zordmaker

Not that I am any way in favour of ripping it down, but just so you know how it would be done if it ever happened: Cherry pickers, Elevated Work Platforms and Chainsaws. ZordMaker.

Excellent idea, actually. Zordmaker

All good sites, but all waaaay too expensive now. Might be some possibilities on the other side of the river in the Hawksbury, thats about it. Ironically one of the best sites still in Sydney would be across the road from where Wonderland was.. in the Govt's green belt park (down near the Western Sydney Regional Park, or adjacent to Eastern Creek Raceway or the Speedway). But only if they want it there - nobody could afford to pay full commercial rates for the land. ZordMaker

There is one thing that a major theme park needs - LAND. CHEAP LAND and Sydney aint got any going (unless the land is Government owned and handed to the developer on a plate in order to secure the theme park's future). So if youre looking for big theme parks in NSW then you're going to have to go regional, but stay within cooee of Sydney. Thats what Wonderland itself did in 1984.. however Sydney has moved 20km West since then. The best place for a new WL style park is going to be in the Southern Highlands somewhere, possibly Goulburn~ish, where 500 acres can still be had for less than $10m, and there are still good transport links to major centres. Zordmaker

It might surprise you to find out that not everyone who lives out here wants more jobs. In fact most of us are damned fed up with having too many. The employment rate (except for those genuine, unemployable bludgers) is effectively negative already with the area sucking workers out of other neighbouring areas causing peak hour traffic gridlock every day. The local Govt is unlikely to be swayed by the promise of a hundered new jobs in another warehouse distribution centre which replaced three hundred jobs lost in a theme park. (that is, unless the owners can promise to establish a new tourist attraction elsewhere in Blacktown to compensate). However with NSW Planning very much on the nose already (try the Orange grove fiasco, etc etc) the owners better do their thing quickly and pass some big bucks under the Labour Party table if they want it rezoned, because if the State Govt changes in 06/07, it is unlikely to happen. Votes are more important then Jobs, especially now. ZordMaker

Twin Towers. Hmm.. ZordMaker

May I suggest the Millenium Train, if you want something softer. And nobody can hear you scream. Outside, anyway. ZordMaker

Back to the ole Rattlers I guess. But the following recent quotation from NSW Heritage office may interest you; Thanks for this information again. I have spoken to Blacktown Council and been informed that it is on their list of items that deserve investigation into their heritage significance. Furthermore any proposal for demolition would be referred to the Heritage Office, since we have expressed an interest in the item. So it seems unlikely that demolition should be authorised by Council in the next few weeks. I should point out that it is the opinion of the Heritage Office that on the available evidence presented for the IHO it does not appear to be of State significance. So it might be appropriate to approach Blacktown Council to ask them about assessing and conserving its possible local significance. Sincerely, and thanks again for your interest, Bronwyn ZordMaker

I think it's got more to do with his personal vendetta against lycra wearing.. but it would be a shame to see a great coaster destroyed over a dispute of $5 piece of fabric... ZordMaker

Very wrong, Im afraid. The section of the M4 Between Mulgoa Rd Penrith and the (now gone) slipway at Prospect (Mays Hill) that joined back onto the Grt Western Hwy (which included the section past Wallgrove Rd and Wonderland) was opened in 1974. The section between the slipway at Wentworthville, over the "skyway" to Silverwater and on to Strathfield, was opened in 1986, which for a long time left a gap between Wentworthville and Mays Hill. This gap was finally closed in 1992 when a private consortium built the extension, and placed the tollgates at Silverwater (on the still Gov't owned section of road). The whole road received an extra lane in both directions in 1997/98 between Homebush and Penrith. ZordMaker.

Oh well you should be glad to know that Im wearing it right now. http://members.optusnet.com.au/paulmat/MrLycra.html ZordMaker

The evidence (including the official reasons given by Management as to why the park closed) suggest otherwise. As an international destination, WL held no significant pulling power at all. There are plenty of other Sydney destinations where tourists can cuddle up with Australian animals (the Zoo, Koala Park, etc etc). ..Remember?.. The Radio station transmitter?.. Space probe?... 1997?... Access only after hours?... Hmm Hmm. ZordMaker

It was this sort of bloody mindedness that closed the park. And good on them. Now someone else can reopen it with a completely new set of industrial relations agreements. ZordMaker

Whoops... ALmost forgot the most important one of all... 7.) Abolish the gate fees. Replace with ride and show tokens. ZordMaker

1.) Close the Wildlife Park (what a waste of time and money). 2.) Subdivide and Sell ALL the unused land (most of you have no idea just how much there really is, that is until you've driven around it a few times in the dark..) 3.) Plonk a large, commercial centre next to the park eg Bulky Goods Retail or DFO outlet or similar. Maybe Mr Gazal would be interested. Im sure Blacktown Council would be far more receptive than Liverpool (or the State Govt) was. 4.) Use the money from (2) to do all the things that people have suggested be done but would take a crapload of cash injection (except for, of course, the ludicrous idea of replacing bush beast.. whoever came up with that should be banned from this site..) Examples : Revitalise staff, renovate rides, repoen LWL, Buy & Install one new large format ride, buy & install at least 1 new large steel coaster, rework entry fees to encourage locals to attend, open the park seasonally like the US parks (Summer only, not all year round), open the park at night during holidays. 5.) Re gear all promotions to domestic tourism (ncluding local) rather than international tourists. 6.) Close the park (I know, that contradicts the title of this thread) until ALL the work was done, then have a huge reopening. ZordMaker

Well they wont have to worry in another 4 months because the phone will be disconnected. ZordMaker

BB's best car was always the second last... IMO. ANd of course everyone knew the Red Train was the one that broke bones. The Yellow Train was a cushion ride in comparison. ZordMaker

I dont think anyone has challencged that statement. All I was saying is that in my opinion.. the less attention the better. Im sure when I get aroundot riding a well maintained woodie I'll also enjoy the experience. However it won't be like the Bush Beast. Now.. on rides that hurt.. that bloody Bounty's Revenge. Now THAT was a killer. ZordMaker

I sometimes get confused about all those coaster freaks that so heavily criticize the Bush Beast for being "rough". What do you want? a Millenium Train or something? It's a ROLLER COASTER. It's supposed to be ROUGH! It's supposed to feel like it's about to come off the track or somehow destroy itself and risk the life of all on board.. and yet somehow every time roll back into the station incident free. And as far as I am concerned BB fit that bill perfectly. Unlike many other coasters it was a "relaxing" ride that you could do again and again all day long. The rougher the coaster, the louder the screams. Who cares how fast it goes. If you want speed keep driving and turn off at Eastern Creek Raceway instead please. Woodie coasters are all about a feeling of being "out of control". Lets hear more of those cracking sounds and grinding steel in our (especially woodie) coasters. The rougher, the older.. the better! ZordMaker P.S. Still some interesting (unofficial) things coming out of Blacktown Council lately. It's going to be a long time before anything happens to that site.

It's in the trustworthy hands of Blacktown City Council now. Due to it being less than 20 years old (only just) the Heritage Commission were not willing to consider it on a state wide significance basis, but have written to Blacktown Council strongly suggesting that it classify the Beast as a locally heritage significant item. That thang agin't gowun nohwhere. ZordMaker

It should be noted that really, it was #1 and #3 that were "not working properly". Basically the problem after #2 controller was replaced was that Chair 2 got up the top before #1 and #3. This meant that when #2 arrived, the PLC's safety interlocks interpreted that #1 and #3 had failed and then went into shutdown. To my knowlege the "temporary solution" was to simply fit a few one shot timers to a couple of inputs to the PLC to fool it into thinking that #2 arrived about 1 second after it actually did - which made the system work properly again - most of the time. To compensate an extra limit switch was fitted to #2 to shut down the motor when it reached the top without the PLC's intervention. Basically what happened with Probe is a classic example of how us Sparkies can shoot our own feet when it comes to dealing with Management. Instead of "fixing" Space probe, they should have just left it broken and reported to Management that it would cost $30k to buy and install three new motor controllers - full stop - and insisted the probe lay SBNO until the work was complete. But no.. some "smart" sparky obviously knew that it could be "fixed", and as such left it with a legacy it never shook off. Once it had been "fixed" (the bodgy way) then no matter how much noise the Sparkies make, Management will never understand what has been done and will take the view that "it is working" and therefore "there are other things that more urgently need the money". Thats why it stayed unaltered until closing day. It wasnt a case of neglect, it was a case of corporate bastardry and inexperience of the Sparkies not about how the Probe works, but how Management works. Over the years I have learned that "just because something can be done, doesnt mean it should be done". I might add that at no point could any of the alterations to the Probe have been considered as putting life or operations at risk. The probe was perfectly safe regardless of whatever was done with the motor controllers or PLC. It was only a case of reliability, not safety. ZordMaker

You're all wrong, take it from someone who has worked on Space Probe and also someone who has held an Electrician's Licence for the past 15 years. "Section 2" is the motor starter for one of the winches on the lifts on Space Probe. In 1995 the original motors were found to be too small and kept tripping out if the carriage was overweight (whcih happened regularly). In late 1996 all three winches were (in turn) removed from the hat using a crane (I remember clearly being up there many times working on SWRFM equipment when one was missing), and the motors replaced with larger units. However the motor controllers (which are down below) were not upgraded, instead the overloads were simply turned up as far as they could go in the hope that it would be enough. It was.. for Lifts 1 and 3. Lift 2 however continued to trip out and (this is where I cannot be absolutely sure as it happened after 1998 when I was no longer regularly on the site) at some stage the overload was removed from #2 ro keep it working. The result soon afterwards was that a section of the 3 phase continuously variable speed controller failed. It was decided that the reason why the overload kept tripping on that lift wasn't the motor at all but a fault that had been present in the controller since Day 1. The unit remained out of service for many months. They eventually replaced the controller with a new one but (again) there were problems integrating it with the PLC that controls the probe. They did ultimately get it working but as a result #2 always rose faster than #1 and #3 because the different (newer) inverter controller ramped up the start smoother and faster than the old original 3 stage SCR ones. The mismatched motor and controller worked fine but there was alot of problems altering the PLC program to accept that one car arrived at the top sooner than the other two. The plan (ultimately, I am led to believe) was to replace all three controllers but for some reason (probably neglect) this was never done. So in fact towards the end it was #1 and #3 that were the poor cousins, although #2 did occasionally continue to trip it's overload particularly when hot. It was not unusual to see #2 regularly left out of use for this reason as the system was always more reliable when only #1 and #3 were used. For this reason many Park staff probably believed that #2 was f'd from the beginning.. and thats what the notice reflects. In fact the entire ride was F'd from the beginning as the motors were too small from Day 1. If the motors had been spec'd correctly and the starters thoroughly checked before being put into use none of this would have happened. It's hard to pin blame, but from memory the cost of upgrading the motors was borne by the manufacturer under warranty and not Wonderland. However Wonderland should never have accepted the ride without ensuring the starters were all replaced with the motors, so they're guilty too. Does that explain it all clearly enough?? ZordMaker

Years. But the possibility is that they may slap an "interim" order on it, which would effectively stop it being dismantled until the full study was complete. This in turn would put it in the "too hard basket" for the developer and they are more likely to just leave it there and build around it, until one of their clients comes up and says yeal Ill have that spot and that spot and that spot.. and yeah, throw that roller coaster in aswell".. "deal"... ZordMaker

Just to update: The NSW Heritage Office has accepted the proposal to apply a heritage order to the Bush Beast. The proposal is being formally forwarded to Blacktown Council for consideration. Progress slow but still significant. ZordMaker

Whoops I was wrong.. Wonderland is zoned 3C "Entertainment and Tourism", not General Business. 3C is a completely different designation in Blacktown's Local Environment Plan to that of Industrial. YES a complete rezoning will be required to turn it into an industrial site. Good luck to them. Zordmaker