Farewell to Corkscrew

coastergraham · Farewell to Corkscrew

Taken from the BPB guide

BRITAIN TO BID FAREWELL TO THE NATION’S MOST ICONIC ROLLERCOASTER

The Alton Towers Resort announces the end of an era as Europe’s first double loop rollercoaster, the Corkscrew, is to be taken down.

The 1980’s was an era defined by icons; Michael Jackson, Margaret Thatcher…and Europe’s first double-helix rollercoaster, the Corkscrew, at the Alton Towers Resort. After 28 fantastic years of generating exciting family fun and creating profound memories as the first ever rollercoaster experienced by thousands, the time has come for big kids everywhere to say goodbye to Britain’s most iconic ride. On 9th November 2008, the Corkscrew will unleash its double-loop drama for the last time before being taken down.

The Corkscrew, a ride that has led the way for rollercoasters in both Great Britain and the World over, has continued to thrill for almost three decades. Unveiled to an audience of over 30,000 visitors in April 1980, the popular rollercoaster has been a hit with all ages, from the just tall enough, brave 8 year olds to the granddads, riding to prove they’re never too old to have fun.

Over the 28 years, the Corkscrew has carried a whopping 43.5 million riders and has travelled over 820,000 miles to date – the equivalent distance of travelling to the moon and back nearly four times.

Russell Barnes, Divisional Director for the Alton Towers Resort said:
“The Corkscrew has played a key part in the heritage of the Alton Towers Resort, and I am sure millions of our guests will look back with fond memories of the first time they were inverted upside down twice within 3 seconds! We are extremely proud to have hosted Europe’s first double helix rollercoaster, but it is now the right time to say goodbye to the attraction as we look forward to continuing to pioneer fantastic family entertainment of the future”.

The Alton Towers Resort is currently planning an event to celebrate the Corkscrew’s 28 years of operation to be held on Sunday 9th November – see www.altontowers.com/corkscrew for more details.

The Alton Towers Resort, part of the Merlin Entertainments Group, is home to the UK's best-loved theme park with 2 hotels, a waterpark, a spa, an extraordinary golf course, and nineteenth century gothic towers. It is located in 500 acres of Staffordshire countryside and offers a unique combination of rides and attractions for all ages, from soft play areas for tiny toddlers to ground-breaking, world-first adrenalin inducing rollercoaster rides.

First Installed 1980
Opening Date 4th April 1980
Location Ug Land
Cost £1.25 million
Manufacturer Vekoma
Designer Arrow Dynamics
Weight 350 tonnes
Track Length 728 metres
Height Of Drop 23 metres
Maximum Speed 44 mph (70 km/h)
Maximum G Force 3.1 G
Ride Duration Approx. 1 minute, 45 seconds
Capacity 24 per train
Throughput 43,449,840 people
Total Cycles 1,810,410
Distance Travelled 1,317,978.48 Kilometres/ 818,953.31 Miles
Seating Arrangement 2 trains, 6 cars per train, 2 row per car, 2 seats per row
Restraint Type Shoulder restraints
Height Restriction 1.2 metres

Since the rollercoaster was opened in 1980:

• Britain voted in the first female Prime Minister
• The World Wide Web was invented
• British rock stars raised £150 Million for Africa through Live Aid
• The world celebrated the Millennium
• Britain and America went to war in Iraq
• Britain brought back a record medal haul at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Source: Alton Towers
_________________

bluea61 · Re: Farewell to Corkscrew

Andy Hine MBE

Hi there
I work for BBC Midlands Today. We're doing a report tomorrow about the fact the Corkscrew at Alton Towers is closing.
We were wondering if anyone from the club is available for us to speak to tomorrow who lives in the Midlands area?
Many thanks

Julie-Anna
BBC Midlands Today
Tel: 0121 567 6136

smiler

Day booked off for this already be a very sad day Sad

coaster-andy

You have to book a Sunday of work Smiler I will also be there I am not having Smiler get the last ride to go with all his first rides. Laughing

stevencaine

Do you think they accept the Merlin pass that day or is cash only Confused

It will indeed be a sad day but it did have to come sooner rather than later,not sure wrapping Rita around has helped,Do we know if it is too be scrapped or relocated Crying or Very sad

coastergraham

^I have spoken to Rachael from the press office at Alton Towers about that today.

Annual pass holders WILL BE allowed into the park with no additional fee.

I think it is going to be full of coaster fans that day by the look of it, TTF forum are planning an official meet, while us at the BPB guide are doing an unofficial meetup to give the old girl a good send off.

mophead

Would everyone be terribly upset if I said good riddence. I prefer rides that don't give you concussion.

David Ellis

I won't miss her either, in fact I never bother to ride if I am on park. Hopefully they can put the space she occupies to better use.

I can't make the event though as I am away on holiday then.

David.

Nimmykins

The ride was quite good on Saturday, not too painful, but then it was wet.

I hope something good replaces it.

bluea61

I agree with Sarah. It does usually ride like a bag of Spanners, but it must have wanted a good send off as it was smooth at both the front and back.

stealth fan

I will be saying my farewells on the last day, hopefully aswell.

Happy Helen

I rode it for the last time on Saturday and it felt very rickerty.

Hopefully they will replace it with something better.

I know there was some talk about Alton getting a woodie.

smiler

Press release from Alton today!:

Alton Towers Resort reports bizarre finds as they start clearing fated Corkscrew site

29/10/2008
You’re pulling my leg!
- Alton Towers Resort reports bizarre finds as they start clearing fated Corkscrew site
Two weeks ago, the Alton Towers Resort announced the closure of its famed 28 year-old rollercoaster, the Corkscrew. This weekend, the Resort started a clear-up of the site in preparation for closure and was faced with some unexpected and bizarre finds including a diamond wedding ring and even a prosthetic leg!
The family Resort is used to dealing with a large amount of lost property every year, including car keys, money and mobile phones, but were shocked by the array of items which appear to have been left in or around the Corkscrew ride area. Over its 28 year history, the Corkscrew site alone has yielded 800 pieces of jewellery, 53 shoes (none of which match!), 604 watches, 237 mobiles phones, 10 items of underwear, thousands of caps, a prosthetic ear and more recently, a prosthetic leg.
Russell Barnes, Divisional Director at the Alton Towers Resort commented: “At the Alton Towers Resort we deal with over 5000 items of lost property every year including several unusual finds. As the Corkscrew is the oldest rollercoaster in the Park, we were expecting to find some strange items when we started clearing the Corkscrew area but a prosthetic leg definitely tops the list as the most bizarre. If anyone has any information on the missing leg, we would be keen to hear from them.”
The Corkscrew will run for the final time on Sunday 9th November when the Park will be hosting a special day for members of the public who would like to ride the coaster one last time. For more information visitwww.altontowers.com/corkscrew

coastergraham

Russell Barnes last PR stunt by the sound of it before he leaves, I will miss the bizzare stories that come out of Alton when he goes. Laughing

Rough Rider

frosty

My first and only ride of Corkscrew was during the recent Loopathon. I rode somewhere in the middle of the ride and I can't say I noticed anything rough about the actual ride at all - although there was a nasty jolt on the lifthill.

Likes others have stated, perhaps the wet weather helped smooth things over and perhaps bits had been replaced or adjusted since others had had a bad experience.

smiler

This now has also apeared on central news saying bout all the thing that lost and found etc and yep they had a leg

Coaster Toaster

http://www.itvlocal.com/central/n...layer=CEN_News_15&void=253137

Rich again in the lime light

smiler

God that bloke gets every where him good looking chap tho Laughing

coastergraham

Alton have released a cool 80's style leaflet to showcase the final day.

http://www.altontowers.com/download_files/corkscrewleaflet.pdf

nemesis scribe

looping lee

I'm extremely impressed too, i wonder if PBB will do the same for Space invader or the classic Roller coaster ?

coastergraham

stevencaine

Something else for Smilers coaster room then Wink

looping lee

If anyone's interested there's going to be an enthusiasts meet up at the corkscrew at 12:30 for a few photo's and a takeover ! Rolling Eyes

stealth fan

12.30. Right, thats booked.

stevencaine

Its now a matter of hours until the corkscrew at Alton will be no more too anyone going today have a great day and please do some trip reports Wink

RIP corkscrew 1980/2008

c anderson

Andy Hine was the coaster expert on BBC news this morning about the Corkscrew ending. He was polite about it.

stealth fan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi...nology/newsid_7719000/7719112.stm
On Radio 1's news page. They also mentioned it on the radio this morning

Happy Helen

When Andy was on the news last Sunday, he said that Alton Towers are investing in new rides and not enough people were riding the Corkscrew and that the new ride replacing it is to be a suprise.

It was the second looping coaster in the country.

I can't really say that I will miss it as after 28 years it has had it's days.

Coaster Toaster

Save Up if you want possibly the best bit of corkscrew memorabilia

http://www.altontowers.com/pages/.../thrills/goodbye-to-the-corkscrew

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/7758376.stm

stealth fan

I have no room Crying or Very sad

Coaster Toaster

I have the room but not the money. I can see it going for well over £500

nemesis scribe

Cool!!!

Go on Dan, you know you want to buy it Laughing

I want to buy a corkscrew loop Very Happy

stealth fan

I want the motor, in full working condition, so I can have that noise whenever I want it.
I can see the car going for at least £1000

reg

nemesis scribe

[quote="reg"]

smiler

My max bid was £100- £150 justy seen its over £600 ill think ill pass now Laughing

Andy Hine MBE

Hi guys,
I'm emailing from BBC WM (in the West Midlands) and wondered if any of you can put me in touch with a roller coaster enthusiast in our area, to talk about the auction of the Alton Towers coaster. We cover Birmingham + the Black Country (Wolverhampton, Dudley, Wasall, Tipton, West Brom), Redditch and South Staffordshire (up to Lichfield/Tamworth/Cannock) - so if you know of anyone in that kind of area we'd love to hear from them!
The auction is tomorrow, so we're hoping to get something in advance (i.e. today) to put into our news bulletins tomorrow morning. We'd need just a few minutes chat with someone over the phone.
Can you give me a ring on 0121 567 6031.
Many thanks,
James

STEALTHYBUTBAD

im not sure if i will miss it or not to be honest - it wasnt a ride i would aim to do during a day at alton towers even though i do have some fond memories of the ride. It was my first ever coaster i went on just over some 24 years ago (possibly more than 24). I did my last ridce on it at loopathon 2008 as i wanted to get some footage for my "your day" dvd which i have to remind me of the ride. The ride was getting a bit rough but thats surely to be expected.

I think they should replace it with a woodie ! - "what is wood mr hine ?" Very Happy

Coaster Toaster

After a few hours its now gone over a £1000

Will the bidding madness slow down over the next 9 days lol?

stevencaine

£1500 with 54 bidders still at least you get free postage

c anderson

But you do not even get the wheels, how can you push it around ?

Coaster Toaster

£3100 now, with that ammount you can buy an old fairground ride or a decent kids waltzer etc for that.

This seems really mad just for the body and nothing else

stevencaine

£3600

omg

bluea61

I agree, a lot of money for what is not even the original train. Oh well each to there own. Has anybody bid on it from the club?

frosty

nemesis scribe

I bid £2.87 . . . .and i thought that was risking it Very Happy

I think smiler has bid £4000 . . . Wink

Happy bidding . . .

stevencaine

45000 wtf

stealth fan

OMG
You could buy a new coaster for that Surprised

stevencaine

£5,200.00

bluea61

Somebody wants it really bad!! Thats a big chunk of change for the charity which is excellent. Just suprised just how high its got.

coaster-andy

I was going to bid but £5200 is a lot of money for a plant pot Laughing

I bet the scrap for the whole ride will not fetch that much. They could make more money selling bits of the track to bidders. Who knows it may fetch more than they paid for it 28 yr's ago.

I bet Smiler will give £50 for a bit Laughing

Boozytwin1

Coaster Toaster

It has now randomly been removed

Magic

I can't help but wonder if people were making bids with no intention to buy. I find it hard to believe anyone would pay over 5K for such an item. Perhaps Alton decided this too and have pulled the plug, won't be good publicity if they have.

bluea61

Prehaps they should have made it an auction you had to register for with a payment method prior to starting, I'm sure the bigger auctions can do this?

Coaster Toaster

Apparently it was registered wrong on ebay and ebay has removed it according to towers times

nemesis scribe

Coaster Toaster

Its back up here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CORKSCREW-R...86.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Straight in at £5000

stevencaine

£6,100,00 now so Rich what have you got in that coaster room of yours? Wink

Coaster Toaster

Try £7,100 now for it and still a day left.
someone obv isnt affected by the credit crunch lol

stevencaine

So it was finally sold for £7,300,00 which is fantastic news for the Merlin make a wish charity well done to the winner

bluea61

Thats an amazing sum for that train. I wonder which garden will have it as a flower pot!

nemesis scribe

smiler

Could these be the real plans for the new coaster who knows?

http://www.towersnerd.com/news/item.php?id=117

David Ellis

Certainly according to Justin and someone else at the alternative club who sourced the plans they are very real. Only time will tell, I guess.

coastergraham

From those plans I am failing to see how SW6 would possibly be a world beater like has been mentioned in other quarters.

It just looks like another Alton Towers so so ride, but hopefully I will be totally wrong when it does happen.

bluea61

I think its hard to tell from a line drawing. For a start its just a rough approximation of the ride, and it could be a very simple coaster with fantastic themeing that make the ride. Take XNWO, totally pointless, but with a bit of real themeing could be fantastic. There is also no scale on the sketch, it looks the same size as Rita but could be a lot different in reality. I think its best to wait for it to be built before judging.

Looking at the sketch it says it has switch backs making the ride run backwards, similar technology as Everest at AK (If the sketch is true). Take away the mountain and yehti themeing and that would also be poor.

Magic

While it's not really possible to criticise a ride before construction has even begun I can't help feeling the layout looks absolutely pants. It's a very uninspiring layout similar to what you'd expect on a kiddie coaster. Trouble is the layout for Rita made it look pants, and in reality Rita genuinely is pants. It would have been nice to see something like a smooth Maverick or Troy or Ravine Flyer II or Balder Dash or custom Zamperla Motocoaster with a scramble bike theme or Lynet or even better Piraten partially trenched.

Hopefully the themeing, and elevation changes, will make up for what on paper is a rubbish ride.

Speaking of themeing if it genuinely is having a castle theme will they give Rita a re-theme or are they going to continue to have inconsistent themeing in that part of the park.

I really hope that the theming and over all experience will make this a ride worthy of being in the UK's leading park and doesn't turn out to be another huge disappointment like Rita, Spinball Whizzer, Mine Train, Dual, Air, Oblvion, Log Flume, Rapids.

STEALTHYBUTBAD

i think alton towers should go for a woodie if im honest ! Smile

Coaster Toaster

There is a timelapse video of it being taken down on the alton towers heritage site but you have ti register at the moment weird seeing it be taken down and the huge space left.

Farewell to Corkscrew

Re: Farewell to Corkscrew