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THE
LLANDUDNO
GREAT ORME TRAMWAY
OPENED 1902-03
This is Great Britain's only remaining cable operated street tramway and one of only three surviving in the world. Operation of the tramway differs from the famous and unique San Francisco system in that, like the Lisbon lines, it is a street funicular, where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable.
Car No. 5 was photographed about to leave the Victoria Tram Station in July 2002.
The journey takes it along the Old Road past the Kings Head Inn.
Cars can be identified by their names, in this case ‘St. Silio’,
centrally placed above the unglazed window openings.
Financial difficulties in the
1930’s resulted in the tramway being sold in 1935 to a new company
Great Orme Railway Limited. The tramway remained in private hands until
1949 when Llandudno Urban District Council bought it under its powers
to compulsorily purchase the undertaking at seven yearly intervals. In
1974 Aberconwy Borough Council took over the line until 1996 when
ownership passed to Conwy County Council.
Prior to
the introduction of radio control in the 1990’s, the trolley poles were
used to maintain a telegraph link with the control unit at the halfway
winding house, which was powered by steam until conversion to
electrical operation in the 1950’s. The winding house contains two sets
of cable winding gear. The upper section needs a seven-eighths inch
diameter cable and
is run by a
75hp English Electric motor. The
lower section uses a 1¼ inch cable and a 125 hp electric motor.
Car No. 4 climbing the narrow and very steep Old Road.
As
part of a major restoration
and modernisation programme Doppelmayr Tramways of
Switzerland in conjunction with Briton Engineering installed in 2001 a
remote control and remote supervision system incorporating a trackside inductive
loop. Current reconstruction work is costing more than
£4,000,000. This includes
the recent construction of a new winding house and new halfway station
building (see the next page), the installation in 2001 of the modern
control gear, and
complete
lower section track renewal planned and undertaken during the winters of
2002-3, 2003-4 & 2004/5.
Last updated June 2009 - Photographs © 2002 by Noel Walley
Car No. 4 climbing the narrow and very steep Old Road.
Car No. 5 ascending the bottom
half of the first section, the very narrow Old Road (closed to through
traffic but used by road vehicles for access to properties) and
approaching the five-way junction at Black Gate on Ty Gwyn Road. The
public bus service to Tyn y Coed crosses the line at
this point. The cut line in the concrete down the outer sides of the
tramway rails is the buried induction control cable installed in 2001.
Since this picture was taken the entire lower section of the tramway
has been completely relaid with new rail embedded in concrete.
Last updated June 2009 - Photographs © 2002 by Noel Walley
HISTORY
-
for
an outline of the history of the tramway
and its equipment
throughout the years.
TRAMWAY LINKS - for details of other tramway websites.
TRAMWAY LINKS - for details of other tramway websites.
|
www.greatorme.org.uk This independent web site is compiled and published by Noel Walley. He is the copyright owner and webmaster to whom all requests for permission to publish photographs should be made. Email: Webmaster |
Llandudno Great Orme Tramway Enquiries All requests for information regarding the tramway operation and operating dates, together with its timetable and fares should be made direct to the tramway at Victoria Station, Church Walks, Llandudno LL30 2NB Tel: 01492 879306 Email: tramwayenquiries@conwy.gov.uk Visit the Tramway Official Website |