Runaway Train (roller coaster)

Runaway Train
The ride pictured in 2010.
Previously known as Runaway Mine Train
Chessington World of Adventures
Park section Mexicana
Coordinates 51°20′58″N 0°19′05″W / 51.349435°N 0.318012°W / 51.349435; -0.318012Coordinates: 51°20′58″N 0°19′05″W / 51.349435°N 0.318012°W / 51.349435; -0.318012
Status Removed
Opening date 7 June 1987 (1987-06-07)
Closing date 2012 (2012)
Cost £300,000
Replaced by Scorpion Express
General statistics
Type Steel – Powered
Manufacturer Mack Rides
Model Blauer Enzian
Height 4.7 m (15 ft)
Length 259 m (850 ft)
Speed 22.4 mph (36.0 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 105 seconds
Capacity 1,100 riders per hour
Height restriction 90 cm (2 ft 11 in)
Runaway Train at RCDB
Pictures of Runaway Train at RCDB

Runaway Train was a steel roller coaster located at the Chessington World of Adventures in London, England, opening with the theme park in 1987. It was closed in 2012 and reopened in 2014 as Scorpion Express, after a refurbishment.

History

Opening in the 'Calamity Canyon' area of the park, Runaway Train had a Old Western theme. It featured an extensively themed area and queue, primarily designed by John Wardley, taking guests above buildings, around a lake and down into a small mine. The coaster was a steel-powered model bought from Mack Rides.[1] It closed at the end of the 2012 season and remained closed through 2013. The ride was renovated and renamed Scorpion Express, which opened in 2014.

The coaster was originally designed to travel in and out of a cave feature, which enclosed half the track and hid much of the structure, creating an interacting rocky landscape. However, due to its semi-temporary construction and prolonged lack of maintenance over the years, the cave feature was removed in late 2012 and the ride closed. To avoid spending on maintenance for such a feature in the future, Merlin redesigned the ride without any interacting structure and rebranded it as a new coaster. The ride's track and train were unchanged, apart from some new colour schemes and new surrounding theming.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Runaway Train - Chessington World of Adventures (Chessington, Surrey, England, UK)". RCDB. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
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