Great Orme Tramway

The Great Orme Tramway is a cable-hauled street tramway in Llandudno, north Wales. It runs from Llandudno Victoria Station up the Great Orme headland to just below the summit. The line has two independent funicular sections that meet at Halfway station, where passengers change cars. The lower section runs in or alongside the public road, while the upper section has its own track. It is Great Britain’s only remaining cable-operated street tramway and one of very few in the world. The tramway opened in two stages in 1902 and 1903 after an 1898 Act of Parliament authorised its construction. Originally powered by steam, it switched to electricity in 1958. The passenger cars, still in service, are named after local Welsh saints. In 2001 the entire Halfway station, control room and power plant were rebuilt with funding from the European Union and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The tramway has carried over 200,000 passengers each year. At Victoria Station visitors board the lower cars for the steep climb alongside the road. Halfway station serves as the control centre and engineering depot, where the winchmen operate the cables. From here the upper cars continue to the summit with views across Llandudno and the coast. The original trams still run on both sections, and parts of the depot and control room can be seen through glazed viewing areas.