Issued on behalf of Lynmouth & Lynton Lift Company

October 2014

Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway Receives Prestigious Award

from the IMechE

Andrew Ireland, Director of the Lynmouth & Lynton Lift Company was honoured to receive an Engineering Heritage Award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), in recognition of how this pioneering railway, which climbs 500ft up a sheer cliff face, was the first of its kind and is now the oldest water-balance system funicular railway in the UK.

The Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway, in North Devon, will now stand alongside previous Award winners such as the E-Type Jaguar, Tower Bridge and Concorde 101 as an example of exceptional British engineering.

Sixty guests were in attendance for this very special occasion at the Cliff Railway Pavilion, many of whom were IMechE members who travelled down from Bristol and across the South West to be there. The Mayor of Lynton & Lynmouth, Mr Tony Meakin, Councillor Andrea Davis, and President of the Barnstaple & District Chamber of Commerce, Caroline Bramwell, were all in attendance.

The Award was presented by John Wood, Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' Heritage Committee.

Said John Wood, "The Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway is a fine example of UK engineering. The Victorians were true engineering pioneers and this railway brilliantly illustrates some of the ingenious ways they tackled previously insurmountable problems.

"The Awards celebrate engineering achievements past and present and it has been hugely encouraging to see an upsurge in popularity of the Awards over the last few years. We now have a good cross section of artefacts from the Victorian Era and one thing that delights me about them is the way they illustrate the amazing vision and determination of our Victorian engineering forebears."

"I would like to recognise the efforts of all the people who maintain, run and promote what is now a wonderful tourist attraction for Lynton and Lynmouth. It is all the time and effort people put in to maintaining and preserving this fantastic piece of engineering which allows us today, and future generations, to enjoy the innovative and ambitious work of our engineering predecessors. I am therefore very happy to welcome the Lynton & Lynmouth Cliff Railway as our 98^th member of the Engineering Heritage family."

Said Andrew Ireland, in response, "Thank you, on behalf of the Lynmouth & Lynton Lift Company, its directors and staff. We are delighted to receive this Award. I think it is impressive that an organisation like the Institution of Mechanical Engineers should include within its many and varied operations, what is clearly a very strong heritage sector.

"Heritage is so important; it doesn't matter whether it is preserving a steam locomotive, a former cotton mill, or the winding houses and gear of Cornish tin mines. Engineering is more than part of the nation's history, it IS the nation's history. Importantly, this Award recognises extraordinary men and women, whose drive and ingenuity pushed Britain forward over the last 200 years as one of the world's greatest engineering nations. It is to the Institution's great credit that this system of Awards was created to commemorate industrial design and invention and the people who made it happen.

"I must also accept this Award on behalf of Bob Jones, our first Chief Engineer in the 1880's, whose vision it was to link Lynton and Lynmouth with a cliff railway and who persuaded Sir George Newnes to put up the capital for its construction. Also, not least, this Award honours George Croyden Marks, the brilliant young engineer who drafted the design for our installation. The genius of his design means that very little has needed changing since the railway began service in April 1890."

John Ireland, Chairman of the Lynmouth & Lynton Lift Company, welcomed the IMechE members and was thrilled to have them travelling down for this event. He commented that any organisation with George Stephenson as its founder, and with Presidents such as William George Armstrong, Sir John Aspinall and Oliver Bulleid, was unique and he was delighted that the Institution had never lost its roots.

The plaque presented to the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway will have pride of place at the entrance to the railway for all to see.

- Ends -

Further editorial enquiries:

Caroline Bramwell

The Olden Group

21 High Street

Barnstaple

Devon EX31 1BG

t. 01271 375393

e. caroline@theoldengroup.com