Recreating a photo from 1905 can be a lot of fun. It all starts with getting the right car. But what to do when you don't know what car it is on the photo? Rob Shaddick, director of the Lunmouth & Lynton lift company did the right thing. He asked around, and found us to help him with this mystery car. First, we thought a De Dion Bouton or a Renault, but some specialists don't think this is correct.What do we know:
The car, registered A7047 was owned (we assume) by Sir George Newnes (who is sat in car next to his driver). Sir George Newnes was a key financier of the Cliff Railway.
The Cliff Railway was originally used to take cars between the two villages as Lynmouth Hill was only a dirt track. This made it impossible for cars to get up the steep hill with their less powerful engines. But this came to an end as cars became able to cope with the incline. In 1952, the lift was used again to move cars during the Lynmouth flood disaster. The Cliff Railway was established in 1888 and has been in permanent use since it's opening in 1890.
So, the railway will stay, but what about this mystery?