The reopening of the Saltburn Cliff Tramway has moved a step closer after the specially made carriages to operate the service were delivered to the short line in Saltburn-on-the Sea in the Tees Valley, northeast England.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Running for 207 feet on a 1 in 4 incline, the Saltburn Cliff Tramway opened in 1884 and is the oldest water balanced funicular still operating in Great Britain. It links the town of Saltburn with the pier and has seen a lot of investment in recent years to bring it up to modern safety standards and secure its future for many years to come.<\/p>\n
Cranes lifted the new bespoke carriages onto the tracks earlier this month and it is expected that after final testing and commissioning the line will reopen to the public at some point in the next fortnight.<\/p>\n
The new carriages have been individually handcrafted by specialist Teeside craftsmen after the original carriage bodies reached the end of their operational life. They faithfully recreate the distinctive appearance which has become synonymous with Saltburn but also have several carefully considered improvements that will protect the line for years to come.<\/p>\n
Significant engineering improvements include a new hydraulic braking system, upgraded buffers, improved door mechanisms and enhanced hydraulic equipment. Inside the carriages there are beautiful timber interiors, arched ceilings and larger stained-glass windows. This includes two of the original stained-glass windows which were created by local artist Chloe Buck in 1991.<\/p>\n
Cllr Carrie Richardson, Deputy Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Council and Cabinet Member for Climate and Culture, said: \u201cThis is a day so many people have been looking forward to. Watching the new carriages return to the tracks is special. Saltburn Cliff Tramway isn’t just a way of getting from the town to the seafront, it’s part of the identity of Saltburn and generations of families have memories of riding it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe specialist work that has gone into creating these bespoke carriages is exceptional. Every detail has been carefully considered to honour the tramway’s heritage while ensuring it can continue carrying passengers for many years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re now into the final stretch. There’s still important testing and staff training to complete, but seeing the carriages back where they belong is a huge moment and we can’t wait to welcome passengers back very soon.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The reopening of the Saltburn Cliff Tramway has moved a step closer after the specially made carriages to operate the service were delivered to the short line in Saltburn-on-the Sea in the Tees Valley, northeast England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63883,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63882\/revisions\/63883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=63882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=63882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}