ENGINEERING

Central Tramway Scarborough is a funicular railway. The track is 247.6 feet in length with a 4ft 8.5in, or standard railway gauge track. The vertical height of the railway is 81 feet which means it has a gradient of 1 in 2.4.

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The cliff railway works on a simple counter balance principle which means it is very energy efficient, using gravity to assist much of the movement. As one carriage ascends up the track, the other carriage descends. The two carriages are connected by four  hauling cables. These cables are special high strength compacted cables, each capable of taking 32 tons of weight. 

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The system is driven by a 60 horse power electric motor, which drives a David Brown 17 inch gear box, this drives the large sheave wheel or pulley (see the video at the bottom of this page). 

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The driver sits in the booth at the top station and manages the new PLC control system installed in January 2020.

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Click the link below to download a longer pdf about the engineering and mechanics of the Tramway.