Cannonball Express (roller coaster)
Cannonball Express (Former name Enigma) is a roller coaster located at Pleasurewood Hills, Corton, Near Lowestoft, Suffolk. It is the only Schwarzkopf Jumbo V in the world, as it was the only one manufactured.
| Cannonball Express | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pleasurewood Hills | |
| Location | Pleasurewood Hills |
| Coordinates | 52.5062°N 1.7451°E |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 1995 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Anton Schwarzkopf |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Jumbo V |
| Lift/launch system | Tire lift hill |
| Height | 53 ft (16 m) |
| Length | 1,738 ft (530 m) |
| Speed | 34 mph (55 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 2:00 |
| Capacity | 300 riders per hour |
| Cannonball Express at RCDB Pictures of Cannonball Express at RCDB | |
It was built in 1983 for a German travelling fair, it operated at Meli Park from 1984 until late 1980s as Jumbo 5.[1] It moved to Funland Park in Kent until 1995 when it moved to Pleasurewood Hills as Cannonball Express, where it was mine train themed and was put in a crater next to the car park. The ride used to include a canyon theme with the cars shooting through and past the theming until 2004, when the theming was taken away. In 2005 it was given a new paint job, including a bright-red track and red trains with question marks, but in summer 2009, one of the old Cannonball Express trains were put on track for testing, as the ride would soon be undergoing a revamp. In 2017 Enigma is renamed Cannonball Express.
Showing age
The ride used to have 4 trains as Cannonball Express coloured:
- Purple - Most Used, in storage (Used for maintenance)
- Blue - Still in operation
- Green - Used 3rd most, in storage (put on track in 2009 for a short amount of time)
- Red - Used the least, thought to be scrapped
This means that there is now only 1 train in operation, which only seats 8 people, plus with separate on- and off-loading stations, this means there is a very low capacity of about 160 pph, also, being one of the most popular rides in the park, the queues can get very long.
The reason the others were scrapped was due to maintenance as the company Schwarzkopf, who manufactured the ride, stopped roller coaster production, so the ride cars and brakes on the ride can't be fixed easily, meaning the block brakes are broken so the ride can't run multiple trains; the best-condition parts are taken from the other trains and put on the one in operation. It is also noted that Cannonball Express isn't as thrilling as it once was, and the trims do not work anymore, which are located part way through the course of the track, meaning the ride's corners can sometimes be painful.
References
- "Jumbo 5". Retrieved 12 June 2016.