A Steep Railway.

Evening Star, Issue 8267, 12 July 1890, Page 1 (Supplement)

A Steep Railway.

A transport apparatus, consisting of a lailrcay very steeply inclined, and worked by water, after the fnshion of the railway between Territet and Glien, iu Switzerland, was opened for traffic recently between Lynton and Lynmouth. Lynmouth andLynton have hitherto been separated by a clili nearly 500 ft high, and connected oniy by a road so 3teep as to be almost impracticable for ordinary vehicleE and horses. But by the construction of this line, which, short aa it is, has been attended by a good deal of difficulty, deep cuttings having to be made into the solid rock and several streams of water being encountered which had to be controlled, a great public convenience has been supplied. Tho railway is 900 ft in length, and has a vertical height of 450 ft, with a uniform incline of 1 in-Jv, the steepest gradient of any railway in the world. Two lines of rails are laid sicio by side, the bed for the rails being cut out of the solid rock, to which the sleepers are bolted. The motive power of the lift is water, acting by gravitation. The water is conveyed in 4in pipes from the West Ly n, a mile distant, and stored in a reservoir a few feet from the head of the lift. When an ascent is about to be made, a tank attached to the car which is uppermost is filled, and is thus given sufficient weight to drag the other car from the beach to the top. The two cars cross each other in the centre. There are two or three devices for stopping the cars and averting casualties in case of any accidental displacement. The trip from the top to the bottom occupies only about a minute and a half. The travelling is steady, and is unattended by any sense of danger. The view from the line, as also from Lynton, is magnificent, extending east and west along the coast of Devonshire, and across the Bristol Channel to the shores of Wales. The line is the property of Mr Newnes, M.P., and Mr Tom and Mr Bob Jones. The total cost is not yet exactly known, but LG.OOO has already been expended.