Margate's Earliest Roller Coaster

[Nick]

It may surprise some people to know that the Scenic Railway was not Margate's first roller coaster. And Dreamland/Hall-by-the-Sea was not its home. In the 1800s, Margate was home to a Switchback Railway, the predecessor of the Scenic Railway. There were several switchback railways around the UK, including one at Folkestone. You can find out more about early roller coasters in the report I submitted to DCMS in 2001 when I requested that they listed the Scenic Railway. However, as you can see from the report, I didn't list a switchback at Margate because I didn't know there was one until Darren Allport sent me some photographs of old Margate. It was a surprise to see a photograph of a partly destroyed Switchback Railway.

All I know is that the ride was destroyed in the Great Storm of 29 November 1897. I have no further information at this stage.

Does anybody have any further information or photographs?

Here is a fantastic photograph of the remains of the ride after the storm.

[EAS]

Nothing to do with the switchback railway (as far as I know...) but what's the building with the chimney and what looks like a wiggly tin roof?

[Gary]

Nothing to do with the switchback railway (as far as I know...) but what's the building with the chimney and what looks like a wiggly tin roof?

It could be.. "..A brick-built boiler house for pumping the sea water for the Baths.."

So says this link:

http://www.margatehandbook.co.uk/?page=articles&article=49

PS Interesting bit Sarah about The Shell Grotto on this page:

http://www.margatehandbook.co.uk/?page=articles&article=5

Gary

[EAS]

Ah - that sounds likely! It's certainly an engine house of some sort. Interesting. Thanks.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

Where exactly in Margate is this?

[porf]

Vince,
From the article at one of the links Gary posted it sounds like it was on the area that became the Rendevous car park.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

Is everybody sure this photograph was taken in Margate? I know quite a bit about local history and I have never heard of this Switchback Railway before.

Possibly Nick was sent this photo on the first of April?

[Nick]

It is taken from a photo album from the 1800s, and I received it long before 1 April 2009 (but comfortably after 1 April 2008!).

Susan Marsh has also told me that she believes it was at the Rendezvous site.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

From the cliffs, it does look that way. I will have a walk there this weekend and see if I can identify the exact spot.

[Susan]

Vince - I took as my first clue the building on the far right of the picture on top of the cliffs with a flag pole type structure, I believe this to be the Metropole Hotel which was bombed in WW!!. This was on the land now boarded that forms the side and some of the carriageway of Fort Hill being used for Turner, The road between it, then fairly narrow, and the buildings still existing across the road was called Paradise Street. The dual carriageway came after all this area was cleared.
I have a small picture looking up Paradise Street, with the Metropole shown complete with pole structure, hanging on my wall.
This hotel gained notoriety in 1929? when Sidney Fox murdered his Mother there.

[Scotchie]

Also you can see the Seamans Mission building at the back as in this picture on Simon Moore's site



http://birchington.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

I guess this is about where the lorry park is situated nowadays then?

[Greg Pryce]

Sorry to deviate from the topic slightly but there also used to be a Rollercoaster, or Switchback on the old Pier at Ramsgate around the area of the Marina Swimming Pool, but there is very little recorded histoy of it.

A picture can be seen here.

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/catalogue/id136.htm

[EAS]

So the ride formerly known as Traumatizer at Southport's Pleasureland and rehashed at Blackpool as Infusion was certainly not a first!

http://www.creativematch.co.uk/viewnews/?94074


I wonder if seasickness prevailed, so that's why it didn't last?

[Tonybeachcomber]

The photograph of the destroyed switchback railway at the Marine Palace was taken by Margate photographer George Houghton. It is part of a set of photgraphs published George Houghton of the 29th November 1897 storm. The set starts with the begginings of the storm taken from the Jetty looking towards the Marine Palace , the breaching of the sea wall taken from the Fort and the aftermath.