• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Black Hole

:'(

Why would you not refurbish that for the cost?

Hopefully she's assisting a new park to grow though, and great to see her refurbished and shiny and frankly quite beautiful, rather than being scrapped!

Just goes to show what a bit of TLC can do for a classic.

AT missed a trick here I reckon.

I miss this ride.
 
Although I never rode, I like the refurbished photo. It does show how Alton Towers have moved on though, and I couldn't see a place for it now.
 
I really want to go to this park now! I miss her but hopefully her new replacement will be worth it. Would have liked to have been back in a tent though, it looks strange outdoors.
 
Interesting that Gert have had some involvement on the refurb

Anyhow, it doesnt look as impressive in day light. It feel higher up in the dark
 
Gerstlauer seem to have taken on the Schwarzkopf back catalogue, they have recently started producing trains for Schwarzkopf coasters - Sooperdooperlooper now runs Gerstlauer trains, and Turbine at Walibi World will be getting one too.
 
gerstlauer-black-hole-refurb.jpg


I don't recall ever seeing this photo before! Love how you can just see the towers in the background though!

It's nice to see the old girl getting some love and attention in her old age!
 
Wow Dave!!! :eek:

I have never seen that photo anywhere before - it's brilliant thank you!
 
It does look weird seeing it outside and in bright colours. It seems to look really small compared to how big the black hole tent was.
 
Hello All,
The Black Hole started out as a Jet Star 2 which was a smaller version of the Jumbo Jet or Jet Star 3. The main difference was a Jet Star 2 had a shorter track and the support columns would only support a single car. As the story goes Alton Towers wanted to have coupled cars or trains, so they had it refurbished changing the support columns to that of a Jumbo Jet that way they the ride would support trains... I believe this picture is when the ride went through it's transformation into becoming a Jumbo Jet Jr.

Kind Regards,

Jerry
 
I'm not so sure, I'm not convinced they would of torn down the tent to remove the ride, they didn't when she finally met her demise. They may of opened it up in places for access, but completely remove every trace of it from the site.?

Also by the looks of that photo there's a lot of fresh ground works around the embankment to the rear or the site, which to me suggests this is taken during the rides original installation. Does anyone know if the station was ever rethemed during its life time? As it isn't present at all in this shot.
 
I have done lots of research on various Jet Star coasters.... From Wikipedia Black Hole (roller coaster)
"For the 1988 season, the coaster was dismantled and transported to Europe, where it had an overhaul, which then allowed the ride to use dual car trains. The reconstructed coaster, complete with minor overhaul of the internal special effects, then operated briefly as "New Black Hole", and then from 1989 it operated as "Black Hole II" before reverting to the original name.
This photo shows the the ride's transformation almost complete:
jetstarconstructionjpg1.jpg
 
Is that the photo you were referring to in your original post? Or the one that I posed earlier in the topic? If you were referring to the one you just posted then ignore what I said in my last post,

The photo you just posted is a well known photo of the ride during its refit in Europe, so in that respect you are correct.
 
Top