opened in 1994 Nemesis at a cost of ten million pounds quickly became a favourite coaster amongst enthusiasts and the public alike.

I dont count coasters or number of rides on a particular coaster but if i were to look back over the years to 1994 my count would be well into the hundreds if not more.

A trip to Alton towers just isnt the same without a ride on Nemesis for me and many other enthusiasts. I hope you enjoy the photographs.

Some ride stats.
Height 43ft
Drop 104ft
Length 2,349ft
Max speed 50mph
Inversions 4
Duration 1m 20secs.
Capacity 1,400 riders per hour.

We were fortunate enough to have a behind the scenes tour of the ride in July 2007, this was an organised tour arranged by the park and these are the pictures taken on that event.

Bottom of the Nemesis lift hill looking up.

Bottom of the Nemesis lift hill looking up.

Part way up the Nemesis lift hill.

A picture taken from part way up the Nemesis lift hill.

Looking back near the top of the lift hil..

Just about at the top of the lift hil.

View from the top of the Nemesis lift hill looking down. It was all too much for Andy.

Nemesis loop taken from the top of the lift hill.

Looking at the station from the rear of the ride entrance.

From in front of the control desk looking back.

Something for the wheel geeks.

Nemesis Control panel/ops seat.

Outside the rear of the entrance looking at the train storage/maintenance area.

Ready to go in the maintenance area.

Looking back at the final brakes, notice the track has moved.

Thanks for looking.

Space Invader 2 was originally called space invader when it arrived at the park in 1984, after been refurbished by Kumbak coasters in 2004 it reopened as Space Invader 2.

Anyone that remembers the original Space invader will remember the very uncomfortable and often bumpy ride.

I have memories of the old space invader been a very bumpy ride with some extreme brakes in the dark. As part of this tour we were left to look around the attraction with senior management for about 30 minutes.

It was ideal for most of the group and we just walked around taking photographs and looking at some of the very odd looking space theming most of which you miss whizzing past at 30-40mph.

Some of the 80′s style space 1999 theming.

Some of these spacemen inside the ride are hardly seen when you go past in the cars, they look tacky and believe me they are but that just adds to the attraction in my opinion. I don’t think any of us ride space invader 2 for the fantastic effects.

Some more of the props.

Hanging in the middle of the attraction is a satellite.

This is one odd looking alien.

and a close up of its face.

Some track shots, the ride is 1490ft in length and has a height of 59ft.

This is a pretty good effect when your on the ride in the dark.

Passing through some more space themed artwork.

Mid ride operators console, this isnt manned during normal operational hours.

One of the trains, Pleasure beach staff compared the cost to a Porsche boxster..gulp!!!

Finally the run back into the station. Brakes in the center of the track.

Id like to thank Club Pleasure Beach for arranging this tour and to Keith and his staff at Pleasure Beach Blackpool.

Collection of other behind the scenes tours Behind the scenes.

If you want to use any photographs on this blog please get in touch paul@ridemad.com im quite happy to share and have high resolution copies of everything used, to see the complete gallery visit the Ridemad Gallery

Thanks for Reading.

After years of speculation it looks like the fun fair at Rhyl known as Ocean beach has closed its gates for the final time. I visited Rhyl twice in 2006 once at the start of the season and then towards the end of September when most rides had packed up, apart from the obivous 2 steel coasters the water chute was also standing.

A lapse in security allowed me to take a look around the Water chute for what may be the final time.

The water chute was originally brought to Rhyl from Kursaal Amusment park in southend in 1972.

I’ll take a look at the station building and queue lines first.

A view looking into the queue line at the rear of the car.

Looking out to where the cars come into the station.

A couple of shots of the cars.

A close up showing the lap bars.

From just before the cars enter the lift hill.

Parked and ready to go.

The control hut, as a child I often wondered what they did in this box. I always remember someone pulling a giant lever. This picture is taken from the side of the track as the trains come back into the station.

A look into the mysterious box. I like the addition of the electric heater. Apologies for the picture quality (dirty perspex theres nothing worse)

The bar that operates the ride brakes. This is connected to the lever in the control box.

A pump thing. I dont know what it is, looks like it controls water though.

A bit of a closer look at the track coming into the station.

Heres a couple of lift hill shots.

A view from near the control box, looking at the ride.

The splash pool

A bit of theming.

Will the last one out switch off the lights.

And finally to prove I dont break into farigrounds to take pictures.

I took about 300 images over my last two trips to Rhyl once sorted out ill be sure to post them on here.

All images are copyright ridemad.com, if you want to use any please get in touch paul@ridemad.com, where ill be more than happy to share, i have higher resolution copies of all images, to see all the images from this visit, go to the Album

http://www.ridemad.com is an independant website not affiliated to any theme parks or fairgrounds, the views expressed are my opinions.

Thanks for Reading.