Roller Coaster (Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach)

In 1931, Pat Collins, then owner of Pleasure Beach, was on the lookout for a large attraction to install at the park. He sent representatives of the park to the Colonial Exposition in Paris where there was an amusement park among the attractions.[5] The largest ride there was a scenic railway, which had been designed by German Erich Heidrich (Heidrich was a scenic railway designer, having also designed Montaña Suiza at a Spanish amusement park), and which was operated by showman Hugo Haase. At the close of the Exposition, Collins purchased the ride for Pleasure Beach and it was dismantled, shipped to England and erected in the park. The ride opened on 14 May 1932.[6]

Like other scenic railways of the time, the structure was clad in plaster and concrete in a style to represent mountainous terrain. This was complemented by other scenic features constructed around the ride, such as castles.[7] The plaster and concrete cladding was lost over time, and throughout the 1960's what remained was replaced with steel sheets, which is the same method used today. When the steel cladding was first installed, it was painted to represent a mountainous terrain. These paintings were lost as the steel sheets needed replacing and today the ride is painted in shades of blue, as the image above shows.

The original trains used on the ride were made of wood. In 1964, these were replaced by trains made of wood and fibreglass and these trains are still in use today.

The ride's superstructure is entirely timber, predominantly fir and pine, which is clad in steel sheets. It measures around 140 metres (460 feet) by 30 metres (100 feet). The highest point of the track is 21 metres (70 feet) and the track length is 982.40 metres (3,223.10 feet),[8][9] which makes this ride the second longest scenic railway in the world.[10] The actual track is wooden and the running rails are in a trough with walkways either side. The ride is often called a side-friction coaster, which is misleading as the train makes no contact with the side walls of the track and the running wheels are flanged like those of railway vehicles. The ride features two large drops, the first one of which is a 'headchopper' where the train dives under some of the support structure of the ride. There are also other large drops and a bunnyhop sequence which gives very good air-time both at the front and back of the train. In total there are nine drops. A typical ride time is 3:10, but can vary depending on the styles of the particular brakemen.

There are five trains, although only three are currently in operation. Each train is made up of three cars, each of which has five 2-person bench seats, allowing 30 riders per train. There are manual lap-bars and grab rails for each seat. The brakeman rides between the first and second cars. The brakeman moderates the speed of the train as necessary, depending on the conditions to ensure it arrives in the station at the end of the ride at a safe speed. Unlike modern roller coasters, there are no brakes on the track at all.

The ride is the most popular attraction at the Pleasure Beach; its popularity largely due to its uniqueness.[11] The ride is an ACE Coaster Classic, along with the Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne, Australia; the only operational scenic railways to obtain this status. A copy of the ride was made by John Collins (Pat Collins' brother) in 1938 which ended up at John's amusement park in Barry Island in 1940. This ride survived until 1973 when it was severely damaged by gales.

Part of the music video for the 1982 single House of Fun by Madness was filmed at the Pleasure Beach with the band seen riding on the Roller Coaster.

• 
  Roller Coaster seen soon after construction was completed in May 1932.
• 
  The painted cladding of Roller Coaster seen in 1974.
• 
  The top of the lift hill structure with the green train on the second drop.
• 
  The yellow train at the highest point of the ride in 2008.

• Official site of Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
• Image set of the Scenic on Flickr