A Llandudno Great Orme Tramway tram departs the summit with the last service of the upper section of the day on a sunny April Saturday. This line is a cable-hauled 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge tramway in Llandudno in North Wales. This is Britain's only remaining cable operated street tramway. It takes passengers from Llandudno Victoria Station to just below the summit of the Great Orme headland. Operation of the tramway differs from the better-known San Francisco system in that it is not a cable car but rather a street running funicular, where the cars are permanently fixed to the cable, and are stopped and started by stopping and starting the cable. As one car is ascending, the other is descending, and they meet midway. The tramway was opened on two stages: the lower section on 31 July 1902 and the upper on 8 July 1903. The two sections operate independently, with two cars on each section which are mechanically separate. The lower section is built on or alongside the public road and has gradients as steep as 1 in 3.8. The upper section is less steep, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 10, and is single track apart from a short double track passing loop equipped with Abt type points to accommodate the cable. The tramway uses four tramcars, all of which have been in service since 1902. The signpost shows the direction of St. Tudno’s Church, on the Great Orme. This little 12th Century church nestles in a sheltered hollow on the northern side of the Great Orme, with its churchyard and adjacent cemetery, still in regular use. It was built on a Christian site dating from the 6th century and dedicated to the memory of its founder. St. Tudno (pronounced Tidno) is the patron saint of Llandudno and his feast day is celebrated on 5th of June. He is said to have been one of the seven sons of King Seithenyn, whose legendary kingdom in Cardigan Bay was submerged by tidal activity. In reparation of his father’s perceived neglect, he studied in the monastery of Bangor Iscoed, near Chester in the 6th Century. From there he went to the great ancient limestone outcrop of the Great Orme, jutting from the Creuddyn Peninsula, to bring the message of Christianity to its people. He first lived on the Great Orme in a small coastal cave with difficult access, which provided protection from the elements and a source of fresh water from a spring well. The present day church was extended in the 15th Century, and succumbed to the violent storms of the Great Orme in 1839 when its roof was blown away and the church was abandoned at this point. It wasn’t until 1855 that a local benefactor funded the repair of the roof and the restoration of the church.
