Status Operating Type Wood – Racing Model Racing Height restriction 1.22 m Max speed 80 km/h | Opening date 1935 Designer Charles Paige Track layout Möbius Loop Height 19 m | |
Address 525 Promenade, Blackpool FY4, UK Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hours Similar Big Dipper, Nickelodeon Streak, Big One, Wild Mouse, Ice Blast: The Ride | ||
The Grand National is a wooden roller coaster at Pleasure Beach, Blackpool. It was designed and constructed by Charles Paige in 1935 and is now one of only three surviving Möbius Loop roller coasters in the world and the only one in Eurasia. It is themed and named after the Grand National; with elements of the ride signposted to mimic features of the horse race. The trains climb the lift-hill and pass under the 'They're Off' sign and race through 'Becher's Brook', 'Valentine's' and 'Canal Turn' before returning to the 'Winning Post'. The ride stands at 62 feet high and has a track length of 3302 feet (6604 in total).
Contents
Special events
Andy Hine, the chairman of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain, was married on the ride in the early 1990s. A plaque with his name is installed on one of the trains.
Incidents
On 20 May 2004, an electrical fault in the lighting system of the roof of the station caused a fire which destroyed the station and parts of two adjacent rides as well as the trains of the ride. The station was rebuilt and new trains installed and the ride re-opened on 28 October 2004 after repairs were completed.
At the start of 2010, Pleasure Beach staff said that due to an electrical fault the ride had, it would not run for some time. However it was running again in July 2010.
In 2014, 58-year-old Robert Sycamore broke his neck whilst riding.