Leas Lift, a water and gravity powered funicular railway in Folkestone

4 views of Leas lift, all on Sunday 27 September 2015: Watching a trip from above, another from the beach, a third riding it up the cliff, and finally a quick look at the mechanism inside the top station.

[@michelp.vanwelkenhuyzen2623]

How amazing ! I haven't seen it for more than 50 years ! I went for my first holidays ever abroad with my parents to Folkestone, and we stayed in an hotel called "Princess Hotel" at the top of the cliff. And it was an every day entertainment for me to take the funicular for going to the beach... Thank you for bringing back to me these long forgotten memories.

[@O2PlantChannel]

Thank you for sharing the amazing creative system.

[@gerryhiles1]

Thanks for the video. I used to love this when I was a kid. A real treat. Back then, 1940-50s, Folkestone was still a seaside holiday resort. Near the bottom of this railway were a swimming pool, funfair and more. What with the Cross Channel ferry and other attractions - I lived on the edge of town in Cheriton near farmland - it was a pleasant place to grow up in. I haven't been back (from Australia) since 1981, partly because most people I knew are dead, but also because of how downhill it had gone, with where I played as a child now given over to the Channel Tunnel entrance.

[@17hmr243]

hope you are joking. they just built and wasted energy to build something that carry's lazy people up few steps

[@PhonyGamer-po8ci]

Gerry Hiles Did they still squeak like that oh my God

[@deekzhitha7383]

Gerry Hiles Lljhll

[@gordontaylor3489]

Never seen one powered by water before. I remember going to Scarborough on holiday when I was 10 years old, there were 3 funicular railways at that time... I think there's only one left now, and still is operational.

[@christopherthompson2167]

Still two operational ones in Scarborough in 2021 and 1 that's now used as a cafe, with both "cars" permanently fixed at the top of the rails.

[@rext8949]

With readily available flowing water this becomes a truly green system ; the power source is the potential energy stored in the water on top .

[@ediecarebear2868]

I remember going on this when i was a child fond memorys.

[@SuperMadpom]

Wow such a short track compared to the Lynton Lynmouth one. Glad I had the chance to enjoy holidays in North Devon as a Kid.

[@pherrishill2570]

Looks like a double decker bus hovering up and down a hill. Brilliant!

[@ReshmaBegum-yu6kk]

0p

[@buynsell365]

I love the design of this........thanks for sharing.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

Ingenious! But what do they do with the water when they get to the bottom?

[@oneloveonecrew1039]

Stairway??

[@PriestmanCub]

I rode in this with friends many years ago. Great view from the car.

[@gordontaylor3489]

How did these work... did the water empty out at the bottom, then be piped back to the top to repeat the process?

[@monno-eq2mj]

How much water they are going to dump?isnt it too much water every 10 minutes?at least?

[@dipayansanyal5687]

Maybe the technology is different, but The Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh is quite similar.

[@Wildstar40]

Such a elegant idea. Smart.

[@Oktolibre]

Are the water dumped downhill utilised for some purpose?

[@patrickbyrne4241]

No waste its recycled

[@Renatodonadio]

Here's how it works: under the cars there there are tanks of water, to make the cars move the driver in the upper post fills the tank of the car while the driver in the lower post dumps the water out of the other car, (not shown) so the upper car becomes heavier and begins the descent, pulling up the other car

[@umamifan]

Now i get it. You just earned a sub!

[@cheryldahl9192]

Wow, thanks for explaining! Very awesome, i never heard of these lift cars before!

[@lmei7831]

Renato Donadi

[@lordeden2732]

Renato Donadio Tell us some thing we don't know?

[@_duker__soul_466]

Renato Donadio

[@benjacobs574]

There are a surprising amount of these in the UK, all in old coastal towns.

[@iansadler4309]

Bridgnorth is scarcely "coastal" - unless sea levels rise more than expected!

[@sauravmodak507]

What if cable breaks?

[@cuprum166]

It was a great video Thanks so much

[@morningstarmallik63]

Where it is located

[@carmium]

Boy that thing howls! Is there a grease shortage in Folkeston?

[@carmium]

Sorry, Folkestone.

[@leeandadaelliott]

My guess is the squeal you hear is some sort of braking mechanism to keep the system from moving too fast.

[@studio45uk]

They have a man whose job it is to look after the squeaks. Not get rid of them, just maintain them. It's part of the attraction for tourists you see.

[@capnskiddies]

Matt Jasper that's a few levels of sarcasm deep

[@paulsikoris9696]

carmium bbb bubonic cousy

[@railpast]

Where is Folkestone for those of us geographically challenged?

[@user-fv7te1jt8q]

good...but I don't understand only one....why this open water...why...I don't know why

[@machoterico69]

Where is this place,? This is similar to lift un Valparaíso's hill in Chile

[@renatomartinez5708]

Folkestone, South Wale, UK.

[@beaker2257]

Folkestone, Kent, UK.

[@harishramprasadv299]

Where it is? I mean in which country?

[@joinwithme949]

How it's work

[@PaperBoat.]

So, how does the water coming from the refiller tap? Electric pump? If yes, then it's NOT an efficient model at all.

[@charliecahill7252]

theres 2 of these in Hastings

[@Gi11th]

I have been in Folkestone during summer 2017 and this thing seemed to be permanently out of service

[@gktack7696]

7y8

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

if the powers that be would permit the people, we could power the whole world with these picture perfect plethoras of pure genius principles.

[@jillsmcfarland2001]

Tartarian tech

[@bowor98]

great video

[@healnaturetube]

Amazing!

Very good congratulations ... train from Brazil greetings ... DUTRA

[@andersonp13.10]

Café Ferroviário vc por aqui, te vi outro dia nos comentários da funicular Paranapiacaba

[@LaeeqKhan01]

There should have been a rope in front of the cars, connecting them. I didn't see it.

[@irelandbloke]

Super video ! :)

[@shobhasunil7739]

irelandbloke

[@suecurtis8313]

that so cool Sue!

[@OKFrax-ys2op]

Sue who?

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

impressive .. when was it built

[@gerryhiles1]

19th Century - not sure exactly when - I loved to ride in this when I was a kid in the 1940s. There was another one further along the Leas, but it closed when WW2 broke out I think. As a seaside resort Folkestone never fully recovered after the War.

[@Trainboy1EJR]

Seems efficient!

[@ghostmost2614]

Why gravity isn't being used for Mass transit is beyond me.

[@PhonyGamer-po8ci]

These a great noises that these things are making

[@S4NSE]

thought the same

[@davoodkamali]

Happy to neighbours

[@OKFrax-ys2op]

Till you’re needing the brakes

[@longlaster]

What is this

[@Thomas1980]

wow...great video :)

[@igfoo]

Thanks!

[@jimmydcricket5893]

Sounds like somebody is avoiding packing the grease gun.

[@T2sEpicTravel]

I saw this from Niagara falls USA side in 2016.

[@RAVISHARMA-qo5om]

What a ingenious and without Electricity mechanism, this can do only our ancestors not we modern people.

[@sonaliverma4905]

Plzz tell me where is this place......give me some information about that place......

[@arfriedman4577]

Google the name from title.

[@Passengervehicles]

Fantastic :)

[@matuddin971]

just like the bendera hills in penang, malaysia.

[@rezaabdul8595]

The ' bukit bendera ' are using electric, unlike this one though and the distance are much longer

[@thaeralbayati775]

The idea of genius and exquisite

[@user-zm9eg9jw5r]

thaer Albayati

[@paulzenhausern1811]

Kälti Stanzerhorn

[@KailashSharma-md1oc]

Unbelievable, very nice👍

[@raviyadav6050]

Ye railway lift kaha h

[@windsorwins46]

Ravi Yadav Uk mein

[@davepayne9162]

must be some water pump, to get it up there

[@D4rk3mperor]

I remember going on these

[@VickersDoorter]

I remember going on these in the 1960s when both pairs of lifts were working. Folkestone was a hugely vibrant and fun place then...

[@VinodYadav-zm8pv]

How it is possible,I don't know this funda

[@SASH27O]

ULTA PULTA FORMULA

[@prathibhajaison6283]

It is so good. I studied in general knowledge

[@45kajalmuchhadiya46]

I first Time seeing this type system

[@bmwcarguye36cars68]

This is at Niagra Falls too

[@tedgould8579]

BMWcarguyE36 Cars in

[@sharon94503]

Cap'n we've sprung a leak!

[@claudelafond9164]

It is obvious the way it works

[@Dieferdan]

You've gotta seriously hand it to those Victorian engineers!

[@harshverma9487]

Diefers Dashcam UK

[@patrickbyrne4241]

Their success was based on old proven prinicples

[@anshulmahajan2586]

Must watch haullage trooley himachal india

[@spionsilver9626]

its so sad to see this engineering masterpiece in this bad condition ..

[@g.r.smurthy62]

Can someone tell tell me how this thing works ?

[@Randommovementsyt]

Pressor of water and hydraulics

[@Geoff4822]

It was simple enough. There are water tanks under the carriages. The carriage tank at the top of the hill is filled with water until it outweighs the carriage (and the people in it) at the bottom. Gravity, and a system of cables, then enables the top car to descend while pulling up the bottom car, and everything in it. Once the top car is at the bottom all the water is released and the top car is filled to repeat the process all day long. It used to be filled with sea water which was pumped up to the top but more recently the same fresh water was recycled round and round. I say "was" because the whole thing is shut now and has been for a while. The Victorians would be spinning in their graves if they knew how we have neglected everything they built for us. It used to cost a penny (old money 1d) when I was aboy which meant you could go up (or down) 240 times for a pound.

[@g.r.smurthy62]

@@Geoff4822 thank you Geoff

[@alangood1038]

Very environmentally friendly

[@debajyotipanigrahi4649]

beautifull

[@antonv.]

this is really amazing!

[@shreefmohd3285]

0

[@vaghabhaiprajapati745]

@@shreefmohd3285 L tàu đi

[@bhimrajjat261]

Thanks 😘

[@chanakya2799]

Wonderful 👏

[@sparkylinkline]

What is funicular about this? It looks like both trains have completely separate tracks all the way up & down.

[@igfoo]

Funicular just means that the 2 vehicles are attached by a rope, and the weight of one going down is used to help the other going up. While in some cases the vehicles share track (apart from at the passing point), that isn't part of the definition of funicular railways.

[@muhammedmuzammil1323]

MashaAllah hard work n enjoy ment

[@manojpurandare1863]

Very Nice.!! Ian - Manoj

[@vinaykumaremani8526]

idi same rope way LA vundhi

[@itchycam8820]

Amazing

[@romnadhaka9764]

Excellent! Hasan , Dhaka

[@KARTAVIDEO2TRAINS]

good technique, use water as a ballast to lower the railway.

[@kalpanamakwana9753]

Very nice 👍🏼

[@JONOVID]

simple but it works.

[@Randommovementsyt]

Why not just put a long elevator

[@gurpreetsingh-zg3km]

Very nice

[@tobiwan001]

I guess this system works well in countries that don't have winter...

[@marichat1256]

That’s Saltburn-by-the-Sea!

[@KandiKlover]

All that waiting around to catch one just for a very short slope smh.

[@paulgreen6921]

Though the power system is interesting; this is not a little boring. PWG

[@srisaichaitanyahighschooll]

pallani tamilnadu same system is there when u visit just try it

[@pratapkumarmishra8297]

Tell me specific location of the place. I am planning to visit tamilnadu next month for work purpose

[@user-vl1nc8ef4j]

Что это такое происходит?

[@RAM123493]

GREAT SALUTE

[@newcreations5009]

Arakku baguntundi

[@Shabbar007]

Awesome .. sity

[@user-ov1cx9kt7w]

福克斯通的水力和重力動力索道纜車

[@Astrofrank]

Cool!

[@md.hafijullovefromindia3386]

wow very nice

[@lana-dp1vp]

WOW

[@aaronjaben7913]

ingenious

[@LifeofBangladesh]

অনেক সুন্দর এবং কঠিন ট্রেন লাইন।

[@pauldg837]

Victorian engineering at it's best.

[@ganesanpandiyan976]

Palani Murugan temple train model

[@kaxar6954]

Only the British could come up with that contraction.

[@venkateshvvenky2209]

super.