Great Orme Tramway
| Great Orme Tramway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Funicular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Llandudno, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°19′56″N 3°51′16″W / 53.3321°N 3.8544°WCoordinates: 53°19′56″N 3°51′16″W / 53.3321°N 3.8544°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations | 3 open + 3 disused | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1902 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Conwy County Borough Council | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depot(s) | Halfway Station depot | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of tracks | Single track with passing loop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating speed | 5mph running speed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Great Orme Tramway (Welsh: Tramffordd y Gogarth) is a cable-hauled 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge tramway in Llandudno in north Wales. Open seasonally from late March to late October each year, it takes passengers from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme headland. From 1932 onwards it was known as the Great Orme Railway, reverting to its original name in 1977.
This is Great Britain's only remaining cable-operated street tramway, and one of only a few surviving in the world, and it is owned by Conwy County Borough Council. The line comprises two sections, where each section is an independent funicular and passengers change cars at the halfway station. Whilst the upper section runs on its own right of way and is very similar to many other funicular lines, the lower section is an unusual street-running funicular.
Whilst the street running section resembles the better-known San Francisco cable cars, its operation is quite different in that it adheres to the funicular principle where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable, unlike San Francisco where cars attach to, and detach from, a continuously running cable. As such, this section's closest relatives are Lisbon’s Glória, Bica, and Lavra street funiculars.
Authority to build the tramway was granted by the Great Orme Tramways Act of 1898, and construction started in 1901. The tramway was opened in its two stages: the lower section on 31 July 1902 and the upper on 8 July 1903. The original power house, at the Halfway station between the lower and upper sections, was equipped with winding gear powered by steam from coke-fired boilers. Communication between the power house and the tram cars was provided by a telegraph system, operating over an overhead wire and trolley poles on the cars.
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Wikipedia