Folkestone, Kent - Cliff Railway Lift funicular railway - postcard c.1905

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  The 'Lifts' - cliff funicular railways
• Publisher:  Upton S Bazaars, Folkestone
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s):  n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition:  small half cm nick in one edge

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Folkestone (pron.: /'fo?kst?n/) (population 45,273) is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its growing importance as a seaside resort all contributed to its growth. Folkestone has the only sandy beach and coastal park within an hour of north London by High Speed Train.

Originally installed in 1885, in Folkestone, Kent, the Grade II Listed Leas Lift is a funicular railway which carries passengers between the seafront and the promenade. It is one of the oldest water lifts in the UK.^[1]

The lift operates using water and gravity and is controlled from a small cabin at the top of the cliff.^[2] It has carried more than 50 million people since it opened,^[3] in a process that is especially energy efficient. The lift has a very small carbon footprint as it emits no pollution and recycles all of the water used to drive the cars.^[4]

In June 2009, Shepway District Council’s lease ran out and it was decided that the lift was too expensive to run.^[1] Campaigners subsequently protested against the closure of the lift and in April 2010, it was announced that the lift was to be restored.^[5][6]

Crofton Design, the consulting engineers responsible for the Leas Lift restoration, was appointed as lead consultant to provide structural engineering design.^[7] Crofton won the ‘Building Structures’ award at the ACE Engineering Excellence Awards in May 2011^[8][9] and won the ‘Restoration’ award at the ICE Engineering Excellence Awards in June 2011 for their work on the lift.^[10] G A Harpers were appointed as the main contractor to carry out the necessary construction work.^[11]

The renovation involved replacing the mechanical and electrical wiring and ensuring that all necessary safety standards in the two cars, the control systems and stations, were met. There was also a focus on restoring the associated power pumps that control the lift at the top and bottom stations.

The wheel bearings on the lift cars were all found to be damaged by corrosion so the wheels were re-machined to provide the correct running profile. Additionally, the corroded steelwork support structures within the buried water storage tanks, which were leaking, were inspected and replaced.^[12]

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=kent

number of items=single

period=pre - 1914

postage condition=unposted