page_title: Scenic Railway (roller coaster)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Scenic Railway (roller coaster) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Scenic Railway roller coaster at Dreamland Margate operating in October 2015 shortly after restoration and reopening to the public.
context_page_description: The Scenic Railway is a wooden roller coaster located at the Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, UK. It first opened in 1920 and is the oldest roller coaster in the UK. The ride is distinctive compared to modern-day roller coasters, as a brakeman is still required to travel with the train to control its speed, manually applying brakes when needed. It is also one of only eight scenic railways in the world, and the UK's English Heritage granted the roller coaster Grade II listed status in 2002 and Grade II* listed status in 2011. The Scenic Railway was non-operational from 2006 until 2015 amid park closure and restoration following an arson attack.
context_section_description: In 1919, John Henry Iles bought the European usage rights to the scenic railway from LaMarcus Adna Thompson, who had patented the scenic railway design in 1884. Iles was a co-owner of Dreamland and had the Scenic Railway constructed at Dreamland from local timber and had mechanical parts for the ride shipped over from the US. The ride drew on ideas from several other designers, but was constructed by local carpenters within the area specified by Iles.
  Fire destroyed part of the ride in 1949 and the structure required major repairs. Replacement timber for the ride was bought from the dismantled pier at Lowestoft and the ride re-opened in 1950. Fire again destroyed parts of the ride in 1957.
  Some of the Margate trains were sold to Battersea Fun Fair in the 1960s where they were used on the Scenic Railway there (called the 'Big Dipper' at that site). It was one of the ex-Margate trains that was involved in the Battersea Big Dipper disaster of 1972 when 5 children were killed and several injured. It was during the aftermath of this accident that most of the wooden roller coasters in Britain’s amusement parks were removed as, irrespective of the actual standards of safety on the rides, public confidence had been dented.
  The Scenic Railway was successfully granted Grade II listed status in 2002, making it the first roller coaster ever to be given any form of protection against demolition. It continued operating until 2006 after Dreamland closed to the public in 2003. On 7 April 2008, it was targeted in an arson attack, and a significant portion of the ride was damaged. In 2011 the ride's listing status was upgraded from Grade II to Grade II* despite the fire damage due to the rarity of the ride and its international significance as one of the world's oldest roller coasters.
caption: The Scenic Railway shortly after reopening in 2015
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