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214:. Construction of the line started in March 1891. The 28-foot (8.5 m) wide tunnel was bored through the limestone cliffs using both machine-drills and hand-drills and then lined with bricks. It took two years to construct and cost £30,000 (equivalent to £4,200,000 in 2023) – three times its original estimate. Propulsion was by the
315:
The system operated by gravity. At the upper station, water was fed from a reservoir into the tank underneath the car. The extra weight of this water was enough to pull a loaded car up from the lower station. When the car with its water ballast reached the lower station, the water was discharged into
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A voluntary group, which in 2008 became a charitable trust, aims to preserve and restore the railway and wartime structures. It is not feasible or desirable to get the railway to run again due to the war-time structures sitting on the railway lines. The cost of complete restoration is estimated at
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of about 1 in 2.2 (45%). There were four cars in two connected pairs, essentially forming two parallel funicular railways, one being for exclusively first class passengers; the journey took just 40 seconds. The gauge of the tracks has reported as being between
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method, in which the cars of each pair were connected by a cable running around a pulley at the upper station; a large tank on each car was filled with water at the top and the extra weight provided the motive power.
802:
127:
The Avon Gorge. The
Clifton Rocks Railway ran from a lower station just beyond the furthest buildings at river level, through a tunnel to an upper station at bridge level.
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229:, for £1,500 (equivalent to £188,000 in 2023). In 1922 Hotwell Road was enlarged as a fast road called Portway, eliminating the tram to Bristol and the
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another reservoir, from where it was pumped back up to the upper reservoir to restart the cycle. The pumps were originally powered by a pair of
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near the bottom of the Cliff
Railway. The changes caused passenger numbers to drop sharply, and the last train ran on 29 September 1934.
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After this strong start, passenger numbers steadily declined until 1908, when the company was declared bankrupt. In 1912 it was sold to
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The railway opened on 11 March 1893 and carried 6,220 passengers on the opening day, and 427,492 in the first year of operation.
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and is located adjacent to the former Grand Spa Hotel (now the Avon Gorge Hotel). The lower station was opposite the
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The ups and downs of
Clifton Rocks Railway and the Clifton Spa. The Definitive History
30:
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The railway was 450 feet (137 m) long, and rose 200 feet (61 m) at a
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for local residents. The BBC continued to use parts of the tunnel until 1960.
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In 2019 a proposal to turn the top section into a museum was announced.
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blast walls were installed in the tunnel, which was used as offices by
369:
Easdown, Martin (2018). "Bristol
Clifton Rocks Railway 1893—1934".
403:. The Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain). p. 318.
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and the
Rownham ferry enabling connections across the river Avon.
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122:
251:, who also constructed seven emergency studios there, and as an
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703:"Museum plan for Bristol's Clifton Rocks Railway revealed"
609:
Bristol
Naturalists' Society (Bristol, England) (1894).
440:, Office for Advertisements and Publication, p. 332
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Construction of the railway was funded by the publisher
16:
Former (1893–1934) funicular railway in
Bristol, England
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Diagram showing the design of the
Clifton Rocks Railway
583:
Daly, Gerald (30 March 2017). Beckwith, Roger (ed.).
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40:
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210:, and as at Lynton and Lynmouth the engineer was
626:John Robert Day; Brian Geoffrey Wilson (1957).
612:Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Society
155:in a tunnel cut through the limestone cliffs.
683:. Clifton Rocks Railway special interest group
646:. Clifton Rocks Railway special interest group
456:Inside Bristol: Twenty Years of Open Doors Day
542:. Series 1. Episode 3. 19 May 2020. Yesterday
302:) with two other sources giving the gauge as
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803:Subterranean railways in the United Kingdom
589:Old Radio Broadcast Equipment and Memories
364:
362:
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828:Railway companies disestablished in 1934
793:Funicular railways in the United Kingdom
449:
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373:. Amberley Publishing. pp. 19–21.
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509:. London: Profile Books. p. 213.
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371:Cliff Railways, Lifts and Funiculars
843:3 ft 2 in gauge railways in England
737:Clifton Rocks Railway refurbishment
539:The Architecture the Railways Built
458:. Redcliffe Press. pp. 36–37.
35:Clifton Rocks Railway lower station
681:"Clifton Rocks Railway – About Us"
585:"The Clifton Rocks Railway Tunnel"
14:
562:"Clifton Rocks Railway – History"
208:Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway
853:Water-powered funicular railways
29:
397:Marks, George Croydon (1894).
158:The upper station is close to
1:
833:Works by George Croydon Marks
727:Clifton Rocks Railway website
644:"Clifton Rocks Railway – FAQ"
320:at the bottom of the tunnel.
231:Bristol Port and Pier Railway
180:Bristol Port Railway and Pier
139:in Bristol, England, linking
823:Railway lines opened in 1893
247:, as a relay station by the
615:. The Society. p. 116.
507:The BBC, A People's History
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838:Defunct funicular railways
485:, Routledge, p. 186,
346:List of funicular railways
813:Rail transport in Bristol
665:Shapland, Maggie (2017).
479:Klapper, Charles (1984),
206:, also proprietor of the
164:Clifton Suspension Bridge
28:
742:World War II BBC Studios
564:. Subterranea Britannica
305:3 ft 2 in
234:Hotwells railway station
176:Hotwells railway station
110:1 October 1934
798:Subterranean funiculars
482:The Golden Age of Buses
434:Design Council (1893),
95:11 March 1893
769:51.454000°N 2.625472°W
454:Mellor, Penny (2013).
437:Engineering, Volume 55
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732:Clifton Rocks Railway
505:Hendy, David (2022).
197:
151:at the bottom of the
133:Clifton Rocks Railway
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82:Underground funicular
24:Clifton Rocks Railway
774:51.454000; -2.625472
212:George Croydon Marks
818:Bristol Harbourside
765: /
312:) and 3 ft 2.5 in.
135:was an underground
808:History of Bristol
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333:15 million.
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848:Clifton, Bristol
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760:2°37′31.7″W
746:Points West
534:"Episode 3"
417:|work=
310:965 mm
276:914 mm
239:During the
52:, Bristol (
787:Categories
352:References
259:Operations
153:Avon Gorge
114:1934-10-01
99:1893-03-11
632:. Muller.
594:2 January
546:16 August
419:ignored (
409:cite book
271:3 ft
137:funicular
340:See also
295: in
265:gradient
170:landing
160:Brunel's
145:Hotwells
66:Stations
58:ST565730
50:Hotwells
41:Overview
329:around
290:⁄
190:History
178:of the
172:ferries
162:famous
141:Clifton
112: (
97: (
87:History
74:Service
687:3 June
650:3 June
568:3 June
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278:) and
107:Closed
92:Opened
46:Locale
709:1 May
705:. BBC
711:2019
689:2007
652:2007
596:2023
570:2007
548:2020
511:ISBN
487:ISBN
460:ISBN
421:help
375:ISBN
245:BOAC
147:and
131:The
79:Type
249:BBC
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
