I have spent the afternoon researching the funicular railways of Scarborough. I suppose with the topography of the town, access to an easy way up and down the cliff is going to be needed, but I didn't realise that there had been five systems in total. The first was the South Cliff Lift, which was actually the first funicular in the UK, opening in July 1875 and still surviving today. Of the others one more has survived and the rest closed due to maintenance costs and in one case a series of disasters. The Queens Parade Lift was doomed from its opening day when a cabin broke loose, forcing it to close for months. Every year from then on there was an accident, mechanical failure or once, a landslip. Not surprisingly it closed only nine years after opening.
Comments