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[2024] Nemesis Reborn: Construction and Speculation

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Rick said:
Why would it need new trains? The track and supports are closing in on 30 years old, the trains are not.

It's possible, Hulk did, after all, but feels lower priority.
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I would counter argue that with while the trains have probably had many bits and pieces replaced over the years. The main bulk of the train, aka the chassis, or backbone if you like, is more than likely the same age as the track and supports. That might last a while longer, I do not know the condition of the chassis. But it has been going round and round a high intensity ride for 30 years now. So who knows.

This is not me saying I agree that the trains will be replaced, just pedantic old me pointing a valid point out. Generally to consider a train having been replaced, it would be when the chassis is replaced, like wise, when determining the true age of a train, you generally take it from the chassis age. To my knowledge that has never been replaced. So I would say the true age of the trains are the same age as the ride. Despite having new seats, wheels, bogies, restraints ect.

If the chassis has been looked after, which I assume it has. It is in affect like a newer train I guess, so I do sort of agree with and understand what you are saying. But a point will come, when the cost of maintaining an ever aging chassis outweighs the cost of replacing it. As every year, more work (and money) will be needed to get that chassis back up to a decent condition as metal fatigue and what not increases with the ageing of the metal. I guess they could buy a new chassis and bolt all the seats, wheel assemblies and restraints and what not on to it. But I cannot imagine a new chassis being cheap, so it could be more cost effective to just get a whole new train, especially if the time is near for a lot of the components that bolt on to the chassis need replacing within a few years anyway.

If the chassis has been looked after and I imagine it has, being Alton Towers. The year on year work needed to get it back up to scratch will be somewhat mitigated by the very good maintenance it has had. But science is science and the work needed will be still be increasing year on year. I guess they would look at the ever increasing yearly maintenance of the trains against the outlay of new ones to work out what the most long term cost effective solution would be. From my understanding atleast.

Who knows, exciting times either way!
 
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Jb85 said:
I wonder if they will change the layout in anyway? I hope not but it wouldn’t shock me if they tried to add something. Also, can we see them adding a pre station show at all?

either way - I like many didn’t get to see this ride constructed, my first visit was 1994.

excited to see the works on this, even if it is a re track. Do we think they will effectively demolish it first before rebuilding it, or replace section by section?
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The only ground-work I can see them doing is to rebuild some of the footers, as was done with Hulk. They have had problems with some of the footers / track stress on the helix, that have lead to cross-ties being cut away & rail replacements in the past. C-37-L1 footer (where the ride exits from the vertical loop) that used to have a blood river running over it has caused more than a few problems over the years.

Problems I should say that led to Technical Services wanting the ride closed on the Sunday of Fireworks in 2001. You could clearly hear the train sounding wrong as C-37-L1 was failing. Ralph Armond over-ruled Technical Services. That would never have happened 15yrs later - when the safety culture had changed somewhat.
 
Whatever happens, I just hope they don’t ruin it with cheap gimmicks. I was only 3 when Nemesis opened so I don’t remember the hype during construction or opening, but I do remember how the ride became such an icon of 90s popular culture, much like Oblivion to a slightly lesser but still impressive extent.

It would be a great shame if we were to lose the sense of impact this ride had, and still has.
 
It would be interesting to see how much changes when the ride gets retracked, Will they keep the current paint scheme? Will they change the soundtrack? Will anything be done with the Sub Terra building such as a Nemesis-themed maze?

Anyway here's a few enhancements I would make, without making any major changes to the ride experience:
  • Themed Uniforms - Maybe like a camouflage red, white and grey uniform?
  • Theming Enhancements to Interior of Station - Make it more obvious that it's a military base, maybe even have Phalanx logos on the walls?
  • Permanent Lighting Package/Light Show - Similar to the lighting package in 2016 but also program the lights and a new soundtrack for an intermittent light show at Scarefest/Fireworks, such like Rookburgh/Fly has just had installed, this would bring more atmosphere into the pit and enhance the ride experience of riders lucky enough at night.
  • More Theming Cohesion - Maybe they could have an old track piece decorated as a Nemesis tentacle coming out of a portal between Galactica and Nemesis?
I know any of those are unlikely but I think they're good ideas neither-the-less.
 
Bert2theSpark said:
It would be interesting to see how much changes when the ride gets retracked, Will they keep the current paint scheme? Will they change the soundtrack? Will anything be done with the Sub Terra building such as a Nemesis-themed maze?

Anyway here's a few enhancements I would make, without making any major changes to the ride experience:
  • Themed Uniforms - Maybe like a camouflage red, white and grey uniform?
  • Theming Enhancements to Interior of Station - Make it more obvious that it's a military base, maybe even have Phalanx logos on the walls?
  • Permanent Lighting Package/Light Show - Similar to the lighting package in 2016 but also program the lights and a new soundtrack for an intermittent light show at Scarefest/Fireworks, such like Rookburgh/Fly has just had installed, this would bring more atmosphere into the pit and enhance the ride experience of riders lucky enough at night.
  • More Theming Cohesion - Maybe they could have an old track piece decorated as a Nemesis tentacle coming out of a portal between Galactica and Nemesis?
I know any of those are unlikely but I think they're good ideas neither-the-less.
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I'll add a pre-show to the list. Someone I know suggested rerouting the queue line and using the N:ST building for a pre-show and also a new shop, which I think is a great idea. Would be far enough from the station to not affect the throughput too much as well. :)
 
Skyscraper said:
I'll add a pre-show to the list. Someone I know suggested rerouting the queue line and using the N:ST building for a pre-show and also a new shop, which I think is a great idea. Would be far enough from the station to not affect the throughput too much as well. :)
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I'm not keen on that idea to be honest, the building is too far away from the station to be practical, I'd rather see a new flat ride or scare maze on the N:ST site. Also Nemesis is one of those rides where the story doesn't need to be explained, nor was it ever meant to be understood/explained, part of the fun is trying to make up your own story to the ride, the theme should be enhanced as to give guests more ways to interpret the story and be immersed in the experience, but not indulge exposition of the ride itself.
 
If they were to introduce a pre-show, could it possibly tell a remastered version of the original 1994 story? Or would it likely be different, in your opinion? Although I’m not sure where they could really put a pre-show in Nemesis’ queue without doing some kind of substantial groundwork or layout change to the entire surrounding area…

Also, if the soundtrack were to be changed, how would you guys feel about a remastered version from someone like IMAScore, similar to what was done to Colossus & Inferno at Thorpe? The new tracks on those two keep the more iconic and well-known sections of the original tracks (so in Nemesis’ case, I’d imagine that bits like the “dun, dun, dun… dun, dun, dun, dun” melody would be kept), but alter some of the other bits slightly. And to be honest, I thought IMAScore did a pretty great job at Thorpe, and as controversial as this might be, I’m not sure I’d necessarily be averse to them doing something similar with Nemesis if it were to be announced, as much as I do like the ride’s current soundtrack.

Personally, I would give Nemesis some thematic enhancements alongside the actual track replacement itself. For instance:
  • I’d redo the station interior to look like the inside of the monster as opposed to the metallic look it has now. I reckon some ambient lighting and smells like you have on Wicker Man would work excellently here!
  • I would also add some miscellaneous bits of theming around the ride and queue area. As much as I admire the pit and the landscaping, and I also think that the monster is an impressive structure, Nemesis doesn’t have an awful lot of theming or atmospheric touches beyond the actual monster itself, particularly in the queue, and I would seek to change that if I were personally given free rein over a refurbishment. Admittedly, there may have been more theming in 1994, but I can only speak for the ride as it is at present, and at present, I don’t think there’s much theming on Nemesis beyond the station.
Also; in answer to the question that @Jb85 asked a bit earlier about how they’d conduct a retrack, I think they’d probably remove the ride in its entirety (bar lift hill, brake run and station track) and then put in the new track, as that’s what B&M did with Hulk at Universal. So we could well have a brief period where there’s practically no Nemesis in that pit!
 
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Matt N said:
, if the soundtrack were to be changed, how would you guys feel about a remastered version from someone like IMAScore, similar to what was done to Colossus & Inferno at Thorpe? The new tracks on those two keep the more iconic and well-known sections of the original tracks (so in Nemesis’ case, I’d imagine that bits like the “dun, dun, dun… dun, dun, dun, dun” melody would be kept), but alter some of the other bits slightly. And to be honest, I thought IMAScore did a pretty great job at Thorpe, and as controversial as this might be, I’m not sure I’d necessarily be averse to them doing something similar with Nemesis if it were to be announced, as much as I do like the ride’s current soundtrack.
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IMAscore should not be trusted with such as amazing piece of music. They do make good music however nemesis's music is already great. It fits everything about the ride and suites it perfectly. It builds atmosphere in a great way. In fact the only thing I'd suggest with the music is to have some more speakers around, particularly in the extension queue line if they keep that open after COVID, which I hope they do. In fact I'd like to see them do a proper good job tidying up that queue with new paving as it's started to crumble in places if I remember from earlier in the year.
 
I believe this project should be titled,

Nemesis 2.0: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Essentially, do what is required to retrack the ride to ensure it stays operational for another 30 years and restore lost features (such as the water falls). But nothing more.

No new soundtracks, pre shows, shops and so on. It doesn’t need it and wouldn’t really bring anything more to the experience that would justify the investment.
 
AT86 said:
I believe this project should be titled,

Nemesis 2.0: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Essentially, do what is required to retrack the ride to ensure it stays operational for another 30 years and restore lost features (such as the water falls). But nothing more.

No new soundtracks, pre shows, shops and so on. It doesn’t need it and wouldn’t really bring anything more to the experience that would justify the investment.
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I agree 100% only restoring lost features and maybe a few exterior works to the station building so it can stay looking better and easier to maintain. They shouldn't try and add things because inevitably it won't live up to the right so to speak. Nemesis is amazing as is.
 
I just hope they keep it as original to it's 1994 version as much as possible. It already has a preshow audio, narrated by no Other than Tom Baker himself :), but unfortunately they no longer use it. You can find the Audio on yourube as well.

Just please, no new audio, no new theming, no new paint scheme, and definitely no vest restraints PLEASE. I just hope whatever they do to it, that B&M use their old track style, without sand, so it can keep its iconic howl. Just keep it as close to what it was back In 94

Wise Words, @AT86, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
I'm not even convinced it'd be an entire retrack. All of the station, maintenance, brake sections and lift track pieces are probably fine, whereas some footers, the helix and inversions are probably crackered. The station has had major works so I doubt they'd really want to behead it to change the track inside it. Then it's the marketability of a retrack, they'll want to save on cost if they can as it's hard to market a nigh on 30 year old ride as new.
 
Poisson said:
I'm not even convinced it'd be an entire retrack. All of the station, maintenance, brake sections and lift track pieces are probably fine, whereas some footers, the helix and inversions are probably crackered. The station has had major works so I doubt they'd really want to behead it to change the track inside it. Then it's the marketability of a retrack, they'll want to save on cost if they can as it's hard to market a nigh on 30 year old ride as new.
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I agree; it’s likely that it’ll only be the actual “coasting” sections of track themselves that are changed, so everything between the top of the lift hill and the start of the brake run. Universal kept all of the utility track in place during Hulk’s refurbishment, only retracking the bits that were part of the thrilling body of the coaster itself.
 
JAperson said:
I imagine they won’t replace the actual track on the brake run, station and lift hill but i do think they’ll replace things like the lift chain and the brakes on the brake run.
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Yeah they'll almost certainly replace all the mechanical parts. I wouldn't be surprised if the computer system was overhauled as well, given how old and outdated it is now.
 
Skyscraper said:
Yeah they'll almost certainly replace all the mechanical parts. I wouldn't be surprised if the computer system was overhauled as well, given how old and outdated it is now.
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I'm not sure they will because they'd have to retrain staff on the new controls but they might well do so. It would be the best time to do so I suppose.

I wonder if we will see it closed for a full season though as I do think that could be avoided. Close it in like October and open it in summer the next season would give them plenty of time surely?
 
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