Nemesis

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Nemesis

Nemesis' vertical loop
Alton Towers Location Alton, Staffordshire, England, UK Park section Forbidden Valley Status Operating since 19 March 1994 Expected closing 6 November 2022 Cost £10,000,000 Rider height 140 cm minimum
Statistics
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Product	Inverted Coaster
Designer / calculations	Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH, John Wardley
Type	Steel - Inverted - Terrain
Riders per train	32
Hourly capacity	1400
Propulsion	Chain lift hill
Height	13 metres
Drop	31.7 metres
Top speed	80.5 km/h
Length	716 metres
Inversions	4
Drop angle	40°
Duration	1:20
G-Force	3.5
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Nemesis is a steel inverted terrain roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Alton, Staffordshire, England, UK. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard, it opened in 1994 and was the first inverted roller coaster outside of North America. It is also the first Bolliger & Mabillard coaster outside of North America.

History

Nemesis in 1994

There were originally two other plans for Nemesis (called Secret Weapon 1 and Secret Weapon 2). The first was scrapped due to height restrictions and the second was an Arrow Dynamics pipeline roller coaster. John Wardley, designer of Nemesis, rode a prototype but found it to have a lack of energy. This is when Nemesis, or Secret Weapon 3 as it was then known, was designed.

Nemesis opened on 19 March 1994.

The opening in 1994 of The Big One, Nemesis and Shockwave at Drayton Manor resulted in 1994 being celebrated by United Kingdom's parks and fans as the "Year of the Rollercoaster".

In January 2022, Alton Towers submitted plans for rennovation works to the local council. This included replacement of the track from the top of the lift hill to the start of the brake run and the replacement of the majority of supports. On 21 September 2022, the park announced that Nemesis would close on 6 November with social media posts reading "By order of the Phalanx, Nemesis is closing. You have until November 6 to ride. Please make your way to Alton Towers Resort in an orderly fashion." Nemesis is expected to reopen in 2024.

Design

Elements
Chain lift hill Pre-drop Corkscrew Helix Zero-g roll Horseshoe Vertical loop Tunnel Corkscrew Tunnel

Nemesis features four inversions which twist around the ground, trees and the 'river of blood'. The entire ride is built partially into the ground to keep it below the treeline. Nemesis has a pre-drop, a feature employed by the ride manufacturer to reduce strain on the lift hill.

Colour scheme

When it first opened, Nemesis' track was painted an off-cream color and its supports were painted black. When the ride was repainted in 2016, the track became white with a rust effect.

Trains

2 trains with 8 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 4 across in a single row, for a total of 32 riders per train.

Related rides

A sister roller coaster was built at Thorpe Park, named Nemesis Inferno in 2003, another B&M inverted coaster themed around a volcano. There was also another ride called Nemesis: Sub Terra which was built in 2012. This was an ABC Rides indoor drop tower themed around a military compound owned by the Phalanx, the organisation who captured the Nemesis creature. Many special effects were used, with the drop tower only being a small part of the entire experience. The ride closed in 2015 and currently remains standing but not operating.

Images

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  A heavily-banked curve.

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  The train topping the zero-g roll

External links

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  Nemesis on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

Articles on Alton Towers
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