronavirus. The river divides the town into High Town and Low Town, the two being linked by seven sets of ancient donkey steps and a Victorian funicular, the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway. In addition, further safety improvements included interlocked loading doors at top and bottom, and a dead man’s pedal speed controller. The cars are now powered by an electric winding engine, but were originally driven by a system of water balance, each carriage carrying water ballast in a tank beneath the passenger compartment.Tickets £1.60 return.

The Bridgnorth Cliff Railway or Castle Hill Railway is a funicular cliff railway in Bridgnorth The railway links the High Town and Low Town areas of Bridgnorth. The meeting was reported in the local press, and the matter came to the attention of Mr. George Croydon Marks. The railway links the High Town and Low Town areas of Bridgnorth.

The railway reopened in December 1944, and showed an immediate increase in traffic.