Scenic Railway (roller coaster) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Scenic Railway |
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The Scenic Railway in 2016
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| Dreamland Margate | |
| Location | Dreamland Margate |
| Coordinates | 51°23′7″N 1°22′39″E / 51.38528°N 1.37750°E |
| Status | Open |
| Opening date | 3 July 1920 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Model | Scenic Railway |
| Lift/launch system | Cable (two lifts) |
| Height | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Drop | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Length | 3,000 ft (910 m) |
| Speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| Scenic Railway at RCDB | |
The Scenic Railway is a famous wooden roller coaster found at the Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, UK. It first opened way back in 1920, making it the oldest roller coaster still running in the UK!
What makes this ride special? Unlike most modern coasters, it still needs a person called a brakeman to ride along. This brakeman controls the train's speed by hand, using brakes when needed. It's also one of only eight "scenic railways" left in the world. Because it's so unique and old, the UK's English Heritage gave it special "listed" status in 2002, and then upgraded it in 2011. The Scenic Railway was closed for a while, from 2006 to 2015, after the park closed and then faced a fire.
The Scenic Railway's Story
In 1919, a man named John Henry Iles bought the rights to build "scenic railways" in Europe. These rides were based on a design patented by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1884. Iles, who helped own Dreamland, had the Scenic Railway built there. Local wood was used for the structure, and mechanical parts came from the US. Local carpenters built the ride following Iles's ideas.
The ride faced some tough times. A fire damaged part of it in 1949, and it needed big repairs. Wood from a taken-apart pier in Lowestoft was used to fix it, and the ride reopened in 1950. Another fire caused damage again in 1957.
In the 1960s, some of the trains from Margate were sold to Battersea Fun Fair for their own scenic railway. After an accident involving a similar ride elsewhere in 1972, many wooden roller coasters in Britain's amusement parks were removed. This happened because people became worried about safety, even if the rides were actually safe. The Scenic Railway at Dreamland, however, was special and survived.
In 2002, the Scenic Railway was given "Grade II listed status." This was a big deal because it was the first roller coaster ever to get this kind of protection, meaning it couldn't easily be torn down. It kept running until 2006 when Dreamland Park closed. Sadly, on April 7, 2008, someone set fire to the ride, and a large part of it was damaged. Even with the fire damage, its special status was upgraded in 2011 to "Grade II*." This showed how rare and important the ride was as one of the world's oldest roller coasters.
Bringing the Ride Back to Life
Dreamland decided to fix the Scenic Railway as part of a bigger plan to make the amusement park great again. In 2009, the Dreamland Trust received money from the UK government to help restore the Scenic Railway and other old parts of the park.
Companies were hired to rebuild the wooden parts and fix the ride's mechanical systems. During the rebuilding, strong winds in December 2014 knocked down some of the new wooden structure. This delayed the reopening. But finally, the roller coaster reopened to the public on October 15, 2015!
How the Ride Works
The Scenic Railway has a track made of wood with steel rails, all held up by a wooden frame. The ride is about 580 feet long and 120 feet wide. The track sits in a kind of "trough" or channel. People sometimes think this means the train rubs against the sides, but it doesn't! The trough is just there to help keep the train on the track, like a safety barrier. The wheels of the train have flanges, just like real railway trains.
The ride's path is like a double loop, and it has two sections where a cable pulls the train up a hill. Both of these hills have "double-drops," meaning the drop has two parts.
The original trains were destroyed in the 2008 fire. So, new trains were built for the reopened ride in 2015. Each train has three cars, which are mostly made of wood. Up to 28 riders can fit on each train. The special brakeman rides between the first and second cars and uses a large lever to control the brakes.
