The historic Saltburn Cliff Tramway has received major damage in a fire, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault. The funicular is the oldest operating water balance cliff line in the UK and dates from 1884.
The fire broke out in the station building on Monday 15th January 2024 with the fire service called to the scene. Three fire engines attended the blaze and whilst it was brought under control significant damage had already been caused to the historic attraction.
Cllr Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said: “We would like to thank Cleveland Fire Brigade for putting out the fire at Saltburn Cliff Tramway yesterday. The attraction is very close to the hearts of many, and the efforts of the firefighters were greatly appreciated. The cause of the fire is believed to be from an electrical issue, though further investigations into how this happened will continue. The attraction was already closed due to winter maintenance and thankfully no one was hurt from the incident. Unfortunately, the damage to the station has been quite extensive. At this stage, it’s too early to say whether this will affect the opening date, which was expected for Easter, but we will keep the public notified of developments.”
The tramway links Saltburn Town Centre with the seafront and is 63 metres long with a 71% incline. It operates two 12 person capacity cars on the parallel lines which make up the tramway. Closed during the pandemic, services didn’t actually resume until June 2022 with the Council taking the chance to undertake maintenance and then there was a further delay due to an issue with the safety system. It had last run on 9th January 2024 when it was closed for annual maintenance and was due to resume running at Easter.
The cliff tramway is seen in better times here. (Photograph by Chris Allsop-Buckler, 18th June 2021)