Nemesis (roller coaster)

For other uses, see Nemesis (disambiguation).

Nemesis
A Nemesis train travelling around the stall turn immediately after the vertical loop.
Location	Alton Towers
Park section	Forbidden Valley
Coordinates	52°59′13″N 1°52′58″W / 52.98694°N 1.88278°W / 52.98694; -1.88278Coordinates: 52°59′13″N 1°52′58″W / 52.98694°N 1.88278°W / 52.98694; -1.88278
Status	Operating
Opened	19 March 1994
Cost	£10,000,000
Type	Steel - Inverted
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	John Wardley
Model	Inverted Coaster
Track layout	Terrain
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	43 ft (13 m)
Drop	104 ft (32 m)
Length	2,349 ft (716 m)
Max speed	50 mph (80 km/h)
Inversions	4
Duration	1:20
Max vertical angle	40°
Capacity	1,400 riders per hour
Max G force	4.0
Height restriction	140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Nemesis at RCDB
Pictures of Nemesis at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

Nemesis is Europe's first inverted roller coaster located at Alton Towers, England. The ride's concept was created by John Wardley. It is manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and opened in 1994. It is located in the Forbidden Valley area of the park, adjacent to Air, a flying B&M roller coaster that opened in 2002.

History

Plans for developing the site began in 1991, when Alton Towers began working on a pipeline roller coaster concept from Arrow Dynamics. The ride, codenamed Secret Weapon 1, was to be themed around a secret military facility.^[1] Development of the project was put on hold due to Arrow's financial problems and Mr Wardley's design problems, but was brought back a year later with the codename Secret Weapon 2 this time with the ride being built in a pit, to solve the height restriction problems. However, the project was finally abandoned when John Wardley had the opportunity to ride the prototype, and found it to be slow and energy inefficient.^[1]

The park began to look at alternatives and around this time John became aware of the rumours surrounding a new installation by Bolliger & Mabillard at Six Flags. Alton Towers contacted Bolliger & Mabillard who would not give out any specifics about the ride and informed the park to speak to Six Flags. Jon only did that and after a meeting Six Flags agreed to let Bolliger & Mabillard produce a similar ride for Alton Towers on the understanding that Alton Towers would return the favour.^[2] John Wardley worked on this new ride concept which he codenamed SW3, though the theme of a secret weapon evolved into that of organic alien creature.

Nemesis opened in the spring of 1994 to much media fanfare and was one of many major installations at theme parks throughout the United Kingdom. Drayton Manor also unveiled Shockwave, a intamin stand-up roller coaster which today still stands as the only stand up rollercoaster operating in Europe and the only stand up in the world with a zero-G roll, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach unveiled the Pepsi Max Big One - which at the time stood as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.

Legacy

Seventeen years after its opening, Nemesis is still one of the most popular rides in the park and indeed worldwide. The coaster is still ranked as one of the best coasters in the world by many polls, with thecoastercritic.com ranking the ride as the 3rd best roller coaster in the world in 2006^[3][4] and the 6th best in 2007 and 2008^[5] and The Golden Ticket Awards ranking it as the 13th best steel roller coaster in the world in 2008.^[6] Many of the best rides it has been ranked with, such as Superman: Ride of Steel and Expedition GeForce, are many times taller and faster than Nemesis, as well as more modern. Yet, despite also the planning height restrictions that the local council enforce Alton Towers to abide by, (all coasters have to be below the tree line hence why Nemesis is built into the ground somewhat) the coaster remains very popular due to its sheer intensity and thrill. The coaster was such a success that it spawned a 'sequel' coaster at its sister theme park Thorpe Park under the name of Nemesis Inferno.^[7]

In April 2009, over 20 complaints were submitted to the council by local villagers complaning of increased noise levels from the ride after maintenance work over the closed season. Alton Towers briefly ran the ride at a reduced capacity until new wheels were installed, the ride is now operating fully again.^[8]

In the media

Nemesis' stall turn.

Nemesis during its inverted corkscrew, immediately after the first drop.

In 2004, Nemesis gained the world record for the most naked people to ride a roller coaster. 32 people took part, beating the previous record of 28 held by Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park. The event took place to celebrate 50 years of Guinness World Records,this record has now been beaten though.

Nemesis was briefly renamed Wonderland for a month in 2005, to celebrate the release of pop-rock band McFly's new album. The band took a ride on Nemesis on CD:UK, a popular music television programme.

Storyline

This is the legend of Nemesis:

'Nemesis' comes from another dimension, a dimension beyond our imagination. There are theories, and then there is the legend... Beneath the ground at Alton Towers, something strange and horrible lurks: a creature put on the Earth over two million years ago. The creature was disturbed during maintenance work on one of the other rides in Forbidden Valley. The creature, angry at being disturbed, caused havoc, ripping up trees and buildings, sending them hurtling skyward. A security silence fell over Alton Towers as historians, archaeologists and the Ministry of Defence nervously began some serious investigations. What they discovered was Nemesis. It had to be controlled - 250 tonnes of steel and 200 men pinned it down. The steel holding down the monster was twisted and bent into unusual shapes - the steel was the roller coaster track thrill seekers ride today - Nemesis.

Layout

Once the train is locked and checked, it makes a 45-degree, right-hand turn towards the lift hill. Once at the top of the hill, the train makes a quick dip and turns around 180 degrees to the left. The train then descends down the drop into the first inversion, a right-handed corkscrew. The train then makes a right-handed, 270-degree downward helix, with 90 degree banking and a tight radius, achieving the maximum G-force of the ride, this is also where the on-ride camera is located. Then the train rises up into the second inversion, a zero g roll. It then makes a 180-degree right-handed stall turn into the third inversion, a vertical loop. After another stall turn, but this time to the left, the train makes the final inversion, another right-handed corkscrew. The train then passes through an underground tunnel, and through one more 180-degree turn, before being stopped by the brakes and entering the station.

The helix following the first inversion is one of the most intense elements of any rollercoaster in the world. The section of track as well as the train wheel assemblies undergo stresses far higher than what is typical for a modern rollercoaster. No inverted rollercoaster has since been built that takes an element at such a high speed.

Statistics

1. Construction started: 1991
2. Designed by: John Wardley
3. Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
4. Ride type: B&M inverted
5. Programmed by: Consign AG
6. Ride opened: 19 March 1994
7. Total cost: Approx. £10 million
8. Length: Approx. 716 metres
9. Highest drop: Approx. 13 metres
10. Top speed: Approx. 50 mph (80 km/h)
11. Maximum g-force: 4.5^{[citation needed]}
12. Number of trains: 2
13. Passengers per train: 32
14. Max throughput per hour: 1400 (approximately, 1400+ has been recorded but not often)
15. Ride duration: Approx. 80 seconds
16. Inversions: 4 (corkscrew, zero g roll, loop, corkscrew)

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Ranking	14	19	18	7	17	16	16	14	13	20	18[9]	11[10]

See also

• Alton Towers
• Inverted roller coaster
• Bolliger & Mabillard
• Nemesis Inferno

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "John Wardley looks back" (PDF). http://www.john-wardley.demon.co.uk/firstdrop.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-18. 
2. ^ Alton Towers Almanac: Multimedia: Nemesis' 10th Birthday
3. ^ Thecoastercritic.com
4. ^ Thecoastercritic.com
5. ^ Blogspot.com
6. ^ Coastergrotto.com
7. ^ Thorpepark.com
8. ^ A Nemesis Operator at the time
9. ^ "Amusement Today — Golden Ticket Winners 2010" (PDF). Amusement Today. http://www.goldenticketawards.com/PDF/GTA2010issue.pdf. Retrieved 12 September 2010. 
10. ^ Amusement Today 2011 Park and Ride Winners

External links

• Nemesis at RCDB
• Nemesis at Alton Towers Almanac
• Nemesis at Towers Nerd
• Nemesis at Alton Towers Net
• Nemesis data on Theme Park Junkies
• Nemesis at Towers Times
• Nemesis info and pictures at the Alton Towers Guide