| Watch the on-ride POV |
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| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Charles Paige | ||||||||||||
| Onsite construction | Harry G Traver | ||||||||||||
| Type | Wooden | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Length | 914.4 metres | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 18 | ||||||||||||
Texas Tornado was a wooden roller coaster designed by American designer Charles Paige that was previously located at Frontierland Western Theme Park in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, UK.
History
The ride originally opened as Cyclone in 1939.[1][2] The park was known as Morecambe Pleasure Park in this time. The Cyclone was constructed using parts of a coaster that formerly operated at the 1937 Paris Exhibition, this was done to save on construction costs.
The coaster was renamed Texas Tornado in 1987, after the park was renamed to Frontierland Western Theme Park and received a western theme.
The ride closed in 1999 as part of the park's gradual downsizing and eventual closure.
The ride was put up for sale in November 1999 for £100,000 along with other attractions from the park but it failed to receive any buyers.[3] It was demolished in July 2000.[4]
Design
| Elements |
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Trains
3 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows, for a total of 18 riders per train.
Incidents
On 13 June 1946, a Thursday night, a 36-year-old man fell from the train and was killed. Newspapers at the time claim this was either the second or the third rider to have died since the coaster opened.[5][6]
On 22 August 1959, a Saturday night, a 16-year-old girl was killed after falling from the train. The local coroner found no mechanical fault with the coaster and it was reported that the girl had fallen while attempting to stand.[7]
References
- ↑ "New attractions for visitors to Morecambe". Lancashire Evening Post. 1939-04-06. p. 12.
- ↑ "Parisian thrill for Easter". Leeds Mercury. 1939-04-06. p. 12.
- ↑ "Frontierland Morecambe: How The West Was Lost". Joyland Books.
- ↑ "Texas Tornado Roller Coaster Demolished". Joyland Books.
- ↑ "Killed On Morecambe "Cyclone" Railway". Bradford Observer. 1946-06-14. p. 1.
- ↑ "Death fall on Cyclone - Morecambe Verdict of "Misadventure"". Morecambe Gurdian. 1946-07-06. p. 2.
- ↑ "Girl Ignored Switchback Warnings". Birmingham Daily Post. 1959-08-28. p. 27.
External Links
- Texas Tornado on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
