Talbot Street Tuesday/Thursday (Picture Heavy)

[djtruefitt]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

This week we take a stroll down the old Park Railway, which today is better known as the Haunted Hollow. The Park Railway operated from the 1950s through to 1996 with several modifications over the years. Most of the pictures here were taken in 1993, when a second line was added to the route and new stations were built to increase capacity.

The new station platform under construction at the Gloomy Wood end of the line. Today this is part of the Haunted Hollow and a similar picture would be looking from near the hearse towards the four interactive gravestones.

Here we see the new station platform under construction in Aqualand, with the Log Flume passing close by in the background. This platform still exists today hidden behind a service gate at the entrance to the Haunted Hollow.

At the same time a new station building was added where the Mississippi Showboat had once stood. Today this building is used for the Sales and Infomration Kiosk in Mutiny Bay.

Finally this week, a picture of what is now Mutiny Bay in the 1960s. The original park railway ran right into the middle of the area, with the station more or less where Marauders' Mayhem stands today. The track then passes in between the Stable building (Courtyard Tavern) and the blacksmiths (today gaming units and staff areas) through a gap which is now occupied by the Mutiny Bay Toilets and Snapshot Adventures. It then passes under a footbridge, allowing guests to cross the rails safely to get to what is today the site of The Flume. This end of the track was shortened at the end of 1980 in order to allow for better access to the new Log Flume. The modern building towards the top of the photo is the original Cable Car station, and the new trees behind this structure are still there today defining the corner of Mutiny Bay where Heave Ho and the games units stand.

 

[josht]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

There is always something special about old photos of towers

 

[TheMan]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Wow, they're nostalgic (not the word I wanted, cannot remember the one I do want!).

The place just exudes more calm, which is natural I guess, but the natural beauty and feel is easy to find.

I wish they'd bring that railway back - why did they stop it anyway? Not automated I suppose, expensive to run now? Can you imagine how brilliant towers would look with a mini-loco running round the grounds.

I love them - great pics DJ.

 

[BarryZola]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Excellent Pic that last aerial one is. Never seen that before. Interesting

 

[Tim]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

I wish they'd bring that railway back - why did they stop it anyway? Not automated I suppose, expensive to run now? Can you imagine how brilliant towers would look with a mini-loco running round the grounds.

Because it ran the same route as the Sky Ride. When the original cable cart was replaced with the current Sky Ride the capacity increased, making the train redundant as a means of transport. This wasn’t such a problem at the time as it still made a good scenic ride but I guess that when Forbidden Valley became a very popular area of the park people were more interested in the destination rather than the journey there and so wanted to take the direct route.

There's a good article on in over at TT

There are probably a few other reasons but that’s the main one. Personally I’d love it if it was still there as it would be a great ride to enjoy for a family.

I don’t think it helped that the train could only do a simple there and back journey. If it was like the train at many other Theme Parks and circled the entire park it would probably have been more popular. But then very few other parks have a landscape like Alton which explains why the Sky Ride became the transport system of choice.

 

[BarryZola]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Taken from a page I did a couple of years back:

"Falling passenger numbers, high staffing requirements and safety considerations were all probably to blame for the line not being opened in 1997. For an example of safety issues, on Tuesday 24th October 1995 a train skidded when braking and hit the safety buffer at the Ingestre end. 11 casualties were treated at the medical centre for minor injuries including bruising and a cut lip. The line was re-opened on 26 October 1995. This type of incident was part of the kind of considerations which ultimately marked the end for an attraction that had been successful for many years previously".

http://www.altontowersmemories.net/page8.htm

There's also a page 2 on the Railway to click on which has more pics etc.

 

[CoasterCrazyChris]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Because it ran the same route as the Sky Ride. When the original cable cart was replaced with the current Sky Ride the capacity increased, making the train redundant as a means of transport. This wasn’t such a problem at the time as it still made a good scenic ride but I guess that when Forbidden Valley became a very popular area of the park people were more interested in the destination rather than the journey there and so wanted to take the direct route.

There are any reasons why it closed but I don't think this is one of them.

If the Skyride did make it redundant, why go to the effort of extending the railway and building a new station in 1993 - six years after the modern cable car system opened? Bearing in mind Thunder Valley was already an established area of the park by his point with Thunder Looper having been open for three years and the path linking the area to the entrance already created the year previous.

 

[Tim]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

your right that doesn't make sense. It certainly was a case of it becoming less popular though. I was lead to believe the Sky Ride was the main reason.

 

[DaveW]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

That last photo is amazing! Really shows how the area has changed! It looks like some little farm building in any number of stately homes across the country! Really incredible how with realistically not a huge number of charged the place is unrecognisable.

 

[GaryH]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

I remember going on this train many many years ago!!! Great photos!

 

[djtruefitt]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

I do love the last picture, when you look at it closely you can spot bits that are still there today, but also how some of it looks totally different. It seems odd now how cars are just parked on the grass which would now be the entrance to mutiny bay.

I also never had any idea that the mutiny bay sales and information building was part of the railway, but looking at it you can see it looks alot like a typical railway building.

 

[djtruefitt]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Anyway on to this weeks Talbot Street Tuesday, updated every Tuesday over on our Facebook page.

This week we take a look back at Gloomy Wood and the Haunted House.

We start today with an aerial shot of the area before construction began. The large scrub area in the middle of the image is now home to Gloomy Wood. Notice the monorail depot to the left of the image and the River Rapid before Katanga Canyon to the right.

Concept art showing the gateways found within the area. These never appeared in this style, with the walls instead being left as plain brick, and the gates produced solid as we see today.

The Concept art for the Haunted House shop from the side. The wooden gates at the right of this image are where he toilets now are.

The shop did originally look quite similar to this early concept, but was extensively remodelled later to the shop we see now.

Originally the unit at the centre of the area was intended to be a games unit. This was altered before construction to become a food venue, though much of the detail see in concept art does appear in the final structure.

An alternative plan, considered for the Haunted House layout. This was before the toilet block was included within the area, and instead the toilets were intended to be underneath the Haunted House's facade structure with access through the turret.

Notice also that this plan does not seem to allow for certain features included in the final plans, such as the Trommel Tunnel and Ghost Corridor.

Several different styles were considered for the house frontage. Here we see a more Edwardian style for the familiar structure.

Another concept showing the house as seen from the queue-line (notice that this is purely for the decorative façade, ignoring the actual show building behind). This seems to show the structure in the style that would eventually be used.

The façade of the Haunted House under construction, as the warehouse that contains the ride itself disappears.

Here we see Wicked Things, the area's food unit, under construction.

These days the unit has lost its themed name, becoming Waffles and Ices

Sometime around 1997, the food unit became known as The Witches' Kitchen.

Interestingly this photo was taken at one of the park's early attempts at a Halloween event, which very much focussed on the tiny area of Gloomy Wood, with live performances and alike.

Heading out of Gloomy Wood towards Forbidden Valley, we find the Gloomy Wood Kiosk, which was originally an Information Point, rather than the current Sweet shop.

Ride close on this day looks to have been 8pm in the middle of Summer.

Remember to check back next Tuesday on our Facebook page for more old Alton Towers photos.

 

[T]

Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Does.... That.. Sign.. Say... 8PM?!


Sent from my New iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[djtruefitt]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Yes it does, 8pm ride close! Also from what I can see at the queue times
Haunted house - 20
Rapids - 25
Flume - 30
Squirrel Nutty - 30
Thunderlooper - 25

Not sure what the other rides say.

 

[JB1985]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

excellent pictures again

makes your realize how bare the area was prior to katanga / gloomy wood and how much work did go on there

 

[DaveW]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

When you see the area today it's hard to imagine that it was crafted from scratch out of a carpark! It just all looks so natural! It's hard to imagine Katanga canyon could fit in that space in the middle of the rapids!

One question though did the rapids tunnel predate the mine train or was it just added early in the areas construction? As its clearly visible in that aerial shot

 

[Dave]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

The tunnel was rebuilt for Katanga Canyon and the mine train, you see John Wardley talk about rebuilding it in the documentary "dreams themes and scream machines".

 

[Alastair]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

excellent pictures again

makes your realize how bare the area was prior to katanga / gloomy wood and how much work did go on there

Yeah, that area is undoubtedly one of the best themed in the whole park. To go from that completely bare section of land to the overgrown, tree ridden landscape that we see today is truly a testament to the proper realisation of the concept!

 

[TheMan]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Have to agree with the comments above.

That was fascinating DJ, nice one ;D - nothing to add for a change, just a dash of gratitude

 

[T]

Re: Talbot Street Tuesday (Picture Heavy)

Just found this in an old cupboard!