- Colossus (Thorpe Park)
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Colossus View of Colossus Location Thorpe Park Park section Lost City Coordinates 51°24′12″N 0°30′47″W / 51.403243°N 0.512959°WCoordinates: 51°24′12″N 0°30′47″W / 51.403243°N 0.512959°W Status Operating Opened March 22, 2002 Cost £13,500,000 Type Steel Manufacturer Intamin Designer Werner Stengel Model Multi looping Coaster Track layout Intamin Tri Track Lift/launch system Chain lift hill Height 98 ft (30 m) Drop 95 ft (29 m) Length 2,789 ft (850 m) Max speed 45 mph (72 km/h) Inversions 10 Duration 1:45 Capacity 1,200 riders per hour Max G force 4.2 Colossus at RCDB Pictures of Colossus at RCDB Amusement Parks Portal
Colossus is a roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, UK. It was built by Swiss manufacturers Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel as an adaptation of Monte Makaya in Brazil.[citation needed] Tussauds designer John Wardley adapted the project to include an extra two inversions as well as reducing its height.[citation needed] Colossus was the world's first roller coaster with ten inversions; an exact replica, called the Tenth Ring Roller Coaster, was later built at Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou, China.[1]
Manufacturers Intamin used a similar train style to their Hyper Coaster models which are exposed by removing the sides of the train. This caused problems as riders could lift their legs outside of the train whilst it was in motion.[citation needed] For a brief period in 2002 and 2003 the ride was equipped with metal bars on the sides of the train to prevent this. During 2003 the trains were fitted with new style restraints to prevent riders from doing this and the metal plates were removed.[citation needed]
The roller coaster is located in the Lost City area, in the south-east of the park. The ride is formed of a vertical loop, a cobra roll, two corkscrews and five heartline twists. The ride's rough theme is the ruins of a recently unearthed Atlantean civilisation. The music for the ride and surrounding area was composed by Ian Habgood and is shared with the roller coaster Colossos in Heide Park, Germany. During planning and construction Colossus was known as Project Odyssey; both names allude to Ancient Greece, albeit in different ways.
In 2009, the ride's lift hill chain was replaced and station area was cleaned of rust.
In 2010 Colossus's signs and station were repainted.
References
- ^ "10 Inversion Roller Coaster (Chimelong Paradise)". http://rcdb.com/id3475.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
External links
- Official site for Thorpe Park
- Colossus on Theme Park Junkies
- Colossus on Thorpe Park Insider
- Colossus at Total Thorpe Park
- Colossus on Thorpe Park Mania
- Colossus at ThemeParks-UK
Rides at Thorpe Park Roller coasters X:\ No Way Out (1996) · Colossus (2002) · Nemesis Inferno (2003) · Stealth (2006) · Flying Fish (2007) · Saw – The Ride (2009) · The Swarm (2012)Other rides Water Rides Preceded by
Dragon KhanFirst coaster with 10 inversions
March 2002–presentSucceeded by
IncumbentCategories:- Steel roller coasters
- Intamin roller coasters
- Buildings and structures in Surrey
- Merlin Entertainments roller coasters
- Roller coasters in the United Kingdom
- Roller coasters introduced in 2002
- Thorpe Park
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