Family has one of Britain's smallest cable railways at their house
The motor on the miniature railway is currently broken, but the family hopes to fix it soon
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A family in the U.K. has one of the country’s smallest funicular railways – a type of cable railway system on an incline – at their home.
Ali Atkinson, 41, and her husband Owen, 42, bought the house in Greenock, Scotland, in 2010, according to British news agency SWNS.
Because the house is on a steep hill, a former owner in 2001 got the funicular railway installed in the front yard to help him get up and down the steps, SWNS reported.
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When the Atkinsons first saw the house, they didn’t know about the railway, according to SWNS. However, once they bought it, they used it frequently, including to move their piano inside.
The Atkinson family in their funicular railway. It is believed to be one of the smallest funicular railways in the U.K. (SWNS)
"When we moved in we used it all the time," Ali Atkinson told SWNS. "When the baby was small we used to put her in the pram at the bottom of the steps so she didn't wake up."
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Just a year after they moved in, Atkinson held down the railway button for too long and the motor burned out, she said. A quote for repairs ran in the thousands and with small children at the house, the Atkinsons thought it might be too chaotic and unsafe.
The Atkinson family in their funicular railway. It is believed to be one of the smallest funicular railways in the U.K. (SWNS)
Now that the children are a bit older – between 7 and 12 – the Atkinsons are reconsidering repairs.
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"Now they are older they're likely to be more sensible," Atkinson said. "If we can get it fixed then great."
"We would like to restore it, now it would be really useful for doing the shopping and things," she added.
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