Sam
TS Member
Another of my classic topics I wanted saving from TTF, enjoy. 
Secret Weapon 7: The Schwarzkopf Connection
By Sam Gregory
Detailed plans have just emerged of a major new rollercoaster for Alton Towers. The last thrill coaster was around a decade ago. A picturesque park area will become home to a new ride of spectacular scale, with a length and duration never seen before at the Towers. The ride will feature duel-lifthills but only one track, with riders getting the chance to race... first against the riders ahead of them, and then race against the riders behind them. Although at first sight a huge tangle of track, elegant swooping curves can be made out on the plans, cutting into the landscape. The coaster is set to be the most expensive in Alton history, and be built by a top German manufacturer.
The year is 1991. But it could easily be mistaken for 2012. At Alton, ideas have a funny habit of cropping up years later, sometimes the same, sometimes totally different. Maybe it's what they used to call "the magic". In 1994, the park Aquarium closed, to be reborn 15 years later as Sharkbait Reef. In 2004 the 3D Cinema closed down, while 2012 sees the opening of the park's new state-of-the-art 4D cinema. And the Alton Mouse took its last riders in 1991, thirteen years before its spiritual successor Spinball Whizzer opened to the public. It's often been said that at Disney "a good idea never really dies", but it could just as easily be said of Alton. Now on its third iteration, the Nemesis brand seems to be a good idea that refuses to die!
So we come back to our little-known Schwarzkopf, which I wrote a short piece about three years ago. For the 1991 season, Alton were looking for a big new ride. Their last really big coaster had been Corkscrew, but this was going to blow that out of the water. This was on another scale. This was, to quote Michael Pantenburg, to be "one of the biggest - let's say - probably the biggest steel rollercoaster ever built (at) that time." The rollercoaster, designed personally by Anton Schwarzkopf, was planned for the Abbey Wood area near what is now Dark Forest, though little is known about the exact site of the ride.
The planned ride.
The ride was to be a sequel to Lisebergbanan, but bigger. The coaster would feature an absurd three lifthills, with two running parallel, much like the SW7 designs. Echoing Lisebergbanan, the ride was to use the terrain to its advantage, forming graceful arcing circles, helixes sending the trains spiralling through the trees. Unlike the eventually-built SW3, the ride would clearly have been a family-thrill coaster. Dispatching was to be synchronised, so trains climbed the double-lift together. If built, the ride could possibly have been Anton Schwarzkopf's magnum-opus, and the conclusion of his constant ambition to build bigger and more complicated and elaborate thrill machines. He retired in 1995, and sadly died in 2001 at the age of 77. Even by 21st century standards, his coaster would have been nothing short of epic.
Unfortunately, this was around the time Schwarzkopf went into liquidation. Alton Towers had just been bought by Tussauds and their coaster-guru John Wardley decided to cancel the plans. Alarmingly for those concerned about the throughputs of SW7, Wardley has said of the 1991 project that "the idea was flawed because it assumed you could dispatch trains without any delays, however this is not always the case" and that "it would have been an operational disaster." Still eager for a major new coaster in the park, he turned to Arrow and their pipeline designs, which formed the basis of Secret Weapons 1 and 2. Dissatisfied with Arrow's awkward and clumsy design, Wardley turned to bright new upstarts Bolliger & Mabillard, and after years of turmoil in the quest for a new park icon, a B&M inverted coaster finally opened in 1994 in Forbidden Valley. It was the third in the secret weapon series, with the seventh instalment due in 2013. Today, Nemesis is regarded as one of the greatest rollercoasters of all time.
Anton Schwarzkopf.
It is now 2012, and very few enthusiasts would argue they'd have preferred the '91 Schwarzkopf to the mighty Nemesis. But that isn't to say it wasn't a tremendous idea. Secret Weapon 7 is widely rumoured to be Wardley's great swansong, so it seems fitting he should revisit the idea that he cast aside right at the start of his career. It is finally time for the great German beast to be built. As I have detailed in the first paragraph, the similarities are startling, especially the rare duelling-but-a-single-track concept (of which I can't find any examples that don't pass through a station before the second leg. It can't be a coincidence that the only two attempts at this concept ever are at the same park). In 1982, former Schwarzkopf employee Hubert Gerstlauer left to set up his eponymous company who have grown huge recently with their popular Eurofighter design. During the slow demise of the once-mighty Schwarzkopf company during the late '80s and '90s, many of their best engineers and designers joined Gerstlauer and the company purchased much of the equipment and facilities of the defunct Schwarzkopf. Ironically, Gerstlauer, the spiritual successor to Schwarzkopf, will be building their new ride on the site of the last Schwarzkopf coaster to operate in the park, the mythologised Black Hole.
This explains the similarity of Gerstlauer designs to many of Anton's coasters, and many have argued that if Schwarzkopf were still in business today, this is the direction they would have taken. Gerstlauer are the spiritual successors to the great German company, although traces of Schwarzkopf can be found in Zierer and Maurer Söhne too. It is extremely likely that some of the designers and engineers who worked on Alton's 1991 coaster still work for Gerstlauer and are involved in Secret Weapon 7. The original plans are probably also in the possession of the company or their employees. I don't think the huge similarities between the two rides are a coincidence, given the chances that some of the same people have worked on both. Over two decades later, Gerstlauer finally have another shot at building their Alton masterpiece. The design has changed a little. The graceful swooping helixs are replaced with a selection of graceful, curving inversions. But the basics are still there, the length, the double-lifts, the dueling and the ambition. Wardley was definitely proven to be on the right side of history when he cancelled the project in 1991. But it wasn't a cancellation, merely a delay. The time is now right. It will be more insane than even Anton could have designed. Gerstlauer have finally proven they can produce world-class coasters. The Alton Towers German racing spectacular will finally be built.
Sam Gregory
Thankyou for the contributions of Dave Whitehurst and Stuart Hancocks to this article and thanks for reading!
Secret Weapon 7: The Schwarzkopf Connection
By Sam Gregory
Detailed plans have just emerged of a major new rollercoaster for Alton Towers. The last thrill coaster was around a decade ago. A picturesque park area will become home to a new ride of spectacular scale, with a length and duration never seen before at the Towers. The ride will feature duel-lifthills but only one track, with riders getting the chance to race... first against the riders ahead of them, and then race against the riders behind them. Although at first sight a huge tangle of track, elegant swooping curves can be made out on the plans, cutting into the landscape. The coaster is set to be the most expensive in Alton history, and be built by a top German manufacturer.
The year is 1991. But it could easily be mistaken for 2012. At Alton, ideas have a funny habit of cropping up years later, sometimes the same, sometimes totally different. Maybe it's what they used to call "the magic". In 1994, the park Aquarium closed, to be reborn 15 years later as Sharkbait Reef. In 2004 the 3D Cinema closed down, while 2012 sees the opening of the park's new state-of-the-art 4D cinema. And the Alton Mouse took its last riders in 1991, thirteen years before its spiritual successor Spinball Whizzer opened to the public. It's often been said that at Disney "a good idea never really dies", but it could just as easily be said of Alton. Now on its third iteration, the Nemesis brand seems to be a good idea that refuses to die!
So we come back to our little-known Schwarzkopf, which I wrote a short piece about three years ago. For the 1991 season, Alton were looking for a big new ride. Their last really big coaster had been Corkscrew, but this was going to blow that out of the water. This was on another scale. This was, to quote Michael Pantenburg, to be "one of the biggest - let's say - probably the biggest steel rollercoaster ever built (at) that time." The rollercoaster, designed personally by Anton Schwarzkopf, was planned for the Abbey Wood area near what is now Dark Forest, though little is known about the exact site of the ride.
The planned ride.
The ride was to be a sequel to Lisebergbanan, but bigger. The coaster would feature an absurd three lifthills, with two running parallel, much like the SW7 designs. Echoing Lisebergbanan, the ride was to use the terrain to its advantage, forming graceful arcing circles, helixes sending the trains spiralling through the trees. Unlike the eventually-built SW3, the ride would clearly have been a family-thrill coaster. Dispatching was to be synchronised, so trains climbed the double-lift together. If built, the ride could possibly have been Anton Schwarzkopf's magnum-opus, and the conclusion of his constant ambition to build bigger and more complicated and elaborate thrill machines. He retired in 1995, and sadly died in 2001 at the age of 77. Even by 21st century standards, his coaster would have been nothing short of epic.
Unfortunately, this was around the time Schwarzkopf went into liquidation. Alton Towers had just been bought by Tussauds and their coaster-guru John Wardley decided to cancel the plans. Alarmingly for those concerned about the throughputs of SW7, Wardley has said of the 1991 project that "the idea was flawed because it assumed you could dispatch trains without any delays, however this is not always the case" and that "it would have been an operational disaster." Still eager for a major new coaster in the park, he turned to Arrow and their pipeline designs, which formed the basis of Secret Weapons 1 and 2. Dissatisfied with Arrow's awkward and clumsy design, Wardley turned to bright new upstarts Bolliger & Mabillard, and after years of turmoil in the quest for a new park icon, a B&M inverted coaster finally opened in 1994 in Forbidden Valley. It was the third in the secret weapon series, with the seventh instalment due in 2013. Today, Nemesis is regarded as one of the greatest rollercoasters of all time.
Anton Schwarzkopf.
It is now 2012, and very few enthusiasts would argue they'd have preferred the '91 Schwarzkopf to the mighty Nemesis. But that isn't to say it wasn't a tremendous idea. Secret Weapon 7 is widely rumoured to be Wardley's great swansong, so it seems fitting he should revisit the idea that he cast aside right at the start of his career. It is finally time for the great German beast to be built. As I have detailed in the first paragraph, the similarities are startling, especially the rare duelling-but-a-single-track concept (of which I can't find any examples that don't pass through a station before the second leg. It can't be a coincidence that the only two attempts at this concept ever are at the same park). In 1982, former Schwarzkopf employee Hubert Gerstlauer left to set up his eponymous company who have grown huge recently with their popular Eurofighter design. During the slow demise of the once-mighty Schwarzkopf company during the late '80s and '90s, many of their best engineers and designers joined Gerstlauer and the company purchased much of the equipment and facilities of the defunct Schwarzkopf. Ironically, Gerstlauer, the spiritual successor to Schwarzkopf, will be building their new ride on the site of the last Schwarzkopf coaster to operate in the park, the mythologised Black Hole.
This explains the similarity of Gerstlauer designs to many of Anton's coasters, and many have argued that if Schwarzkopf were still in business today, this is the direction they would have taken. Gerstlauer are the spiritual successors to the great German company, although traces of Schwarzkopf can be found in Zierer and Maurer Söhne too. It is extremely likely that some of the designers and engineers who worked on Alton's 1991 coaster still work for Gerstlauer and are involved in Secret Weapon 7. The original plans are probably also in the possession of the company or their employees. I don't think the huge similarities between the two rides are a coincidence, given the chances that some of the same people have worked on both. Over two decades later, Gerstlauer finally have another shot at building their Alton masterpiece. The design has changed a little. The graceful swooping helixs are replaced with a selection of graceful, curving inversions. But the basics are still there, the length, the double-lifts, the dueling and the ambition. Wardley was definitely proven to be on the right side of history when he cancelled the project in 1991. But it wasn't a cancellation, merely a delay. The time is now right. It will be more insane than even Anton could have designed. Gerstlauer have finally proven they can produce world-class coasters. The Alton Towers German racing spectacular will finally be built.
Sam Gregory
Thankyou for the contributions of Dave Whitehurst and Stuart Hancocks to this article and thanks for reading!