The original
Skyride (cable cars) opened in 1963 and ran for 430 yards with
16 cabins. The ride lasted 3 minutes each way and travelled at
a constant speed of 500 feet per minute, 240 feet apart and were
automatically dispatched at 29 second intervals. the cableway
carried 56 passengers at a time and was capable of transporting
1000 people every hour. It was built by British Ropeway Engineering
Company Ltd and was powered by a 30 h.p electric prime mover.
This original system followed the same route as the sky-ride but only travelled from the Towers Street area to the area where Forbidden Valley is today. The old system was quite limited, there was a maximum capacity of 4 people.
