Bridgnorth Cliff Railway - 1892
Castle Hill and Railway
Client:
The Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway Company Ltd
Looking up the tracks
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. The line links the Low Town of Bridgnorth, adjacent to the River Severn, with the High Town, adjacent to the ruins of Bridgnorth Castle.
Pull Wheel and Track
It claims to be both the steepest and shortest railway in the country, running 201ft at a gradient of 1:18 with a rise of 111ft at an angle of 33 degrees.
Mid-way Crossing
A vital part of the town’s infrastructure the railway operates 362 days a year, making on average approximately 200 trips daily, with each trip taking about one and a quarter minutes.
The view down track
Originally the railway was powered by a simple system using water and gravity. Water was pumped into a 2000 imperial gallon (9000 litre) tank beneath the top car until its weight, a maximum of 11.5 long tons (11.7 metric tonnes), overcame that of the lower car. When the car reached the bottom station the tank was emptied and pumped up to a 30,000 imperial gallon (136,000 litre) tank on the top of the upper station. This has since been changed to a electrical, manually driven system, operated from the upper station.