Lost Dinosaurs of the Sahara
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| Manufacturer | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | ||||||||
| Product | Dark Boat Ride | ||||||||
Lost Dinosaurs of the Sahara was a self-built Dark Boat Ride built by Blackpool Pleasure Beach that was previously located at Pleasureland Southport in Southport, Merseyside, England, UK. The ride was 893 feet long and was originally powered via a gas engine.
History
It was originally known as River Caves and dates back to 1922. It was built by Helters Ltd in 1923 as the oldest attraction in the park. The ride previously existed from 1908 on the site of The White City, a former pleasure park in Southport which was rebuilt and relocated in 1922 on a larger site which currently houses the park.[1]
During the 2003/2004 offseason, some pieces of track from the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach were used in the construction of a new facade for the ride. It reopened as Lost Dinosaurs of the Sahara in 2004.[2]
It would continue to operate until Pleasureland Southport was closed by its owner, Blackpool Pleasure Beach on 5 September 2006.
After the park's closure, the ride's machinery and components, including the pump and paddle were purchased and removed by The Save Dreamland Campaign in June 2007 along with a few other former rides from the park, being relocated to the site of Dreamland Margate as part of a planned heritage park that was proposed by The Dreamland Trust.[3][4] This also included the ride's 10 original boats. The ride's hardware was subsequently left in storage.
Back at Pleasureland Southport, later rebranded to Southport Pleasureland after a change of ownership, the abandoned ride track and facade of the ride was later destroyed by fire in 2009 due to an arson attack. The Save Dreamland Campaign was unable to rescue this element of the ride after closing due to it being of permanent concrete construction.[5]
In 2015, it was decided that the ride would not be rebuilt as part of the reopened Dreamland Margate project and that the remaining parts and components of the ride would be instead used for upcycling and engagement purposes only for the new park.[6][7]
The ride was very similar and identical to River Caves that still operates today at Pleasure Beach Resort.
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References
- ↑ "River Caves". Joyland Books.
- ↑ "Pleasureland, Southport (22 June 2007)". Save Dreamland. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
- ↑ "SAVE DREAMLAND CAMPAIGN RESCUES VINTAGE RIDES FROM SOUTHPORT FOR MARGATE HERITAGE PROJECT". Joyland Books.
- ↑ "Save Dreamland Campaign Dismantles Rides at Southport Pleasureland". Joyland Books.
- ↑ Early Changes to The Big One - CoasterForce
- ↑ Ride Review Final.docx.html "Ride Review Final.docx.html "Trust Ride - Review and Assessment March 2015"". WhatDoTheyKnow.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ↑ "THE NEW RIDE LINE UP". Joyland Books.
External Links
Components of River Caves in storage at Dreamland Margate in April 2008