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Nemesis (roller coaster)
Encyclopedia
Nemesis is Europe's first inverted roller coaster
located at Alton Towers
, England
. The ride's concept was created by John Wardley
. It is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard
(B&M) and opened in 1994. It is located in the Forbidden Valley area of the park, adjacent to Air
, a flying B&M roller coaster that opened in 2002.
began working on a pipeline roller coaster
concept from Arrow Dynamics
. The ride, codenamed Secret Weapon 1, was to be themed around a secret military facility. Development of the project was put on hold due to Arrow's financial problems and Mr Wardley's design problems, but was brought back a year later with the codename Secret Weapon 2 this time with the ride being built in a pit, to solve the height restriction problems. However, the project was finally abandoned when John Wardley
had the opportunity to ride the prototype, and found it to be slow and energy inefficient.
The park began to look at alternatives and around this time John became aware of the rumours surrounding a new installation by Bolliger & Mabillard at Six Flags
. Alton Towers contacted Bolliger & Mabillard who would not give out any specifics about the ride and informed the park to speak to Six Flags
. Jon only did that and after a meeting Six Flags agreed to let Bolliger & Mabillard produce a similar ride for Alton Towers on the understanding that Alton Towers would return the favour.
John Wardley worked on this new ride concept which he codenamed SW3, though the theme of a secret weapon evolved into that of organic alien creature.
Nemesis opened in the spring of 1994 to much media fanfare and was one of many major installations at theme parks throughout the United Kingdom
. Drayton Manor
also unveiled Shockwave
, an Intamin stand-up roller coaster
which today still stands as the only stand up rollercoaster operating in Europe and the only stand up in the world with a zero-G roll, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach unveiled the Pepsi Max Big One
- which at the time stood as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.
, are many times taller and faster than Nemesis, as well as more modern. Yet, despite also the planning height restrictions that the local council enforce Alton Towers to abide by, (all coasters have to be below the tree line hence why Nemesis is built into the ground somewhat) the coaster remains very popular due to its sheer intensity and thrill. The coaster was such a success that it spawned a 'sequel' coaster at its sister theme park Thorpe Park
under the name of Nemesis Inferno
.
In April 2009, over 20 complaints were submitted to the council by local villagers complaning of increased noise levels from the ride after maintenance work over the closed season. Alton Towers briefly ran the ride at a reduced capacity until new wheels were installed, the ride is now operating fully again.
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In 2004, Nemesis gained the world record for the most naked people to ride a roller coaster. 32 people took part, beating the previous record of 28 held by Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park
. The event took place to celebrate 50 years of Guinness World Records
,this record has now been beaten though.
Nemesis was briefly renamed Wonderland
for a month in 2005, to celebrate the release of pop-rock band McFly
's new album. The band took a ride on Nemesis on CD:UK
, a popular music television programme.
The helix following the first inversion is one of the most intense elements of any rollercoaster in the world. The section of track as well as the train wheel assemblies undergo stresses far higher than what is typical for a modern rollercoaster. No inverted rollercoaster has since been built that takes an element at such a high speed.
Inverted roller coaster
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...
located at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The ride's concept was created by John Wardley
John Wardley
John Wardley is a British award-winning concept designer and developer for theme parks, mainly for rides such as roller coasters.-Rides Designed By John:*Nemesis*Oblivion*Air*Thirteen *Haunted House*Runaway Mine Train...
. It is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...
(B&M) and opened in 1994. It is located in the Forbidden Valley area of the park, adjacent to Air
Air (roller coaster)
Air is a steel flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. The ride was the first flying roller coaster designed by the Swiss manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard...
, a flying B&M roller coaster that opened in 2002.
History
Plans for developing the site began in 1991, when Alton TowersAlton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
began working on a pipeline roller coaster
Pipeline roller coaster
The Pipeline Coaster was a roller coaster developed by Japanese ride company TOGO. Pipeline roller coasters position riders between the rails, rather than above or below. TOGO was the first and only company to produce this type of roller coaster successfully...
concept from Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was a roller coaster and amusement ride design company based in Clearfield, Utah, United States. In 2002, the company went bankrupt but was quickly bought by fellow amusement ride manufacturer S&S Power to form S&S Arrow. During its peak, Arrow Dynamics was responsible for some of...
. The ride, codenamed Secret Weapon 1, was to be themed around a secret military facility. Development of the project was put on hold due to Arrow's financial problems and Mr Wardley's design problems, but was brought back a year later with the codename Secret Weapon 2 this time with the ride being built in a pit, to solve the height restriction problems. However, the project was finally abandoned when John Wardley
John Wardley
John Wardley is a British award-winning concept designer and developer for theme parks, mainly for rides such as roller coasters.-Rides Designed By John:*Nemesis*Oblivion*Air*Thirteen *Haunted House*Runaway Mine Train...
had the opportunity to ride the prototype, and found it to be slow and energy inefficient.
The park began to look at alternatives and around this time John became aware of the rumours surrounding a new installation by Bolliger & Mabillard at Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...
. Alton Towers contacted Bolliger & Mabillard who would not give out any specifics about the ride and informed the park to speak to Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...
. Jon only did that and after a meeting Six Flags agreed to let Bolliger & Mabillard produce a similar ride for Alton Towers on the understanding that Alton Towers would return the favour.
John Wardley worked on this new ride concept which he codenamed SW3, though the theme of a secret weapon evolved into that of organic alien creature.
Nemesis opened in the spring of 1994 to much media fanfare and was one of many major installations at theme parks throughout the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Drayton Manor
Drayton Manor Theme Park
Drayton Manor Theme Park is a theme park, resort & zoo in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, near Tamworth in Staffordshire, England.Drayton Manor is best known because it is a theme park and zoo which attracts around 1.4 million people a year. The attraction has a wide selection of rides set...
also unveiled Shockwave
Shockwave (Drayton Manor Theme Park)
The Shock Wave is an Intamin stand-up roller coaster at Drayton Manor Theme Park.It was opened in 1994, and is the only stand-up coaster in Europe. It is also the only stand-up roller coaster with a zero-g roll ever made....
, an Intamin stand-up roller coaster
Stand-up roller coaster
A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster designed to have the passengers stand through the course of the ride. These roller coasters are very intense, and generally carry taller height restrictions than other rides.-History:...
which today still stands as the only stand up rollercoaster operating in Europe and the only stand up in the world with a zero-G roll, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach unveiled the Pepsi Max Big One
Pepsi Max Big One
The Big One is a steel roller coaster located at Pleasure Beach Blackpool in the United Kingdom. The ride was originally manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, a now defunct steel coaster manufacturer, and was sponsored by the soft drinks firm Pepsi, under their brand of Pepsi Max until 2011...
- which at the time stood as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.
Legacy
Seventeen years after its opening, Nemesis is still one of the most popular rides in the park and indeed worldwide. The coaster is still ranked as one of the best coasters in the world by many polls, with thecoastercritic.com ranking the ride as the 3rd best roller coaster in the world in 2006 and the 6th best in 2007 and 2008 and The Golden Ticket Awards ranking it as the 13th best steel roller coaster in the world in 2008. Many of the best rides it has been ranked with, such as Superman: Ride of Steel and Expedition GeForceExpedition GeForce
bigFM Expedition GeForce is a steel roller coaster located at Holiday Park in Haßloch, Germany. It is one of the largest roller coasters in Europe and has an 82 degree first drop, the steepest in Germany. The trains travel up to through a course long with seven periods of weightlessness...
, are many times taller and faster than Nemesis, as well as more modern. Yet, despite also the planning height restrictions that the local council enforce Alton Towers to abide by, (all coasters have to be below the tree line hence why Nemesis is built into the ground somewhat) the coaster remains very popular due to its sheer intensity and thrill. The coaster was such a success that it spawned a 'sequel' coaster at its sister theme park Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002...
under the name of Nemesis Inferno
Nemesis Inferno
Nemesis Inferno is a steel inverted roller coaster, themed around an erupting tropical volcano, in the Thorpe Park theme park in Surrey, England, UK. It was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland...
.
In April 2009, over 20 complaints were submitted to the council by local villagers complaning of increased noise levels from the ride after maintenance work over the closed season. Alton Towers briefly ran the ride at a reduced capacity until new wheels were installed, the ride is now operating fully again.
In the media
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park is a theme park located in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK. It was built in 1979 on the site of a gravel pit which was partially flooded, the intention of creating a water based theme for the park. The park's first large roller coaster, Colossus, was added in 2002...
. The event took place to celebrate 50 years of Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
,this record has now been beaten though.
Nemesis was briefly renamed Wonderland
Wonderland (McFly album)
Wonderland is the second album by English pop rock boyband McFly. It was released in the UK on 29 August 2005 and was a success, certifying platinum after selling over 300,000 copies in the UK...
for a month in 2005, to celebrate the release of pop-rock band McFly
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
's new album. The band took a ride on Nemesis on CD:UK
CD:UK
CD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme was first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.In...
, a popular music television programme.
Storyline
This is the legend of Nemesis:
'Nemesis' comes from another dimension, a dimension beyond our imagination. There are theories, and then there is the legend...
Beneath the ground at Alton Towers, something strange and horrible lurks: a creature put on the Earth over two million years ago. The creature was disturbed during maintenance work on one of the other rides in Forbidden Valley. The creature, angry at being disturbed, caused havoc, ripping up trees and buildings, sending them hurtling skyward. A security silence fell over Alton Towers as historians, archaeologists and the Ministry of Defence nervously began some serious investigations. What they discovered was Nemesis. It had to be controlled - 250 tonnes of steel and 200 men pinned it down. The steel holding down the monster was twisted and bent into unusual shapes - the steel was the roller coaster track thrill seekers ride today - Nemesis.
Layout
Once the train is locked and checked, it makes a 45-degree, right-hand turn towards the lift hill. Once at the top of the hill, the train makes a quick dip and turns around 180 degrees to the left. The train then descends down the drop into the first inversion, a right-handed corkscrew. The train then makes a right-handed, 270-degree downward helix, with 90 degree banking and a tight radius, achieving the maximum G-force of the ride, this is also where the on-ride camera is located. Then the train rises up into the second inversion, a zero g roll. It then makes a 180-degree right-handed stall turn into the third inversion, a vertical loop. After another stall turn, but this time to the left, the train makes the final inversion, another right-handed corkscrew. The train then passes through an underground tunnel, and through one more 180-degree turn, before being stopped by the brakes and entering the station.The helix following the first inversion is one of the most intense elements of any rollercoaster in the world. The section of track as well as the train wheel assemblies undergo stresses far higher than what is typical for a modern rollercoaster. No inverted rollercoaster has since been built that takes an element at such a high speed.
Statistics
- Construction started: 1991
- Designed by: John WardleyJohn WardleyJohn Wardley is a British award-winning concept designer and developer for theme parks, mainly for rides such as roller coasters.-Rides Designed By John:*Nemesis*Oblivion*Air*Thirteen *Haunted House*Runaway Mine Train...
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Ride type: B&M inverted
- Programmed by: Consign AG
- Ride opened: 19 March 1994
- Total cost: Approx. £10 million
- Length: Approx. 716 metres
- Highest drop: Approx. 13 metres
- Top speed: Approx. 50 mph (80 km/h)
- Maximum g-forceG-forceThe g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
: 4.5 - Number of trains: 2
- Passengers per train: 32
- Max throughput per hour: 1400 (approximately, 1400+ has been recorded but not often)
- Ride duration: Approx. 80 seconds
- Inversions: 4 (corkscrew, zero g roll, loop, corkscrew)
Awards
| Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Ranking | ||||||||||||
See also
- Alton TowersAlton TowersAlton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
- Inverted roller coasterInverted roller coasterAn inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...
- Bolliger & MabillardBolliger & MabillardBolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...
- Nemesis InfernoNemesis InfernoNemesis Inferno is a steel inverted roller coaster, themed around an erupting tropical volcano, in the Thorpe Park theme park in Surrey, England, UK. It was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland...