Southend’s unique and historic Cliff Lift has been commemorated by the National Transport Trust’s Red Wheel scheme.
The scheme recognises and commemorates the most significant sites of historical importance to transport heritage in the United Kingdom and the Cliff Lift has been recognised for having a unique single car counter-balanced by a weight running directly beneath the main track.
A formal unveiling of the Red Wheel will take place on Tuesday 25 July by Lady Judy McAlpine, the president of the National Transport Trust, alongside the Lord Lieutenant of Essex and the Mayor of Southend-on-Sea.
Cllr Derek Jarvis, cabinet member for arts, culture, heritage and leisure, said: “This is a great honour for our unique Cliff Lift to be nationally recognised in this way. The lift, which turns 111 this year, has proved to be incredibly popular with our residents and visitors, especially after we dropped the 50p fee. Donations are very much welcome.
“A staggering 5,000 people rode the Cliff Lift in May and none of this would be possible without our fantastic volunteers who are trained to operate the lift. When we don’t have volunteers available, it can’t be opened and people are naturally disappointed, so I would encourage anyone interested in volunteering to get in touch.”
Nigel Gayner BEM JP, a volunteer at the Cliff Lift, added: “I am delighted for all of the volunteers who give up their time to keep this wonderful Southend attraction in operation. Since our trained volunteers took over the full-time running of the lift, we have seen thousands of people enjoy trips up and down the track and I very much look forward to the official unveiling in July - this will be a proud moment for us all.
“We are looking to recruit more volunteers to ensure we continue to keep the historic cliff lift operational all year round and anyone interested can pop along to the Cliff Lift and meet either myself or a colleague and we will gladly help you with the process of becoming a volunteer.”
The Cliff Lift is located between Clifton Terrace and Western Esplanade and is open from 10.30am until 3pm daily, but this is dependent on volunteer availability. If you are interested in volunteering, then pop along during these times and a Cliff Lift operator will be able to help you.
For more information about the Red Wheel scheme, visit the National Transport Trust website.
Images are available on our Flickr page.