Third Blackpool 1977 Photo Album 5 - Pleasure Beach At Night

I seem to be spending all my time back in 1977 at the moment! This time we travel back without endangering the Space-Time Continuum to have a look round the Pleasure Beach during September/October 1977. It's likely that these photos were not all taken on the same visit.

We'll start by heading into the Pleasure Beach through the north entrance. I always think of this as the main entrance. To the left is the Casino Building and in front of us is Noah's Ark with the Hiram Maxim Flying Machine visible behind it.

The latter ride could be seen to advantage from a balcony reached by walking up a flight of steps at the side of the Ghost Train. It could also be accessed from the side of the Gold Mine ride up on the raised platform above Watson Road.

Another view from ground level with the Grand National and Auto Shooter* in the foreground. [*Edit: Should be Auto "Skooter" - thanks to the commenter below]

Having walked in through the north entrance, a turn to the right brings us onto the main route towards the Big Wheels, The Whip, Wild Mouse and River Caves.

Following this route brings us towards Watson Road, on the other side of which is the station for the Big Dipper, underneath the iconic first turn.

The tear drop shaped finial was still only three years old in 1977, having replaced a spherical finial (say that 3 times fast!) that had long been in place.

The double Big Wheel - they were Ferris Wheels, having been designed by the Ferris company - had a huge figure of a clown articulated to look as though the figure was cranking the northernmost wheel around. At some point the clown's head was replaced with Mr Funshine's head, this not necessarily being an improvement.

A row of sideshow stalls sited opposite The Monster ride and leading up to the northern station of the Cableway and the Fun House. The 1922 Reel can be seen behind the row.

The wonderful Fun House. It had lots of traditional fun attractions inside - a walk-through rolling barrel, a spinning disk that threw riders off, huge wooden slides and a shorter metal one with a near-vertical drop, cakewalk etc.

A glimpse of the Space Tower from a spot in front of the Alice in Wonderland ride. The top of the Ghost Train can be seen on the left.

The Space Tower was so successful that a smaller version was created aimed at younger visitors.

The Ghost Train. Mainly a dark ride, it had two small loops on the track where the car came out into open air. One is partially visible to the left. These helped promote the ride to visitors passing outside. There was also a single dip which again came out into the open at the rear of the station, clearly visible here.

And I'll end this time with a shot of the Gold Mine which was accessed from the raised level above Watson Road. I used to love the Gold Mine, it too was a dark ride but had fast running sections where the small car whizzed down a track, swerving past little tableaux of miners and equipment. At one point it emerged into an open space over the boats of the River Caves and became visible to patrons of a small cafe.

I'm drawing to the end of this particular photo album. The final article has only a few photos left to show us. They will show some of Blackpool's illuminated tram fleet.

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Third Blackpool 1977 Album 3 - The Pleasure Beach

Back to 1977 yet again and a mash-up of several visits that year to Blackpool Pleasure Beach from the latest photo album to make it out of the attic!

Taken on the 21st of May 1977, the Pleasure Beach were in the middle of building a new ride. To be called the Steeplechase, this was the first such ride to be built where riders sat on horses, very like those on The Derby Racer but instead of a round-a-bout, these raced up to three abreast over a course with jumps and hills and dips like a cross-country ride! The sign advertises that the new ride will open later during the year. Later we will see it in action.

Overseeing the action is this fellow... Two such giant figures held up portions of the Monorail track - this was a double-faced clown and the other was a model of Gulliver as seen by the inhabitants of Lilliput.

The Casino Building and tower, seen from the tramway turning loop. I remember once around this time going to an exhibition in the Horseshoe Bar and coming across several members of the George Formby Appreciation Society on a stand. They were all, rather ominously, clutching ukuleles or banjoleles and one asked if we would like a song. Without waiting for an answer, one lady burst (burst??? exploded!!!) into song and one by one the others all picked a different note and joined in. As a musician myself I'm at a loss as to how anyone could join in with a song in several different keys at the same time and not feel the need to stop and maintain a dignified silence... They were all very enthusiastic and great fun though and I resisted the urge to say "Aha! Never touched me!" as my eyes uncrossed and I walked dazedly away.

One of my favourite spots near the south entrance to the park for catching the Big Dipper curving down the third dip before soaring up onto the loop that would start its return journey to the station.

The chain-driven climb of the Big Dipper with its tear-drop finial that had replaced a spherical ball only a few years previously. The sign that the train has just passed says "Do not Stand up" - passengers on the wooden roller coasters at this time were trusted to hold on rather than be strapped in. In those days if you fell off a bridge you were deemed stupid rather than due compensation from the bridge builder. When this stopped being the case people became far more stupid...

A close-up shot of one of the rockets on the Hiram Maxim Flying Machine. Whatever happened to blue skies like that...?

A couple of shots of the Cheshire Cat carriages on the Alice In Wonderland ride. I can't look at photos of this ride without hearing the tune of The Cuckoo Waltz going through my head.

And to finish, I can confirm that the Pleasure Beach did indeed open The Steeplechase in 1977. Lap straps kept you secure on the ride, although the braking system had to be adjusted after a couple of incidents caused minor injuries due to sudden stops. I liked the ride though, the impression of speed with not being enclosed in some sort of vehicle was exhilarating.

In the next visit to Blackpool we'll be wandering about at night again.

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1970s-2000s - People In Blackpool, Part 2

A couple of the photos from this bunch of candid shots of people in Blackpool come right up into the current century. Most of them were taken on the Pleasure Beach this time but there are a couple which weren't, so let's start with one of them...

I just absolutely love this one. The year is 1979 and the lady is in the middle of processing in her mind the skimpy nature of the girl's shorts. She falters and then can't resist looking back to confirm what she thought she saw!

On the Pleasure Beach and from the same year. For several years this set of Gallopers was to be found on the park south of Watson Road.

Whoops, I've been clocked! But what was it they were all so intent on gathering around? Answers on a postcard to...

By 1995 The Big One was the big draw on the Pleasure Beach. Opened the previous year, the ride followed Pleasure Beach traditions in setting a number of records: on its opening date it was the tallest and the steepest roller coaster in the world. It was the fastest in Europe, second fastest in the world and was the longest in the UK.

Ah, the old faithful! Sir Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine. It was a bit of a disappointment to him as he had originally wanted the public to experience the sensation of flight and his original intention was to fit controls to let riders raise and lower the carriages. The fairground trade (several of these rides existed), no doubt wary of the potential for riders plunging into the ground, vetoed this and he thought the end result little better than a "glorified merry-go-round!"

Whilst undoubtedly a great viewing spot for watching the Grand National coasters race for the finish line, the window looking over the track as the cars dipped beneath the paving to rise again to the station was at its best late in the afternoons or early evenings. Before that on sunny days you had to contend with the shadows of the row of buildings containing toilet blocks, popcorn and sideshow stalls etc.

The trick was to expose for the shadows. After all of these articles no one yet has admitted to spotting themselves... Don't be shy folks!

We are all the way through time up to 2006 for the last two shots (including the second one of the Grand National). This is the Roller Coaster emerging from its station and banking left to join the chain lift for the pull to the summit.

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Blackpool Pleasure Beach 1995

Today a look at the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool in 1995. I think this was one of my last visits to the Pleasure Beach. It remained somewhere I kept meaning to go to again and then from 2009 they started charging admission and for me that was a huge mistake and the end of my desire to go.

I know other parks like Alton Towers and so on all charge admission, but Blackpool is a seaside town. A holiday destination. The Pleasure Beach served that town, not the other way around. The other theme parks have more ground and are landscaped. The Pleasure Beach is crammed with rides which leaves little room for making it look nice. People holidaying in Blackpool for a week (it used to happen...) want to go into the Pleasure Beach for a bit every day riding maybe one or two rides. Now to make it economical, you have to spend a full day in there.

It quickly went from being the number 1 attraction in the UK to not even No.1 in Blackpool. A great shame. I used to love the waffles with strawberry syrup and cream... I wouldn't pay a fiver just to be able to walk in to the stall that sold them...

However, back in 1995 all was happiness and light for a visitor. The Big One roller coaster had opened the previous year and there were queues of people happy to stand in line waiting for a ride on it.

No matter where you were in the park, it dominated the skyline. Yet I always thought it a strangely uninspiring ride. I preferred the sinuous sine wave curves of the woodies like The Big Dipper and Grand National. The Big One was fast and high but not, to me, exciting. My opinion only of course!

The most up to date ride with the oldest ride in front of it. The Hiram Maxim Flying Machine is still turning today, still driven by its original engine. It was one of several such rides created by the inventor as a means of stimulating interest in powered flight and hopefully prompting an excited rider into sponsoring his designs.

He invented mousetraps, asthma inhalers and all sorts of things before he invented the first machine gun small enough to be called "portable" just in time for World War One. He grew immensely rich - and deaf - from it.

Originally the passengers sat in pods that looked more like rowing boats than aeroplanes or rocketships. He had wanted to equip them with controls so that riders could make them go up and down as well as swinging out but the fairground industry, no doubt with visions of customers screaming with pleasure turning into customers screaming in terror as they plunged into the ground, vetoed that idea, leaving the great man dismissing what was left as a glorified merry-go-round... A merry-go-round that has stood the test of time though!

The black swinging pods of the 1960s Monster ride had been replaced by a similar but inferior temporary ride here pending the building of the Play Station (now Tango Ice Blast) for 1997.

Opposite the entrance to another of the Pleasure Beach's veteran rides - the River Caves - was a development that looked as though it was based on the Bedrock town of The Flintstones.

And we'll finish with a couple of night shots taken during the same year, 1995. The new Big One roller coaster dominates the view of the Pleasure Beach as seen from the South Pier in this photo.

The Hiram Maxim Flying Machine, taken with a long exposure and the camera on a tripod from the balcony at the side of the Ghost Train. Alice in Wonderland is on the left, no doubt playing the music of The Cuckoo Waltz!

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Pleasure Beach at Night 1981

Taken during October 1981 here are a few photos of Blackpool Pleasure Beach at night.

This shows one of the very early rides of the Pleasure Beach and certainly the oldest still in existence, the Hiram Maxim Flying Machine. Maxim was interested in flight which was in its infancy at the time and he built several of these machines which must have given thousands of people their first experience of what it must be like to fly in an aeroplane. As it spins, centrifugal force lifts the gondolas outwards from the base.

It has recently been announced that the Magic Mountain ride is to be demolished to make space for a more modern attraction. A fairy grotto dark ride, it was built on the southern half of the Pleasure Beach at a time when this space was reserved for children's rides.

I rode this myself as a young child in the 1950s and used to love watching the robot, an animated mannikin figure that "played" an organ console at the front of the ride. It's visible on the photo if you look hard. The ride dates from 1934 but sadly 76 years is all it will get.

And from the older rides to one that was bang up to date when the photo was taken. The Revolution was Britain's first looping roller coaster. It was (and is) a short track. Riders climb to the starting point on a level with the top of the loop and the ride goes down a dip, around the loop and up the other side then repeats the journey backwards. In order to have the power to climb as high as the starting point there is a catapult mechanism at either end to give it a boost.

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Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine

We were in Blackpool this morning to meet up with David and Jeannie for breakfast and afterwards whilst the ladies went off shopping, David and I had a wander round the antiques market in the Winter Gardens. I came across a stall selling old postcards for 25p each and had a brief rummage, coming up with a couple of postcards one of which was this one.

It shows Sir Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine, one of three such machines he produced in the early days of the 20th Century to stimulate public interest in flight, which was very much in its early infancy at the time. The Flying Machine shown was at Southport, standing next to the Water Shute that gives the postcard its caption. It has a number of large open rowing boats suspended from a spider-like arrangement of arms and steel bracing cables which when spinning would cause the boats to fly out sideways from the platform over which they would sit when stationary, this "flight" powered by centrifugal force. The other two Flying Machines were at London and Blackpool.

The Blackpool Flying Machine still exists of course and has been a feature and landmark of Blackpool Pleasure Beach since 1904. I took this photograph in the mid to late 1990s when the motor powering the Flying Machine - still the 1904 original - had been opened up to public viewing by knocking a wall through and installing a large glass window.

Sir Hiram Maxim was an inventor and made his fortune selling the Maxim machine gun which was used extensively in the first years of World War One. Flying was his own personal ambition and enthusiasm. He turned his hand to a number of varied inventions though, one being an inhaler for asthmatics, an example of which is exhibited in the Science Museum in London.