What's new on restored Victorian beach cliff lift?

15 hours ago

Pamela TickellNorth East and Cumbria

News image — The Saltburn Cliff Tramway carriages were rebuilt

Getty Images A crane is lowering a red and white carriage onto the tracks which descend down the grassy cliff. There are three red and white buildings at the bottom of the cliff, with people dotted around out front. — The Saltburn Cliff Tramway carriages were rebuilt

An engineer behind the restoration of a historic beach cliff lift said he has kept as true to the originals as possible - although the windows are now slightly longer to improve the view.

David McKay, 74, of Rapid Consulting Engineers came out of retirement to work on the Grade II-listed Saltburn Cliff Tramway, which is currently out of action for refurbishment.

He led a project to rebuild the two iconic red carriages and upgrade their electronics, after the pair reached the end of their operational life following decades of coastal exposure.

McKay said he had always loved the lift but now knew "every last nut, bolt, washer, and wire".

The tramway is the oldest water-balanced funicular railway still operating in Britain, having first opened in 1884.

Millions of journeys have been made taking visitors between the town at the top of the cliff and pier and beach at the bottom.

It closed in January and the new carriages were seen being lowered back on to the tracks on 21 July, ahead of its expected reopening later this month.

Getty Images A black and white image of Jack Brownless, maintenance manager of C. Horne & Co LTD testing the Saltburn Cliff Railway. He is standing in the open door of the carriage as it rides along the track on the cliffside. There are three small buildings at the base and a pier behind that. There is another carriage on the parallel track. — The tramway, pictured in1970, takes people between the town and pier

"When you sat inside it before, you couldn't see outside properly," McKay said.

"So we've lengthened the windows by about 100mm so when you're sat on the seats, you can actually see outside."

The project manager and engineer said: "Everything else on it, exterior-wise and internal, you can't tell any difference.

"We've kept them as they were."

The team replaced the rotting softwood with a new hardwood interior mounted on a galvanised steel frame.

Two of the restored stained-glass windows were placed between toughened glass, with the remaining panels due to be installed at a later date.

A new hydraulic braking system was installed and the tanks were enlarged to hold more water, which should increase the number of passengers the carriages can carry.

McKay placed the batteries and control panels on bespoke locking sliding trays, after engineers previously had to lift the floorboards and dangle their legs to reach the systems.

He also installed a special socket for Christmas lights to be plugged into.

"Now that it's completed, I'm over the moon with it and you won't find a happier chappy," McKay said.

David McKay The interior of the wooden carriage. It has an arched roof and long in-built wooden benches on either side. On the far end, there is a red and white door and there are window panels all the way around. — The interior was remade using hardwood

McKay had been retired for four months when he got the call to lead the local council's maintenance contract for the tramway in 2017.

"I've always loved Victorian machinery," he said.

"So I thought, yeah, this is another good one that I can look at and see how it works."

Originally from Warrington, he was visiting his sister on Teesside in his younger years when he met his now-wife, settling down in the area some 45 years ago.

"I'm well past my retirement age, why do I do it?" he said.

"It's certainly not for money, it's definitely for the love of the job and it keeps me going."

Supplied A composite image showing the stained-glass windows in place the the tram carriage on the left and a single panel on a piece of paper surrounded by tools on the right. The design features blue zigzags and yellow swirls around text which reads: "Saltburn". — The old stained-glass windows were removed and restored...

David McKay The exterior of one of the new carriages. Of the six windows on the nearside, two of them are stained-glass featuring a blue, green and orange design. The panels on the bottom half of the carriage are painted red. The top half is cream and red with a black roof above it. — ... with the rest of the stained-glass panels to be installed at a later date

Following months of design work, the carriages were removed in January and transported to a unit in Lincoln to be rebuilt.

McKay said they could not be constructed in advance because the frame where the wheels are - the bogies - were bespoke and needed to be measured accurately to ensure they would fit back together.

He said there were even differences between the left one as you look up from the bottom station, called Saltburn as it is closest to the town, and the one on the right, called Marske as it sits closer to the coastal village.

"We've actually made them now so they are a mirror image of eachother," McKay said.

David McKay The two carriages placed diagonally from one another in the warehouse. The wood making up the frame is still light brown and the roof is dark. The windows all around the structure are bare. There is construction equipment surrounding them. — Both carriages were rebuilt at a site in Lincoln

He said it had been a largely "straightforward, lovely build".

However, there was a "little bit of jiggly pokery" getting the nylon hoist off the carriages as they were lowered on to the track last month, as they had been placed too close to the timbers they landed on.

Redcar and Cleveland Council A red and white carriage with grey curved roof is hoisted into position in front of the sea and pier. — The carriages were replaced last month

McKay said: "I'm very proud of what we've done, what we've achieved."

They are currently touching up the timber trims inside, connecting the electronics and working on driver training.

Redcar and Cleveland Council did not confirm the restart date but said the "reopening of one of the region's most recognisable heritage attractions is now within touching distance".

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