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15/03/2009, 11:42 AM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 681 Re: Does anybody remember? Thanks for clarifying, was not aware of that. New Brighton is fascinating in itself... the videos of the fire in the Tower Ballroom that can be found on Youtube bear distinct simularities to what happened in Weston last July... the people standing around staring in amazement, having to pump the water "miles" because there's none available close by etc. (Marine Lake supplied the water to "put out" the Grand Pier fire - quite a distance)... interesting parallels Sean    Report

16/03/2009, 8:54 AM furie Joined on 13/02/2009 Stafford Posts 4 Re: Does anybody remember? Superb stuff! Now we just nee dto find out why there's no mention of it at Brighton ;) Don't do half a job :) Seriously though, that's superb stuff. I'll try and get it put onto a map somewhere and recognised. RCDB is the first place, as it's essentially THE reference for all things Roller Coaster.    Report

16/03/2009, 10:14 AM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Yes it`s surprising there`s no mention of the FOE at Brighton,but I`m not looking anymore ...I`ll leave that to you furie. Good to get it on the record books though.  The funny thing is I have a vague memory of seeing a coaster in Brighton in the early seventies on the seafront but never made any connection or rode on it. I remember seeing it from my fathers car as we drove along the front. You can see now too why  the brake for the cars at the rides end didnt work very well. If they had been changed from wood to steel then presumably the cars  would have been much heavier and gone above the original design parameters...Arnold should have uprated the brake aswell or if he did it wasn`t enough...Probably the ride would have been faster too. But anyway that`s just a final point that crossed my mind. Still like to see some photos though.    Report

17/03/2009, 8:44 AM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 681 Re: Does anybody remember? This is the New Brighton figure-of-eight in 1948... How did the Weston one compare? Sean    Report

17/03/2009, 9:34 AM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Excellent photo Sean. I`ve been to most places in the UK during the sixties and seventies as my parents had a touring caravan but I`ve never been to New Brighton. I`ve been on most coasters too during that time but I wish I`d known then there was a sister coaster to the Weston FOE at New Brighton as I would have badgered my parents for us to go there as we would have been nearby on several occasions.....Having said that though, they didn`t exactly share my enthusiasm for funfairs,so it would have probably been,"No, lets go and visit a castle or museum or something instead". I also wish I`d known that Brighton coaster was the Weston one too. Sometimes when rides change hands the name is changed and the colour too so bear that possibility in mind if anyone is looking for evidence of the FOE at Brighton. As for how the ride would have looked at Weston,it`s difficult to say really as the FOE was enclosed inside the pavilion giving a different perspective to the great shot of that photo. But as the Brenners say though it was very similar so it must have looked the same. I`ve been comparing the photo to the map of the rides I have and the Ghost Train must have been inside the top circle  (seaward end) and the two store rooms the other circle of the "8" (landward end). The former maintenance man told me there were plenty of hiding places underneath the FOE for a bit of skiving and also for taking girls there when the boss wasn`t around ....  I bet there was!  lol. Thanks Sean. David        Report

21/03/2009, 6:18 AM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 681 Re: Does anybody remember? This sounds just your sort of thing, David... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/7954537.stm Sean    Report

21/03/2009, 9:14 AM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Yes Sean very interesting,but I dont think I`ll be bidding as I dont get much luck with ebay. I`m a hi-fi enthusiast too and every time I`ve tried to buy some classic  piece of kit, like the dream high end amp or cd player etc of 20  years or so ago that I could never afford at the time, I`m gazumped at the last second. I like the bit about,"its not something you could really put in the post". lol. As for Blackpool, I have some great memories as a boy there. Most funfairs had one coaster, two if you were lucky, but Blackpool, all those "woodies" in one place...Amazing. I remember going on the Log Flume the year it was opened (1967 I think) and my parents were horrified at the cost.  3 shillings I recall when all the other rides were 1 shilling.  I had two sisters going on with me aswell so my parents had to fork out quite a bit for just one go. The queues were massive too,but what a ride....something completely unique at that time. Now if a Figure of Eight car ever comes up for sale though...............        Report

06/06/2009, 4:30 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Just a quick reminder. I`ve just noticed that Sharon Poole`s book The History of the Grand Pier was published this week and should be a good read for anyone interested. I will have to wait until my next visit to Weston to get hold of a copy as just having had a second card cloned I`m not doing anymore internet purchases and I doubt it will be in bookshops elsewhere as it will probably be a limited release. A review here would be appreciated though from whoever buys it first. David      Report

06/06/2009, 8:19 PM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 681 Re: Does anybody remember? If you want me to buy you a copy and send it to you I will. Drop me a line at sean@seanmiller.net - happy to do it.  You can send me a cheque or whatever for cost + postage. Sean    Report

03/08/2009, 12:38 PM Sharon Joined on 26/01/2009 Posts 11 Re: Does anybody remember? Hi David. You should be able to order the new Grand Pier book from your local bookshop, WH Smiths, Waterstones, Borders or wherever.  The title is The Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare and the publisher is The History Press of Stroud.  I hope you, and anyone else you reads it, enjoys it.    Report

03/08/2009, 5:17 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Yes thanks for that. I was mistaken in thinking it wouldn`t be on general release and recently tried to buy the book in both Smiths and Waterstones but they were sold out. I could have ordered it, but as I`m visiting Weston this week I hope to buy it then. Sean very kindly offered to send me a copy but again as I`m coming to Weston it will save him the trouble of wrapping and posting etc. I look forward to reading it and just hope Weston isn`t sold out as well. If it is, it must be good news for you Sharon, as that means the book is selling well?    Report

04/08/2009, 7:30 AM Sean Miller Joined on 02/10/2008 Weston-super-Mare Posts 681 Re: Does anybody remember? Weston isn't sold out... you can get it at WHSmith, Waterstones, the Tourist Information Centre and the North Somerset Museum.  Can probably get it at other places too... Sean    Report

06/08/2009, 6:22 PM the uncle Joined on 14/01/2009 Posts 80 Re: Does anybody remember? Thanks to Sean I now  have a signed copy of the book and a very good book it is too. Excellent photos of the pier throughout it`s history and plenty to read. The only slight disappointment is the two photos of the Figure of Eight only show a small portion of track in the background...I would have liked to have seen more and in particular one of the cars....The FOE still has some mystery left it seems. Anyone who is interested in the Grand Pier should definitely check  this book out.   David    Report

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