Suspended coaster built 1900 & still operating!

Amazing what turns up! Flicking through old park postcard images I found out about Shipley Glen, this old Victorian park I never heard of. In it there's the Shipley Glen Aerial Glide, which is a gravity-driven suspended chair ride, along a track with small hills & corners - and then lifted back to the start with a chain lift - I think that qualifies for a coaster! (although I'm sure someone will argue that...!

The reasons for the posting are 1. some of you may consider this quite historic & 2. I'd appreciate anything more anyone can tell me about it!!. All I have found out is that this ride was built around 1900 by Sam Wood who also built a scenic railway, toboggan slide and cable cars in the Glen. There's a cable tramway which still operates. The Aerial glide is still operating, sadly only until later this year when the bulldozers move in to make way for housing...

Pics of the ride

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www.ukrides.info

If they have to take it down... they can move it since it's steel. Footprint look small.
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RCT2 recreation of SFNE coming this summer!

Yeah, it looks very small and looks like it could easily be moved. One can only hope.

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"If you make it too smooth, it'll be like sitting in your living room."
-Bill Cobb - Designer, Texas Cyclone

The ride and the place is almost unheard of as far as I can gather. I've been a coaster geek for 25 years, and until recently never heard of it, and its in my area! I doubt the builders will value it and as few people know about it, it wont really be missed... Although its nostalgic who would want it?(besides me!)... only preservationists on a low budget, and although small, this ride is on steep terrain, it would either need adapting or its new location dug-out. & its that old I think its iron rather than steel to! Sadly I dont have much faith in its future...

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www.ukrides.info

Still standing but not the first!

I am more interested in this park that it is located. Seeing as my last name is Shipley. Any more info on the park too?

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Rob Shipley

"Some people spend an entire LIFETIME wondering if they made a DIFFERENCE. The MARINES don't have that problem." -President Reagan 1985

Rob, Shipley Glen is near Bradford, UK. It was popular with the Victorians who visited the pleasure gardens. A guy called Sam Wood built a cable tramway up the side of the glen in the late 1800's. He then built a oboggan slide back to the bottom, which was dismantled after a season due to injuries! There was also a scenic railway there, the footers are in the undergrowth. At the moment there's the tramway, the Aerial glide, dodgems, some funfair swings and a few kiddie rides. But its all going later this year. The tramway is privatel funded and is losing money, the fair will not survive without the tramway as its at the top of the hill.. more here
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www.ukrides.info

That's really too bad about the park going away. Any loss of history is bad, and chalk this up to exactly that. A loss of history. Sad, sad news.

Justin

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Never look a gift horse in the mouth, because horses have very bad breath

Hey swimmerkey, what a cool looking ride! They should re-introduce this. Kinda reminds me of the Chance Toboggan.

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"Know thyself!"

Why is it we never find out about these cool little places until they are at the end of the rope?

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Please visit the small parks. We don't know what's happening behind the scenes
Woodencoaster.com