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Located BPB The Whip

That's quite tragic :(

I know it's crap by today's standards, but I always kind of enjoyed it.

It's not the only complete failure by Dreamland Trust to look after rides they've acquired.
 
To be fair, I don't understand how they're meant to refurbish these rides when the cost of the restoration is greater than the funding they receive for them? Littleboy's Vintage are quite expensive for what they do.

Another problem comes with the battle between H&S and heritage funding - the same issue why The Scenic opened so late. So, HSE govern the park in terms of H&S and ride safety by implementing new restraints, loading procedures etc., but, that goes against the clauses set by Lottery heritage Funding to actually gain the funding. An example is The Scenic's side panels on the train - HSE stated that it had to have them and also the magnetic trim brakes etc., but Lottery Heritage Funding wouldn't supply the money or funding for the project because it wasn't being reconstructed to it's original plans, so there was a complete battle from either side to get their own way, hence why the ride opened so so so so late.

This also goes for all of the other rides at the park that are located in the 'bone yard'. There's so many different rides and attractions that are donated to the park and are just left to rot on a big lot at the back left of the park, near the car park. They're used as a dumping ground and so many people argue that 'they should just build the rides that are there', most of them are completely unrealistic to build again and are just bits and pieces of rides, namely the River Caves and King Solomon's Mines coaster, all that is left is the vehicles - no track or mechanisms.

So yeah, you can hardly blame the park for not doing it if they don't receive the funding to do any of it, especially the amounts we're talking here.
 
Ah whip rides. I too really love the nostalgia of them - Dorney Park has a great example that they have kept quite up to the times.

dorney08_04.jpg
 
^There's a junior version at Adventure Island. Someone who's been more regularly will have a much better idea, but I think the Blackpool one must've been gone for at least ten years? I've got a vague recollection of seeing it around 2000/2001, but not sure if it was even running.
 
According to the wiki for BPB, it was removed in 2008! I remember it only being open very infrequently up to then. It was a fun ride but I definitely haven't missed it
 
Lofty said:
To be fair, I don't understand how they're meant to refurbish these rides when the cost of the restoration is greater than the funding they receive for them? Littleboy's Vintage are quite expensive for what they do.

Another problem comes with the battle between H&S and heritage funding - the same issue why The Scenic opened so late. So, HSE govern the park in terms of H&S and ride safety by implementing new restraints, loading procedures etc., but, that goes against the clauses set by Lottery heritage Funding to actually gain the funding. An example is The Scenic's side panels on the train - HSE stated that it had to have them and also the magnetic trim brakes etc., but Lottery Heritage Funding wouldn't supply the money or funding for the project because it wasn't being reconstructed to it's original plans, so there was a complete battle from either side to get their own way, hence why the ride opened so so so so late.

This also goes for all of the other rides at the park that are located in the 'bone yard'. There's so many different rides and attractions that are donated to the park and are just left to rot on a big lot at the back left of the park, near the car park. They're used as a dumping ground and so many people argue that 'they should just build the rides that are there', most of them are completely unrealistic to build again and are just bits and pieces of rides, namely the River Caves and King Solomon's Mines coaster, all that is left is the vehicles - no track or mechanisms.

So yeah, you can hardly blame the park for not doing it if they don't receive the funding to do any of it, especially the amounts we're talking here.
Click to expand...

I understand the basic issue, but...

These rides were donated (or in some cases, donations of cash were given to the trust) in order to "save them". In the case of The Whip, it was in a roughly working order before it was sent to Margate. The River Cave boats and mechanism were in serviceable order.

The idea of the trust was to save these rides for future generations. If they didn't have the ability or funding to even put them under cover to keep them in a decent condition until they could get the funding, then they shouldn't have bothered saving the stuff. It's just a monumental waste of effort and money.

I understand the issue and I am sympathetic to the fact that the trust had such a hard fight for so many years. The council and the old owners of the land delayed things for so long that it led to the rides degrading rather than being saved.

However, the initial scope of the trust was to save old rides and present a "working museum" amusement park to the public. This is something they have fundamentally failed beyond restoring The Scenic. It's something they can't achieve now because the rides they "saved" have all rotted away - most have gone from working attractions to trash in their hands.

So yes, there are valid reasons, but surely some planning should have gone into conservation of the rides right from the start?
 
It's almost as if, as nice as an idea the heritage thing was, it was fundamentally flawed from the start xD

The whole thing is a case of too much heart, not enough head.
 
I was really keen to get involved in the restoration and subsequent running of Dreamland. At the first "Open Gate" event, I happily signed up as a volunteer. I then returned later that month for what I thought would be the first of several "clean up the site" events. A day spent scraping weeds and moss off the block paving on the Arlington House side of the Scenic. Enjoyed every minute, thinking I was doing something positive.

We weren't allowed near the containers with the rides, but the Whip was there - in full view, completely open to the elements. The wooden panels on the two drive wheels were rotting away even then, and I was surprised to see the two motors sitting there as well. The cars were elsewhere.

There was a load of Wild Mouse track. A Trabant and a Twist ride. The Corbière Wheel supports and arms.

Of course, it's not entirely true to say that all the rides have become trash in their hands, as a good number of the rides were scrapped not long before the Compulsory Purchase Order went through. A number of serviceable rides were lost at that stage, including the Caterpillar and Flying Scooters. Not all of each ride - just enough to make them unusable.

As for being a volunteer (I'd have been a regular - I'd already had an offer of a place to stay each weekend), as soon as Sands Heritage took over, us volunteers were effectively dumped - no "thanks but no thanks", just silence.
 
It closed at the end of the 2004 season, I think it was removed sometime in 2008 or possibly early 2009.
 
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