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14/01/2009, 1:09 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Does anybody remember? Anyone here remember an old ride inside the pavilion on the Grand Pier called The Figure Eight that I think was operational betwwen 1933 and 1962/3? I rode this old wooden roller coaster as a young boy just before it was dismantled  but can now find no references to it anywhere.It seems to have vanished from the record books. I have a letter going in the Weston Mercury for info but thought someone here might know too. Thanks in advance.      Report

16/01/2009, 1:52 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? I received two letters in the post today from life long residents of Weston after my letter went in the paper yesterday.( Maybe more are to come or someone will post here?) Both could remember the ride  so I have not been dreaming (that`s a relief) but I would still like to see a photo and find out when and why it was taken down etc. All other rides on the Grand Pier both past and present are well documented both in books and  on the net so why not the figure 8? Surely such a large ride and probably unique  too because it was purpose built for the Grand Pier should be on the record books somewhere? Anyone?    Report

17/01/2009, 9:50 AM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 838 Re: Does anybody remember? Curious how this thing appears to have been forgotten entirely. It's not here for instance... Hmmm... Sean    Report

17/01/2009, 12:12 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Thanks for responding Sean. It would be good if the Mercury had an "Eddie Shoestring" type reporter  (remember him? I used to love that series) and he (or she) got on the case, dug up the old photos and did a nice feature article on the ride.(my local paper The Salisbury Journal does such trips down memory lane all the time).It would be a nice counterbalance to all the talk at the moment about what rides are going to be on the Grand Pier when the new pavilion reopens in 2010.The figure 8 of course started (I think) when the "new" pavilion opened in 1933 after the first pier fire so a feature on the ride could be about "what happened last time". January/February must be relatively news quiet months in a seaside town surely, so why not?    Report

25/01/2009, 8:56 AM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? I have received some more letters on this subject which are interesting. As I dont live in Weston the Mercury printed my full address instead of just a road name and so it seems all the letters came to me instead of the paper. I would have liked them really to have gone to the Mercury as that might have generated more interest and perhaps more replies and debate. Anyhow, one of the letters mentioned a fatality on the ride  and that was the reason it was taken down. Does that ring any bells with anyone?    Report

04/02/2009, 7:21 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Right,let`s try this... I think there should be less bus routes in Weston, you must all pay for the privilege of visiting  public toilets  and Dave the drug dealer should be praised for his sevices to the local community. While you are all replying to that,give a little thought to my query will ya...cheers. After all some of you reading this forum must be around the right age and lived in Weston all your lives too.  You cant all be suffering from collective memory loss surely? And before anyone says "who cares"...I do and I like Weston as much as you do and will probably retire there. What makes this all the more astonishing is,I received a letter today from a contact who lives in Weston (and has done for a long time) given to me by a writer about piers and is connected to the subject I am asking about and yet says he has no knowledge of the matter. If I was a bit more of a  conspiratorial type of thinker (I am a bit) then I would be suspecting someone or something is trying to stop me or anyone else finding out about this ride. So for the final time, before I come to Weston and  jump off the end of the Grand Pier, (yes I know, do that please and give us all some peace) does anybody know of The Figure Of Eight and when and why it was taken down?          Report

05/02/2009, 4:22 PM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 838 Re: Does anybody remember? Tempting though it is, Uncle, to claim I've got the Figure of Eight in my garage in pieces and drag you all the way down to Weston for your disingenuous post I won't!! It was probably taken down 6 years or more before I was born so, alas, I cannot claim any knowledge and most certainly am not deliberately failing to help! Sean    Report

08/02/2009, 11:44 AM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Ha,ha Sean,big garage,what car do you drive?( Made me smile and brightened my mood.) But seriously,if I want to find out about the Waterchute on Birnbeck pier which is far older then no problem and photos too.Likewise the Switchback,again far older and same pier,no worries....The Figure Of Eight on the Grand Pier however,one big nothing and a wall of silence. Five letters on the subject have come my way,yet 3 of them have been very vague,one no knowledge and one telling the rather grisly story of a death on the ride that without corroboration I dont know what to make of. I have been on about this "lost" ride periodically at a low level on and off over the years to those around me and anyone else who would listen,all of whom have been sceptical of its existence (especially my rollercoaster enthusiast niece...hence the name the uncle here),but since my father died recently and then the pier burnt down I have concentrated my efforts to find out about this ride that had a big impact on me as a young boy I just want closure really on something that has been bugging me for a long time.            Report

12/02/2009, 1:33 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Just a quick update.... A former maintenance worker on the pier has contacted me and doesn`t mind me saying about it and is supplying some very useful information about the ride and the pier in general. However he only worked on the pier  until 1958 when he had to do his National Service. He spent an extended time in the Army over and above the statutory two years and on his return to Weston in 1965 the Figure Of Eight was gone.  As he never worked on the pier again he doesn`t know when it was dismantled. So I still need someone else (or more) who worked on the Grand Pier during the early sixties to help me further. Also, (and this is the holy grail) I need any photos of the ride anyone might have....We all take pictures at work from time to time, so there must be some out there. The plans or blue prints too for the ride! (lol) Anyone have them?     David    Report

12/02/2009, 7:01 PM steve Joined on 10/01/2009 Posts 51 Re: Does anybody remember? I have not been ignoring you uncle but have indeed been trying to find out some info for you. From what I have found out there was indeed a very small rollercoaster on the Grand Pier. It was called the figure of eight although did not resemble other rollercoasters of the same name that were around the country. In fact it wad more of a childs type attraction. By that I don't mean it was just for kids but rather was not what adults would class as an exciting ride. From what I have been told it was removed very, very quickly after the train de-railed and killed several children. The ride was actually sold for scrap and did not appear anywhere else in the country. Due to its lack of longevity on the pier I would doubt that there are many (if any) photos of the ride and considering what I have had to go to to find out this info for you, I gather it is a ride that people want to forget about. I can't really blame them, I mean who wants to remember something that is responsible for killing children that were supposed to be on holiday enjoying themselves. Anyway hope this helps and good luck trying to find out any more info, You're going to need it. In my opinion it is probably best to let sleeping dogs lie now.    Report

12/02/2009, 7:55 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember?  steve wrote: I have not been ignoring you uncle but have indeed been trying to find out some info for you. From what I have found out there was indeed a very small rollercoaster on the Grand Pier. It was called the figure of eight although did not resemble other rollercoasters of the same name that were around the country. In fact it wad more of a childs type attraction. By that I don't mean it was just for kids but rather was not what adults would class as an exciting ride. From what I have been told it was removed very, very quickly after the train de-railed and killed several children. The ride was actually sold for scrap and did not appear anywhere else in the country. Due to its lack of longevity on the pier I would doubt that there are many (if any) photos of the ride and considering what I have had to go to to find out this info for you, I gather it is a ride that people want to forget about. I can't really blame them, I mean who wants to remember something that is responsible for killing children that were supposed to be on holiday enjoying themselves. Anyway hope this helps and good luck trying to find out any more info, You're going to need it. In my opinion it is probably best to let sleeping dogs lie now.   If that is true then I will indeed drop it,but this is the second "death" story I have heard and the recent contact I have said he  doubts there were any deaths on the ride. The only person he knows of who was hurt during his time there was an RAF man who was messing about and he wasnt hurt bad. He was only there until June 1958 but said his father worked there until 62 and would of told him of any deaths. The cars on the figure of eight too were single and not a train. Now you have mentioned this I will say what I heard and that was a boy was decapitated by a cross beam while playing a game of "chicken" and his head landed in the lap of a girl sitting behind in the 4 seater car.Apparently that was how the car stopped at the "Turnstile" or "Brake". Do you know Steve when this "derailment" occurred and when the ride was removed? Also the maintenance man tells me the ride was there when he used to visit the pier as a child just after the war and I rode on it (and it wasnt a "kiddie coaster") in 1962 /3 so it wasnt there a short time as you have been told. But I say again if either "death" story is true then I will most certainly drop it. At the moment however I am un convinced until further evidence is put forward,but I appreciate your input Steve. Perhaps now is the moment for others who know the real story of this ride to speak.      Report

13/02/2009, 10:12 AM furie Joined on 13/02/2009 Stafford Posts 4 Re: Does anybody remember? This is actually brillant. From a historic point of view, there's an undocumented classic wooden coaster that has "vanished". I suspect the reason there's little in the way of details is because it was completely inside the building at theend of the pier. This is something unique for a coaster that age -perhaps the first indoor coaster in the UK! It would be excellent if more information could be dug out about this. I've done a lot of research, and just can't find any detail besides passing mentions on the ride. To actually get some photographs and confirmation would be superb - a piece of history rediscovered! As for the tales of death... The worst UK coaster incident was at Battersea in 1972. Five kids killed and more injured when the Big Dipper (a Scenic Railway) had the lift break and the roll backs failed. The train crashed back down into the station. I think there is some truth as always to these rumours, it's just that the actual details get lost on people. This happened at Battersea, but in some telling somewhere, somebody says their best freind's cousin was at Weston when it happened. Then it suddenly become Weston where it happened. I have heard decapitation tales from Blackpool from both the Wild Mouse and the Grand National. I'm sure there have been deaths (especially on the GN as it only got restraints in 1983), but I suspect that the grisly decapitation was on some coaster, somewhere, but has been attributed to most woodies since http://www.london-today.net/web/events/may/30/00003005/1218761756.html for the truth The Battersea tragedy led to most of the UK wooden coasters remaining to be torn down. Inspectors were sent to them all, and parks were told to fix them, or get rid. As the cost of getting them up to scratch was too much - most went. There's a kind of Dinosaur extinction of wooden coasters happened in the early 70's, and it's this coaster accident which sealed it. The market had been in downturn for around ten years anyway (hence the delapidation of these coasters during the late sixties and early seventies). After that, there were very few left in the country (Yarmouth, Southport, Margate, Morecambe and Blackpool I think). All the rest were gone by 1978 at the latest. That's just so you get an idea of how big a deal that crash was. Any big accident of a similar scale at Weston would have been of major interest and been well known. I look forward to seeing more information come to light about this - I reckon The Uncle could probably write a book based on his research so far! :)    Report

13/02/2009, 10:29 AM AllMouthNoTrousers Joined on 21/02/2008 Weston Posts 1,012 Re: Does anybody remember?  steve wrote: From what I have been told it was removed very, very quickly after the train de-railed and killed several children. Now I'm the first to admit I have no specialist knowledge on this subject, and was not even born at the time of this alleged incident... but frankly, I would be amazed if this were true! Weston is a small town, and an infamous incident of this type and scale would not be easily forgotten - I am positive people would know about it, and certain that with the amount of pier coverage and archive exploration in recent months, it would have come to light. I would challenge someone to come forth with actual evidence, because I believe this is just an unfortunate urban myth.    Report

13/02/2009, 4:44 PM CazInZumerzet Joined on 02/08/2008 Weston super Mare Posts 213 Re: Does anybody remember? I grew up in Weston and lived here until 1962, and from time to time went up the Pier with family and friends and I have no memory of this ride, none whatever, although I do remember other rides and games.  I am also quite amazed at the accident reports here because again I have heard nothing of them, and in those days Weston was a very much smaller town, and fatalities like those would have been public knowledge. How about checking with the Mercury?  Old Westonians never die, they go out on the tide...    Report

14/02/2009, 11:12 AM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? An accident of the scale of "several children" killed would indeed be public knowledge,but maybe a smaller incident of maybe one child or adult hurt or killed could have been given little publicity and now be forgotten. Access to the media would have been a lot less then than it is now and if any worries about effecting the tourist trade played a part then maybe it was "hushed up" and the ride quietly taken down and never mentioned of again....Something is strange why this unique ride is "lost". Either that or it  was just removed because it was old and at the natural end of its life and by some odd quirk forgotten. I dont know which is true and I want to find out.Obviously though if the former is true then I dont want to open a can of worms and bring back bad memories. (There must be a time limit however when the people involved are either old or dead when it is alright to talk about it without causing offence which I should think might apply in this case) And furie,I take your point about the decapitation tales and maybe you are right, but when you say it probably happened on some coaster somewhere,what if that coaster was the Figure of Eight and all subsequent untrue tales came from that one true event?  I have no idea if that "decapitation" story is true or not,but the person who told me it was a former pier worker and knew alot about the ride that I have since cross checked and found to be correct. I have checked with the Mercury too and I hope they look into it because the true story of this ride needs to be told....In the meantime however anyone else have anything to add to the debate?   David   Edit/PS It would be a lot easier if there was nothing sinister about the ride and then there would be no reason for people to not come forward. (although it might spoil a good story for some) So, if these accident stories are just tales and urban myths as some have speculated and you are in the know,then please says so and dispel them (or confirm of course)....Silence will only perpetuate and give credence to the stories. Thankyou and I`m not writing a book by the way.      Report

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