Aberystwyth Cliff Railway. Funicular Railway. Welsh Tourism.

The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway was opened the 1st August 1896 and initially operated by a water balance system until electrification in 1921. It was the longest funicular railway in the UK but lost this title to the Cairngorm Mountain Railway in Scotland in 2001. The Aberystwyth Cliff Railway is now content with the title of longest cliff railway, 778 feet (237 metres), which is certainly a honourable title as seaside resorts and towns of the United Kingdom have many and varied examples of this type of railway.
This design is the work of George Croydon Marks, raised to the peerage as Baron Marks of Woolwich, ( a man well worth looking up ! ), who designed several interesting projects of funicular construction during his distinguished engineering and political career.
The construction of this project included a winding footpath to cross overhead on a series of bridges giving excellent views of the passage of the vehicles and of the surrounding scenery. To achieve this, the railway was placed in a deep cutting where 12,000 tons of rock were excavated - no mean achievement for this size of project at that time!
Once the Victorian tourist had either walked up Constitution Hill or taken the train, like today, they could enjoy refreshments, entertainment and a grand view of the town of Aberystwyth especially when viewed through the Camera Obscura installed at the summit.

http://www.aberystwythcliffrailway.co...

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberyst...