The Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway, or Southbourne Cliff Railway, is the worlds shortest public funicular railway[1] located in Southbourne (a seaside suburb of the Englishseaside resort of Bournemouth). The line serves to link the seaside promenade and beach, with the cliff top and the town behind.[2]
Opened in 1935 by Bournemouth Corporation, Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway is the most recent of the town's three lines. Traction was originally provided by a 21 horsepower (16 kW) electric motor, although this was replaced in the 1960s.[2] The passenger cabs were replaced with newer versions in April 2012.[4] Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway is credited as the shortest funicular in the world by the 2015 Guinness Book of Records.[5]
Nearby funiculars
There are two other cliff railways in Bournemouth, the West Cliff Railway and the East Cliff Railway (closed since 2016). All three operate between April and October.[2]
Use as an arts venue
On Sunday 6 May 2018, Bournemouth-based sound and performance artists Language, Timothy! performed a site-specific theatre performance called 'Sound Journeys: The Longest Second' across both passenger cars of the Fisherman's Walk Cliff railway. The piece - two, one-minute vignettes created especially for the Southbourne railway - was a commission for Bournemouth Emerging Arts Fringe (BEAF) Festival 2018. Over 500 passengers saw one or both halves of the piece which ran for four hours during usual cliff lift operating hours.
