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Project - Alton Towers Black Hole Structure

Client - Alton Towers - Location - Staffordshire, UK - Year - 1983

A Steel framed, PVC clad structure to house the famous 'Black Hole' ride. The Black Hole was a mysterious ride that was hidden away from the prying eyes of riders and spectators alike as the he six hundred metre long ride took place in almost total darkness with the only illumination came from stars and asteroids. It was a vast undercover roller coaster, where you travelled through helixes upwards until you were completely disorientated and then suddenly you were dropped straight down a fifteen metre drop into the Black Hole itself.

To build this ride, the rail framework had to be covered completely with a canopy, but not before a quarter of a million tonnes of soil had been dug away from the hillside. The ride was originally green and yellow, but in 1998 when Oblivion was installed it was rethemed and painted blue.
Because the ride was totally hidden from view it means guests didn't know what to expect until they had ridden it and so for first time riders the queue was quite intimidating not knowing what you were queuing for. Once in the station it was the first time you could see the trains with passengers sitting in twos, one behind the other rather like sitting on a sledge. Spiralling upwards the train climbed fairly high, before you heard a voice say 'sit back-hold tight', you were then plunged down large drops and tight corners before a quick return into the brakes. The ride had a very poor through-put, because of this queues often built up.