100 YEARS OF TH The cries a British roll

CELEBRATING

AS the train crept closer to the 40ft drop, the clicketyclack of its wheels would have struggled to drown out the pounding heartbeats of those on board.

It would pale in comparison with the hi-tech roller coasters adored by Brits today.

But 100 years ago, the intrepid day-trippers riding the rickety wooden track would never have experienced anything like it.

And some would end up wishing they hadn’t tucked in to Kent’s finest fish and chips beforehand.

The Scenic Railway was unveiled to the public 100 years ago – July 3, 1920 – and become the flagship attraction at Dreamland, Margate’s state of the art amusement park.

Spectacular

Word spread fast about the Scenic Railway, now Britain’s oldest surviving roller coaster.

And Dreamland’s creator, John Henry Iles, saw the ride attract huge crowds of 500,000 people in its first three months alone.

“People travelled from far and wide to try it,” says Eddie Kemsley, CEO of Dreamland today.

“Some people were terrified. They got to the front of the queue and turned back. Others were sick and lost their hats and glasses.

“The view from the top alone was spectacular for people. Dreamland became the prototype for Britain’s theme parks.”

After the Scenic Railway came Blackpool’s iconic Big Dipper, plunging Britain into a golden age of roller coasters.

By the end of the 1920s, nearly 2,000 wooden roller coasters existed worldwide.

Margate’s, which was awarded Grade II listed status in 2002, is one of only

35 in the world which predate 1939.

The screams of those early hedonists have been echoed down the years by millions. Few can resist the lure of a heart-stopping thrill ride. Princess Diana and her boys William and Harry were snapped in an idyllic image of family fun on Alton Towers’ log flume in 1994.

TV’S Del Boy, Rodney and Uncle Albert paid a visit to Dreamland in Only Fools and Horses’ 1989 Christmas special.

Traditional British fun parks evolved from fairs and circuses.

The first, Blackgang Chine on the Isle of Wight, opened in 1843 and its landscaped gardens were enjoyed by Queen Victoria.

Allan Brodie of Historic England says: “Pleasure gardens started adding rides in the second half of the 19th century. But these were often man-powered or with a little steam engine pushing them.

“Fairground rides in the sense of the fixed ones in Margate really relied on electricity to give you the thrill of the lights and sounds.”

Britain was not the birthplace of the leisure roller coaster.

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