Broadstairs Cliff Railway
History of the funicular lift:
Built in 1910 by Messrs R Waygood and Co (who also built the famous Leas Cliff Lift in Folkestone, the Lido railway in Margate, 3 vertical lifts in Ramsgate and the Walpole Bay Hotel lift), Broadstairs' cliff railway is a rare surviving example of a fully enclosed electric funicular system that counterbalanced a concrete weight travelling in a separate brick lined shaft, parallel to the track.
The single enclosed car that could carry 12 people, ran along a 1600mm gauge/37 metre track at 45 degrees.
From the 1960s right up to closure in 1990, numerous teddy bears and Disney characters were placed within the track inside the main shaft which could be seen as you descended/ascended. This was perhaps to distract young children from the scary dark shaft!
The last operator before the lift closed for good in 1991 was a lovely gentleman called Ken Kneeshaw who fought hard to keep the lift operational until he no longer had the resources.
Following self financed mechanical restoration by Waygood's successor - the Otis Elevator Company, a storm in 1991 sadly destroyed the promenade station's ancient roof allowing water into the electrical equipment, damaging it beyond repair.
Further funding to then restore the lift was never secured, with listing status denied and heritage grants refused, the land in which the promenade station / shaft resided fell into numerous legal disputes.
Thus a new vertical shaft lift named 'Millennium Lift' on the other end of the promenade was constructed in 1999 at the cost of £250,000.
The funicular lift is now officially over 100 years old.
The promenade station was ultimately removed by Osteria Posillipo Pizzeria in 2003/2004 for expansion, including erection of a new veranda over the shaft.
The lower station building has rapidly deteriorated in the last decade, making the structure an eyesore without a watertight roof and a target for vandals, adjacent to the slanting shelter and derelict late 1800s former toilet block.
The old shaft is also currently housing pigeons, due to inappropriate protection of the lower station.
