Monday, December 29, 2014

Rebuild of Historic Coaster Hampered by Collapsed Structure


Scenic Railway before the fire.
What a shame!  The Scenic Railway at England's Dreamland, which is in the middle of a rebuild from head to toe, was partially destroyed in a wind storm over the weekend.

Crews have been working since this past Fall to rebuild the historic roller coaster, which dates back to 1920.  The coaster continued to operate after Dreamland closed, but arson burned a part of the structure and threw it into standing-but-not-operating status in 2008.  The 1920 original opening date makes the ride one of the top ten oldest still standing coasters on the planet.

Recent view of part of the ride standing post-fire.
A long time campaign to restore Dreamland and the Scenic Railway has been underway, finally poised to reopen the coaster and a "reimagined" Dreamland around it in 2015.  Obviously the partial collapse of the ride, which appeared to be the turnaround section on the North end of the ride is a setback.

However, this news story points out that while the collapse isn't good news, it's fixable and crews will get right back to work.  Take that, wind storm!  Anyone who is interested in following the reconstruction of the coaster, along with learning more about the new Dreamland, can stay up to date on the park's website.


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