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1984 Accident?

Benzin

Benzin

TS Member
Daft thing, watching a YouTube video of some people discussing theme park accidents and it opened with an apparent accident at Alton Towers in 1984 involving a "Runaway Mine Train" where two trains collided (similarly to Smiler) but caused death.

I'm not wrong in thinking this never happened right? Google says nothing bar Corkscrew getting stuck. Did a ride of that name ever exist in those days?

Mostly so I can rant on the comments of said video.
 
Given that was nearly 10 years before the Runaway Mine Train opened I doubt it.

There was however an incident in which the Runaway Mine Train did collide in the way that was described. I think the front carriages split away and because of the tire drive system the back carriages rammed into it. But I don't think it ever resulted in a death. However I'm sure someone on here has the full details of that incident.
 
I could believe such an incident might have happened on Black Hole....?
..... But not on a coaster that has only ever had one train. ;)
 
No, never heard of that and I have taken an unhealthy interest in such incidents over the years!

It is probably AI mush that has been used as 'research'. I've noticed before AI has a tendency of attributing the date of an incident to the opening date of the ride, for example it will tell you the Space Invader incidnet at BPPB occurred in 1984 which is it's opening year rather than when it occurred in 2000, I've also seem it attribute the Battersea incident to various dates, some being decades after the park was long gone.
I can't think of anything notable from 84 at AT that would cause this though.
 
Benzin said:
Daft thing, watching a YouTube video of some people discussing theme park accidents and it opened with an apparent accident at Alton Towers in 1984 involving a "Runaway Mine Train" where two trains collided (similarly to Smiler) but caused death.

I'm not wrong in thinking this never happened right? Google says nothing bar Corkscrew getting stuck. Did a ride of that name ever exist in those days?

Mostly so I can rant on the comments of said video.
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the only mine train ride death I can think of is Disney (although not a collision, the wheel assembly broke causing the brake fin to collide with the brake housing sending the first car into the roof

there was a collision on RMT though, if I recall correctly one draw bar broke on it and then it rolled back into the train: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/5198728.stm

not sure what happened but I would assume the operator would have noticed half the train missing, so I am guessing the front car ??? (the article mentioned it, and I can't recall if it is driven or not) detached then this was noticed and the train was E-stopped, but the front continued one, till it reached the hill then it came back and collided, but that is a guess based on how the ride works
 
The Blackhole had an incident in April 1984, but it was not a collision between two trains and no one died.

The incident happened when one of the car 'shuddered to a halt' mid-ride. 5 people were injured and the ride was closed for about a week, but then was given the all clear. I'm not sure if they ever revealed what had caused the issue, but in early reports it was linked to the mechanism that kept the cars from leaving the track.
 
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