The Grand National (here onward referred
to as "the Nash") is one of only three mobius-loop coasters in
existence (Kennywood's "Racer" being another, which I'll be
riding in June 2004) and my favourite woodie, also my favourite ride at
the park.. infact my favourite in the country, which probably means it's
my overall favourite ride! (to be honest though I don't really have a
single favourite)
Opened in 1935 and still going strong
thanks to BPB's maintenance team, Charles Paige was inspired by Harry
Traver's Cyclone Racer when he designed the Nash. (Traver himself came
to the UK around this period, joined the Pleasure Beach staff and actually
stayed with the Thompsons or so I've heard.. he is rumoured to have been
involved in the 1936 redesign of the Big Dipper too.. it has a spiral
drop very uncharacteristic of Charlie Paige who is said to have
redesigned it, but characteristic of Traver's designs.. though on a much
tamer scale due to the 4-bench cars of the time!)
Anyhow, lest I digress..
From the "midway" the Nash
screams CLASSIC! with it's original design station (rebuilt in 1990 to
Joseph Emberton's original art deco-modernist style plans after being
changed over the years) and also screams classic with the way that the
trains bump and bang their way round the J-turns out of the station;-
gliding off down through a short tunnel each side, not to be seen again
until they fly back into the brakes having magically "switched
tracks" to those not in the know.. and the ride itself, one word
that describes the Nash well is WILD!!
Rough, bumpy, fast, thrilling and fun,
the hills provide stand-up airtime.. I don't mean a few inches out of
your seat, I mean >STAND UP<, as in standing up, albeit at around
a 60º angle when your legs can go no further than the two-position
lapbar and your upper body keeps going upwards! (needless to say the
present trains from the early 80's have higher sides than the previous
ones.. and the early trains also had NO lapbars!!;- you know the type of
thing, old fashioned open-fronted cars with angled bodies and a steel
tube-frame arrangement at the front)
The first drop comes after a small
downward glide off the chain and a 90º turn to the left.. the drop
itself is simply superb, 60ft deep overall but it's a double drop,
levelling out about 45ft down before devilishly dropping the rest of the
way.. in the middle seats you float sublimely, in the front seats you
get superb airtime (stronger than most coasters) and in the back.. you
get EJECTOR airtime!! (like I said, high car sides.. and depending on
each lapbar (for they all differ slightly in position.. mind of their
own!) you lift so far it's possible to land on the seat divider on your
harsh re-introduction to the seat as the train slams into the bottom of
the drop!!)
A fast approx. 190º righthand
turnaround (Becher's Brook) follows a nice airtime filled crest up off
the first drop.. the cars wildly hunt in the track and shake you about
as you round the turn, taking you into the second drop, which floats you
forward in the front seats and whips you out again in the back, only to
once again slam into the bottom and bounce up and down as the fine
profile track (only five layers in the laminate) flexes between each
ledger, rearranging your bodily organs! You then turn upwards, met with
strong floating airtime in all seats as you crest the next hill
(Valentines), before a repeat dose of the previous drop only somewhat
milder, apart from the airtime as you rise and make the crest.. STANDUP
airtime in the front as the top flattens out a little too soon (thank
god for these classic works of art!!) and you are SLAMMED into the
lefthand "Canal Turn", once again a turnaround of about 190º
(a little over 180 creating a figure-8 layout) and I mean slammed, all
these turns are banked no more than 10º and after the first one which
is perhaps already faster than it should be, you really tear your way
around the rest getting faster as you go!! (upper-trackboard wood is
regularly replaced in these turns because it gets chewed up over a
relatively short time)
We've almost reached the airtime
capital of the ride, after first being ejected in almost all but the
very front seats as the track dips sharply from under us, and after a
low flat section we reach THE hill.. at this stage in the circuit no
more than about 20ft high, but PACKED with standup ejector airtime in
EVERY seat as the crest prematurely flattens out, meaning sharp apex
transitions as you go both up and over and then down the other side..
all this happens right as you head-chop your way through the structure
of the Valentines hill, before levelling out into another double drop,
the second part of which doesn't offer much since it only drops a couple
of feet but you still float a little. Rising up and once again virtually
STANDING up in the front car as you enter the structure of the Becher's
Brook turnaround, you then land in the seat at the last moment to be
slammed around the last approx. 190º righthand turn, which if you're
sitting on the inside seat rounding the turn, makes you struggle for
mercy and beg for forgiveness as you fruitlessly try to keep your body
upright!! (these turns are of course worse on the tighter radius
"inside track" of the turn.. though maybe that should read
"better"..)
We then drop down after leaving
Becher's Brook's structure and after banking out of the turn (may be
only 10º but makes the 6-seat rigid-wheelset cars twist and creak
nicely as they straighten out!) and at the very least float in all seats
with strong pops of airtime at the back as we drop maybe 10ft off the
turnaround, then crest a small hill of similar height and dip again,
then we are treated to a repeat of the *"flat-topped sharp-apex
transitions syndrome", as we crest another hill the same as
previous, only this time being playfully ejected (quite harshly but I
prefer "playfully") into the lapbar (ouch.. Mmm!) on both
sides of the hill, or perhaps "hump" now at this stage, before
dipping and rising up into the last turn.
This approx. 90º turn to the right is
wickedly fast and a side-slammer like the previous ones.. the wheels
almost always screech round here even with greased rails.. the track
takes a good beating here!
That turn sets us up perfectly parallel
to the lift hill and we take several smooth shallow dips down the home
run right next to the lift structure, dipping under a couple of
staff-walkway headchoppers along the way. Heading in an almost straight
path for the station, we meet a set of trim brakes that slow us just
slightly before we dip about 15-20ft under a wide walkway, whilst still
parallel next to the outgoing pre-lift tracks. Our trains then finally
part lateral company; rising slightly to the right up into the brakes (more so
on the "righthand track" and with no banking on either) and we
come to a smooth but brisk stop, courtesy of pinch-brakes operated by
levers! (the Nash's brakes have always been modern "pinch"
style brakes, as far as I can tell from old wartime video footage)
We exit the train either to our right
or to our left onto a wide platform (depending on the side on which we
came back into the station) and exit through a centrally positioned
narrow underpass, back out to the front of the station, rising up to
ground level next to the left-hand (when on ride) J-turn.
Meanwhile the trains have rolled down
to the front of the station, and inconveniently lined up with the gates.
(they usually miss-align, but not always.. those lovely manual brakes
eh!)
From the moment the trains meet side by
side before the lift hill to the point just before the final brakes
where the "tracks" separate;- the entire ride takes place with
the "tracks" close enough to join and slap hands between
trains as you pass each other on the turns and sometimes coast
side-by-side on the hills.. which is GREAT for coaster club ride
sessions!! (and being a mobius configuration, the trains ALWAYS race,
not perfectly every time but they DO race!)
*The "flat-top apex syndrome"
thing.. I expect this is due to the hill-crest being built slightly
higher originally, but being later modified and made lower. (as was
often the case for coasters before computer design came in, when things
were done by experience and guesswork, and geometric calculations were occasionally
wrong)
The Nash may be pushing 70 years old,
but it NEVER fails to thrill old and young alike.. some people regret
deciding to ride and never do so again, whilst others will want to ride
and ride and ride again!! (me!)
As with many other BPB rides and
attractions, the Grand National is a true gem and is historically
important and very unique.. I hope it continues to thrill unassuming
riders for decades to come!!
