Alton Towers retiring its swinging ship ride

I wonder what the service life of one of these is supposed to be (is it a Huss?), and what would cause it to exceed that life. I remember that Cedar Point replaced at least the ship portion of theirs, the frame of it anyway, during the Hildebrandt years. It was pretty weird seeing them side by side, stripped down to the steel. I know I have a photo of it somewhere.

I first rode this back in 1981 when it was considered the other main thrill ride attraction along with the corkscrew rollercoaster. Back then it was situated pretty much where oblivion now goes underground. It seemed absolutely huge then! I haven’t ridden it for years, but it seems a poor move by Alton to remove 3 rides that families can do and replace it with 1 thrill ride. There is precious little for those who have outgrown the children’s rides but not yet ready for the big rollercoasters as it is. On the visit I made this year three of the rides that were left in this category were shut anyway.

Gee, does this sound like someplace in the Midwest United States that we all know of?