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Another of Alton
Towers classic rides left the park at the end of 1997. The
New Beast, has a pretty vague history about it. Some say that
in the early nineties, the Black Hole underwent a bit of an
overhaul inside the tent, and the whole track was removed,
and replaced. The removed track was then taken to Thunder
Valley, and re-constructed as the New Beast. Other say that,
when the Alton Beast, and Mouse where removed from Talbot
Street, the Beast was moved into this new area.Of
these two theories, the second is the most probable, as the
New Beast arrived the year the Alton Beast was removed.
For some years
it sat in Thunder Valley, under the shadow of Thunder Looper.
Then, in 1994, when Nemesis arrived, still the New Beast managed
to remain popular, until 1998 when it was removed, possibly
due to complaints from the nearby hotel residents about the
amount of noise coming from the Forbidden Valley.
The ride itself
was very similar to the Black Hole, with a long spiral climb
to the top, with a steep drop immediately after, followed
by lots of fast sweeping bends.
The land where
the New Beast once roared is now being prepared for what is
rumoured to be another 'world first' rollercoaster for Alton
Towers. SW5 Transit System as is it code-named is due to open
in 2002, and you can read about it in our features section.
*Picture
courtesy of Chris Keating
**Picture courtesy
of Richard Davies
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View from
queue line*
Overall view of the coaster**
An unusual
view showing Forbidden Valley from the lift-hill**
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