Trooper Looper
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The Flume- Memories of a classic Towers ride
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evilcod
TS Member
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Blackpool one only last 5 years longer? Whilst longer its really not a lot considering Towers is usually fairly demolition happy.
And yes the Towers flume did need replacing not at all helped by them buying budget priced 3rd party bathtub boats instead of spending the money on Mack ones.
Matt N
TS Member
I’m not sure that Wicker Man being built was necessarily the sole factor in The Flume’s demise, or even much of a factor at all.
If the April 2015 screening opinion is anything to go by, it sounds like they very nearly did build a woodie somewhere else (it described a “timber truss structure” in Forbidden Valley), and Wicker Man in its final form was only conceived after the Smiler incident.
The fact that Logger’s Leap closed in the same year as The Flume, and that they both closed in the aftermath of a catastrophic accident when Merlin became hyper focused on group wide H&S, would suggest that there may have been unavoidable circumstances resulting in the ride’s closure whether Wicker Man had been built or not. In that case, I’m extremely glad we got a great woodie to replace it instead of just having it SBNO for years on end.
I remember hearing a rumour that part of the H&S response to the Smiler incident entailed fitting some sort of additional H&S measures onto Merlin’s log flumes (something about some sort of system to be able to hold boats at the top of drops to prevent them from sliding down if there was a blockage at the bottom) that costed a fairly large amount of money. The story I heard was that Dragon Falls justified having this work done as part of (or possibly preceding) the Tiger Rock refurbishment in 2018, Logger’s Leap was originally supposed to have this work done, but the money went towards DBGT’s rework at the last minute and Thorpe’s efforts to revive it were a bit doomed after that (hence why the ride stayed in limbo for about 3 years before Thorpe finally announced its removal), and The Flume was not considered worthy of this work, therefore it was removed with Wicker Man concocted as its replacement.
If the April 2015 screening opinion is anything to go by, it sounds like they very nearly did build a woodie somewhere else (it described a “timber truss structure” in Forbidden Valley), and Wicker Man in its final form was only conceived after the Smiler incident.
The fact that Logger’s Leap closed in the same year as The Flume, and that they both closed in the aftermath of a catastrophic accident when Merlin became hyper focused on group wide H&S, would suggest that there may have been unavoidable circumstances resulting in the ride’s closure whether Wicker Man had been built or not. In that case, I’m extremely glad we got a great woodie to replace it instead of just having it SBNO for years on end.
I remember hearing a rumour that part of the H&S response to the Smiler incident entailed fitting some sort of additional H&S measures onto Merlin’s log flumes (something about some sort of system to be able to hold boats at the top of drops to prevent them from sliding down if there was a blockage at the bottom) that costed a fairly large amount of money. The story I heard was that Dragon Falls justified having this work done as part of (or possibly preceding) the Tiger Rock refurbishment in 2018, Logger’s Leap was originally supposed to have this work done, but the money went towards DBGT’s rework at the last minute and Thorpe’s efforts to revive it were a bit doomed after that (hence why the ride stayed in limbo for about 3 years before Thorpe finally announced its removal), and The Flume was not considered worthy of this work, therefore it was removed with Wicker Man concocted as its replacement.
Matt N
TS Member
Sorry to double post, but wasn’t The Flume earmarked for removal anyway long before Wicker Man was even a twinkle in MMM’s eyes? I seem to remember reading that Towers planned to remove it at some point during the decade of the 2010s in the LTDP, along with Ripsaw and The Blade?
So Wicker Man being built was likely to have been almost completely inconsequential in deciding whether The Flume left or not.
The LTDP did end up having some truth to it in this regard, as Ripsaw and The Flume both went and The Blade very nearly went in favour of the original iteration of SW8 (when it was due to be located in Forbidden Valley), but the fact that The Blade ultimately lived to see another decade would suggest that it wasn’t exactly gospel…
So Wicker Man being built was likely to have been almost completely inconsequential in deciding whether The Flume left or not.
The LTDP did end up having some truth to it in this regard, as Ripsaw and The Flume both went and The Blade very nearly went in favour of the original iteration of SW8 (when it was due to be located in Forbidden Valley), but the fact that The Blade ultimately lived to see another decade would suggest that it wasn’t exactly gospel…
Yes correct, I thought it was open at least a decade longer...was the big new ride at Blackpool when I was a kid, always an hours queue during the lights.
The concrete supports on the Blackpool one were rotten from the sea air towards the end, lots of patching and bitumen.
Are we sure the flume not have this functionality already?
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NuttySquirrel
TS Member
I believe the shed containing the giant duck and part of the trough still exists somewhere in the park.
That duck really was nightmare fuel, if Towers are looking for a new site for a scaremaze they could do a lot worse than the old flume remains.
That duck really was nightmare fuel, if Towers are looking for a new site for a scaremaze they could do a lot worse than the old flume remains.
pluk
TS Member
Yep, the pre drop conveyer holds the boats, the sensors at the bottom confirm the preceeding boat has cleared before the next boat is sent.
I think there was some truth somewhere near this though, it was more to do with the monitoring of guests immediately pre-drop and only sending the boat if all seated correctly and safely. The slight pause pre drop would sometimes cause the more stupid guest to stand up or try to exit the boat thinking something was wrong. Not sure if the advice was to remove the liklihood of the boat stopping at this point (larger gap between boats, lower throughput) or monitoring and physical dispatch of boats over the drop, or both.
evilcod
TS Member
To be fair those spiders were huge, wasn't abig fan of going in there and hate to think what it is like in there now having been abandoned for soo long.
evilcod
TS Member
You are correct that there were sensors in place top and bottom of the drop, infact 2 pairs of sensors at the top of the lift to make sure only 1 boat would drop.
The Flume unlike some of the others didn't have a dedicated pre-drop conveyor though so had to stop and start the whole lift conveyor; if the lift stopped to space them when another boat had just got on to the bottom of the lift then the 2 boats often went up the lift almost touching, the system couldn't automatically handle this so was one of the most common reasons for breakdowns.
You would see when the ride stopped and a bell would ring, the operator would shout a lift number and hosts would run to that lift, the host would then manually control the lift from the panel at the top to send over the boats separately. (I can not imagine that H&S were too fond of this manual override). They had to run as if too many boats stopped at the bottom of the lift it blocked the water flow meaning pumps would have to be stopped, stopped pumps meant e-stop, e-stop required a full evacuation.
I hope this is okay publicly now the ride is long gone
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I think in The Flume’s early years, it had ride operators at the top of each of the 3 lift hills ready to press some buttons in case anything went wrong. I’m sure I’ve seen pictures of this somewhere.
Perhaps the ride had a control system upgrade in the 90s which meant that this was no longer a requirement?
Perhaps the ride had a control system upgrade in the 90s which meant that this was no longer a requirement?
Skyscraper
TS Member
Don't quite a few log flumes in Europe and most in the States have staff situated in a booth at the top of drops? I assume they manually confirm that all riders are seated correctly before sending the boat down.
QTXAdsy
TS Member
Some say it still haunts the park at night, wanting it's revenge on those who closed the Flume down...I believe the shed containing the giant duck and part of the trough still exists somewhere in the park.
That duck really was nightmare fuel, if Towers are looking for a new site for a scaremaze they could do a lot worse than the old flume remains.
Yeah, the Duck was the real MVP final boss of Towers not Nemesis. Hmm, think for the water coaster, we might have the makings of a theme...the evil duck's revenge and the ride's theme song will be pretty much Jaws in Staffordshire.
Get Ducked at Alton Towers in 2025. I can see the strap line now!
It is genuinely still in the underground/enclosed section though - they didn’t remove it because they didn’t need to, plus it would’ve disturbed the woodland too much.
Would love to see it repurposed somehow. The juxtaposition of an innocent family log flume ride and the entirely unexpected jump scare was brilliant. Made even more creepy by it being an innocent rubber duck of course!
Trooper Looper
TS Member
Well Chessington managed to get another Log Flume a couple years back, though much smaller than Dragon River. Maybe if they could put the station for a smaller flume, but larger than River Raft, by the pathway that goes underneath Wicker Man, and use some of the remaining concrete structures for the new layout. But, where will its new lake be?
Good idea but I don’t think the park would want to install a small attraction like that. There’s a lot of speculation, rumours and even more solid evidence which is on various videos I’ve seen, of SW9 being a water coaster. The park is missing a thrilling water ride, it would be a U.K. first (with or without a loop), heavily marketable and with a 1.2m height limit. I don’t think we’ll get a 1.4m pure thrill machine until SW10.
Trooper Looper
TS Member
It'd just be nice for a new water ride, not a water coaster, or a new SW to be honest. IMO, they should keep the SW projects on hold for at least 6 years until they fix the Parks current problems, such as lack of proper flat rides, Lack of good quality Dark Rides, and the unhealthy overuse of IPs.