The line, as preserved post-1974, includes two rope-worked inclines. These are the Blackhams Hill East and West inclines. Both are worked by the Blackhams Hill engine, a 300 h.p. Metropolitan Vickers engine commissioned on 30 July 1950. This engine works both the East or Flatt Incline (1170 yards at a gradient of 1 in 70) and the West or Short Bank (750 yards at a gradient 1 in 13). Over these inclines, the preserved railway demonstrates one of the oldest and most unusual types of railway operation. It is now the only place in Britain where this can be seen.