Keeping the Great Orme Tramway running at its best after 123 years

The Great Orme Tramway is and always has been an important part of Llandudno for travelling tourists and locals alike. The tramway has stood the test of time. It first opened to the public in 1902. It has survived wars, changes in ownership and multiple periods of refurbishments and updates.

It now stands as Britain’s only public road, cable-hauled tramway. Over its 123-year history, the tramway has allowed millions of people to travel up the 1500m climb of the Great Orme.

The tramway runs mainly through the Summer, between March and October. It roughly sees 200,000 passengers every single year. The Great Orme Tramway serves as an interesting look into history and allows all the passengers to experience it as it was over 100 years ago.

To maintain this rich bit of Llandudno history, regular maintenance, repair, and service must be taken out.

We have been conducting regular maintenance, service, and overhauls of the motors used in the tramway since 2000. We have even had the carriages in the factory for work on the tram bogies as shown.

The latest instalment of this work was an overhaul and repair of the lower section motor on the tramway.

Overhaul of the 415-volt, 3-phase motor was required, there were no issues that weren’t expected which meant it made for a routine job for our engineers. This was completed alongside repairs to the shaft.

Luke Steveson, the Manager at the Great Orme Tramway, had this to say on working with Bowers Electricals.

“Bowers Electricals have played a vital role in keeping the Great Orme Tramway running for over 20 years. They have always been a reliable and supportive partner for us. Having a reliable source of maintenance and service work like this allows us to operate with full confidence over our peak months with no issues. We are always very pleased to work with Bowers Electricals.”

– Luke Stevenson, Manager at the Great Orme Tramway

The lower section of the tramway runs from Victoria Station in Llandudno to the Halfway Station, as the name refers to, located halfway up the Great Orme. The lower section has at parts an incline of 1 in 3.8 or 26.15%; the tram manages to cope with these with a bit more ease than our truck and trailer did. Our team didn’t have to brave the worst of the incline and managed to get in place to deliver the motor.

Chris Hemmings from Bowers Electricals said this on the job and the opportunity to work with the Great Orme Tramway.

“We have been involved in the maintenance and upkeep of the Great Orme Tramway for so many years now, and they are always a very welcome customer. As a large element of our Customer Base is industrial in nature, site visits to support the Great Orme are a nice change to our working environment.”

– Chris Hemmings, Motor Rewinds & Repair Department Manager

Overall, it was another successful job, and we were left with happy customers once again. We share the values of keeping a valuable part of history up and running still in the way it was many years ago. The Great Orme Tramway has been and always will be a staple of Llandudno. We take great pride in being able to keep it up and running at its best.

[1] – http://ngruk.blogspot.com/2012/05/great-orme-tramway.html

[2] – https://www.thetrainline.com/via/trips/great-orme-tramway

Keeping the Great Orme Tramway running at its best after 123 years

The Great Orme Tramway is and always has been an important part of Llandudno for travelling tourists and locals alike. The tramway has stood the test of time. It first opened to the public in 1902. It has survived wars, changes in ownership and multiple periods of refurbishments and updates.

It now stands as Britain’s only public road, cable-hauled tramway. Over its 123-year history, the tramway has allowed millions of people to travel up the 1500m climb of the Great Orme.

The tramway runs mainly through the Summer, between March and October. It roughly sees 200,000 passengers every single year. The Great Orme Tramway serves as an interesting look into history and allows all the passengers to experience it as it was over 100 years ago.

To maintain this rich bit of Llandudno history, regular maintenance, repair, and service must be taken out.

The latest instalment of this work was an overhaul and repair of the lower section motor on the tramway.

Overhaul of the 415-volt, 3-phase motor was required, there were no issues that weren’t expected which meant it made for a routine job for our engineers. This was completed alongside repairs to the shaft.

– Luke Stevenson, Manager at the Great Orme Tramway

“We have been involved in the maintenance and upkeep of the Great Orme Tramway for so many years now, and they are always a very welcome customer. As a large element of our Customer Base is industrial in nature, site visits to support the Great Orme are a nice change to our working environment.”

– Chris Hemmings, Motor Rewinds & Repair Department Manager

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Keeping the Great Orme Tramway running at its best after 123 years

The Great Orme Tramway is and always has been an important part of Llandudno for travelling tourists and locals alike. The tramway has stood the test of time. It first opened to the public in 1902. It has survived wars, changes in ownership and multiple periods of refurbishments and updates.

It now stands as Britain’s only public road, cable-hauled tramway. Over its 123-year history, the tramway has allowed millions of people to travel up the 1500m climb of the Great Orme.

The tramway runs mainly through the Summer, between March and October. It roughly sees 200,000 passengers every single year. The Great Orme Tramway serves as an interesting look into history and allows all the passengers to experience it as it was over 100 years ago.

To maintain this rich bit of Llandudno history, regular maintenance, repair, and service must be taken out.

The latest instalment of this work was an overhaul and repair of the lower section motor on the tramway.

Overhaul of the 415-volt, 3-phase motor was required, there were no issues that weren’t expected which meant it made for a routine job for our engineers. This was completed alongside repairs to the shaft.

– Luke Stevenson, Manager at the Great Orme Tramway

– Chris Hemmings, Motor Rewinds & Repair Department Manager

In need of motor repair or overhaul?

Related Case Studies

Schorch motor or scorched motor?! Massive overhaul for this 4400kW Motor that was caught in a fire.

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