extra info for worlds apart by dave page

[aitch22]

The senic railway at barry island was demolished over a two winter period. The center was removed first, leaving the two end towers and the first lift. After its complete removal it was replaced by the 'Galaxi' a metal roller coaster imported from Italy. The Wacky Goldmine, the Pick a Winner, The Jungle Ride & silver dollar Arcade all built at the same time, used the 6"x6" wood beams from the senic railway in their construction. The Log Flume which was built in the 1980s ran 'over' part of the Jungle Ride and replaced the childrens park at the lower end of the fairground.
During the 1974/75 period there was a massive reconstruction of the barry fairground and the following 75-79 period was one of its most successful periods. Unfortunately the decision of Butlins to uproot and move to Minehead taking with it their "3-5,000 customers per week" brought about a devastating blow to the finances of Barry Island Fairground.
aitch
ps
(I am at present trying to restore photographs (taken in the winter of 1973) of the senic railway being demolished.

[Gary]

Excellent information!! Thanks aitch22

Nick, can we add this too either Dave's article

http://www.joylandbooks.com/themagiceye/articles/barry-island-pleasure-park.htm or Phil's Welsh Wonders

http://www.joylandbooks.com/themagiceye/articles/morewelshwonders.htm

..and aitch22..If ever you are up for an article on anything Barry Island please let me know.

Thanks again

Gary

[aitch22]

Gary
My first job on the fairground in Barry was to paint the Pick a Winner (1974) - it was a three week job to earn a bit of extra cash. My three weeks work turned into 6 years. Finishing the Pick a Winner, I was taken on full time - a short spell in the childrens park, and a quick apprenticeship on the Vampire Jets before running the machine until the end of the season. I worked on the Tele Combat jets (not a patch on the Vampire Jets), the Gallopers, The Scream Machine, but ended up running the 'People Mover' (A Twist - no platform) for 3 years.
If I can help you with any information during this period I will.
Aitch22

[Gary]

aitch22, your information has been added to an article that was first showcased in TheGalloper.com way back in 2001 and has now been resurrected this month especially for themagiceye.

"..Following Dave Page's summer visit to Barry Island Pleasure Park in the September 2001 Issue of TheGalloper.com to see one of the park's newest rides, NICK LAISTER takes a trip back in time to look at the park's biggest ever attraction: the much missed Scenic Railway.."

"The Beast of Barry" can be found at http://www.joylandbooks.com/themagiceye/articles/beast-of-barry-scenic-railway.htm

Thanks again!

Gary

[aitch22]

Hi Gary,
Just read the article on the Beast. I am not sure that the wind damage reported was that serious, I know it removed some of the external lathe and plaster but the structure of the senic was still ok. I will check this out with Pat Collins. The main decision to remove the ride was it took up too much space and many rides rather than one could take its place (obviously a financial decision.) I have photographs of the senic as it was being demolished and you can see the structure was sound. Saddened by the news that the ride was be demolished I decided to take some photographs of it before it was gone forever. I took the photos on the way to work (early in the morning) so the light quality on some of the pictures is poor. Also the camera was a 'bog standard' one for the time (1973). Consequently the pictures have deteriorated alot over thirty odd years. I am working on the photographs now (photoshop) and although the quality isn't perfect - the pictures are stunning in my eyes. How do you send a photo to your site?
aitch

[Gary]

Hi aitch22

WOW!! Thanks for this info!!

I (and I'm sure many people) would love to see any photographs you can show.

You can send it / them to me at

themagiceye@aol.com

or to Nick at

nick@joylandbooks.com who puts the info together as he hosts themagiceye for me.

I love old photos and tbh it's not the quality of the photo that counts too much for me but rather the subject matter.

Thanks again!

Gary

[aitch22]

Hi Gary
I spoke to Pat Collins yesterday about the 'Beast'. He told me that the serious damage to the senic railway took place around 1964/65 when part of the ride fell into the centre. This section was rebuilt and instead of using lathe and plaster to 'face' the structure, they used tin sheets. This was done to reduce the weight of the external covering and it was also easier to paint. The tin sheeting on the first lift can be seen in photographs of the time. Later they decided to 'tin sheet' the two end circles for the same reasons. It was not long after this occurred that a financial assessment was carried out on the fairground. This was a disaster for the senic, as they calculate the 'area of land' a ride takes up and compare it with the amount of money the ride takes during the financial year. Unfortunately for the scenic it took up too much space for the amount of money it returned, she just wasn't paying her way. The old girl was doomed and she was taken down during the 72/73 winters and replaced with several rides and stalls.

Pat Collins did tell me to quote him on this:- "In retrospect we should not of done it. With the technology we have, it would have been possible to incorporate rides such as the 'log flume' 'jungle ride' and the 'wacky goldmine' under the scenic railway. She would have remained the crowd puller and paid her way".
From our conversation I could tell he has very fond memories of the old girl and regrets her demolition.
Aitch.

*Pat Collins is looking for a photograph of the centre of 'the coaster' which resided at Barry Island pre74/to75. On the centre of the ride there were statues of men/clowns? It is this image he is looking for - if any readers can help.
*Hoping to send you a picture today.

[Gary]

Many, many thanks for your information and photos - We all really appreciate your time and effort - I've sent you an email saying the same

Lets hope someone out there can find an image of the Scenic with the statues.

I tried keeping my eyes peeled here on this vid for the statues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRsQIWMZQD4 but no luck

Gary

[woody]

gary, try a post on atfotf, there is at least 2 ex gaff lads that worked at barry island and one showman

[Gary]

Great idea Woody!

I'll keep all and sundry updated if there are any replies.

[Gary]

*Pat Collins is looking for a photograph of the centre of 'the coaster' which resided at Barry Island pre74/to75. On the centre of the ride there were statues of men/clowns? It is this image he is looking for - if any readers can help.
*Hoping to send you a picture today.

aitch22 is referring to the FLYING Coaster at this point - not the Scenic...Thanks for the email aitch22 helping clear that up.

Anyone any pics?

Gary

[johnwardley]

You can see the original TV advert we made for the park when we opened the logflume on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R82R2hqVRV0
Remember the music? I had great fun locating this in the BBC music library, and thought we'd never get a license from the BBC to use it on an ITV commercial. But for a relatively small price, they licensed it to us.

[Gary]

...

*Pat Collins is looking for a photograph of the centre of 'the coaster' which resided at Barry Island pre74/to75. On the centre of the ride there were statues of men/clowns? It is this image he is looking for - if any readers can help...

Is this it??

http://cdm15847.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15847coll3/id/4871/rec/7

Not the clearest but you can just about make out a clown or 2

[aitch22]

great photo thanks, Pat Collins will be well pleased.
Please say hello to John Wardley from Heather and Debbie (Twist and Dodgems).
John Collins filmed carnival night at Barry Island in 1977/78. I believe John Wardley has a copy of this tape and he used part of this tape in his TV program called the Scream Machine. It would be great to see it again.
Aitch