Nemesis (roller coaster)

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Nemesis

A Nemesis train travelling around the stall turn immediately after the vertical loop.
Location Alton Towers
Park Section Forbidden Valley
Type Steel - Inverted
Status Open
Opened March 18, 1994
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer Werner Stengel
Model Inverted Coaster
Lift/launch system Chain lift hill
Height 43 feet (13.1 m)
Drop 104 feet (31.7 m)
Length 2,349 feet (716 m)
Max speed 50 mile per hour (80.5 km/h)
Inversions 4
Duration 1:20
Capacity 1,400 riders per hour
Cost £10,000,000
Max G force 3
Nemesis at RCDB
Pictures of Nemesis at RCDB

Nemesis is a Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster opened in 1994 at Alton Towers in Forbidden Valley. It is uniquely built in trenches to reduce its height above ground in order to comply with local planning restrictions which require Alton Towers to build below the tree line. Nemesis is based around a legend created by the Tussauds marketing department; a monster which was disturbed during routine maintenance work has created a large hole in the Staffordshire landscape and had to be pinned down with hundreds of tonnes of steel. Nemesis is well known for its theming, and Alton Towers claim that it is the most intense ride ever.

Contents

[edit] History

Plans for developing the site began in 1991, when Alton Towers began working on a pipeline coaster concept from Arrow Dynamics. The coaster, codenamed Secret Weapon 1, was to be themed around a secret underground base. Development of the project was put on hold due to Arrow's financial problems, but was brought back a year later with the codename Secret Weapon 2. However, the project was finally abandoned when Tussauds saw Bolliger & Mabillard's inverted coaster concept, first used on Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America. This inspired the designer, John Wardley, to create a version for Alton Towers codenamed Secret Weapon 3.

[edit] Trivia

  • In 2004 Nemesis gained the world record for the most naked people to ride a roller coaster. 32 people took part beating the previous record held by Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park by 4. The event took place to celebrate 50 years of Guinness World Records. The event and the names of all who took part can be found in the 2005 edition of the book.
  • The ride potentially travels 12 mph faster when it rains, bringing the top speed up to around 62 mph and increasing the maximum G-Force to over 4G.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Roller coasters at Alton Towers

Air - Beastie - Black Hole - Corkscrew - Nemesis - Oblivion - Rita: Queen of Speed - Runaway Mine Train - Spinball Whizzer