Rush (Thorpe Park)

Rush is a ride at Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey. It is S&S Power's 'Screamin' Swing', and, along with Slammer was the park's new attraction for the 2005 season. It was also the tallest ride of its type in the world, at the time of opening.

Construction

Construction for Rush started late 2004, after 'Eclipse', the ferris wheel had been removed. It was originally meant to have four air tanks, instead of two. It took around 4 months to construct, and test.

Ride Opening

The grand opening for Rush was at midday on on May 27 2005.After testing all through the morning, it opened, only to breakdown after four ride cycles. It tested for over 1 hour, and reopened again. As the ride has two swings which swing in opposite directions, it is thought the ride needed to close due to the swings falling out of sync, which caused the ride to operate using one swing, meaning it can only hold 16 people per ride.

Criticisms

Rush has been criticised for a few reasons , such as the amount of emergency stops it undertakes, the noise, and the lack of themeing. In concept art for Rush, it was shown to have vinyl themeing placed up the towers, but this has not happened. Also, there have been complaints about the type of restraints on the ride. With just a lap bar keeping you in, the ride feels quite dangerous when you are seated.

Rush has been severely criticised for its unreliability.

2008 Incident

[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1220389.ece A piece of metal fell off the ride on the 27th May 2008] . The ride was operating with guests seated. Nobody was injured and the ride stopped immediately and was closed for inspection. The fallen part was re-made and re-fitted and new platforms were built. The ride was covered in scaffolding for a week whilst being fixed. It has now re-opened.

The ride was then tested and reopened on July 5.

External links

* [http://www.totalthorpepark.co.uk/guide/rush.shtml Rush at Total Thorpe Park]
* [http://www.thorpeparkinsider.co.uk/ParkGuide/attractions/lostCity/rush/index.htm Rush at Thorpe Park Insider]
* [http://www.themeparkjunkies.co.uk/index.php?act=parkguide&rgp=1&ride=38 Rush at Theme Park Junkies]
* [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1220389.ece News report on ride closure after a piece of metal fell from Rush]