|
For many people, it was a complete and utter
shock when it was announced that the Thunder Looper was leaving
Alton Towers.
Why?
The answer was that due to strict planning
restrictions placed on the park in mid 1990's, which required
that no structure should go above tree height, the ride had
to be removed. The ride was removed in 1996, and was replaced
during the re-theming of the area it was known as Forbidden
Valley. It was replaced by the Ripsaw,
and Blade( the old Pirate ship, moved for the construction
of the Oblivion).
The Thunder Looper was installed in the park
for the 1990 season, and opened up an entirely new area of
the park for visitors. Thunder Valley as it was called, was
situated right on the very edge of the park, next to the car
parks, and could be seen from the monorail, as visitors traveled
to the park entrance. Even then, the ride was old.
It was originally built for the Kings Dominion
park in the U.S.A., in 1977, and was Schwarzkopf's first Launched
Shuttle Loop Coaster. The ride itself was quite simple. The
track consisted of a long piece of flat track, with a large
loop at one end. After the loop, and at the opposite end of
the ride, was a very steep incline. Take a look in the Thunder
Looper Gallery for pictures from Kings Dominion, and Hopi
Hari.
The train had simple lap bars, which worried
many people, as the ride went upside-down. The train station
was situated on the long flat track. The train would be launched
from the station, and would accelerate from 0 - 60 mph in
about two seconds. It would then go through the loop, and
go up the incline which would be almost vertical. The train
lost all its' speed on the incline, then did it all again
in reverse, before stopping again at the station.
Thunder Looper was still in action when Nemesis
joined the line-up in 1994, but was removed in 1996 to make
way for Ripsaw, and Blade. Thunder Looper is probably the
most missed ride in the park. It now resides in Hopi Hari
park in Brazil.
*Picture courtesy of Richard
Davies
**Picture courtesy of Michael Pantenburg
|
The loop and climb of Thunder Looper from
the queue line*
An unusual on-ride picture from the near-vertical
drop of Thunder Looper*
The carriages race up the climb**
|
