Rush (Thorpe Park)
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| Location: | Thorpe Park | ||
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| Park Section: | Lost City | ||
| Status: | Closed - Operating Incident | ||
| Opened: | May 27, 2005 | ||
| Manufacturer: | S&S Power | ||
| Ride Type: | Screamin' Swing | ||
| Height (When in Operation): | 75 ft | ||
| Speed | 50mph | ||
| Ride Duration: | 1-2 Mins | ||
Rush is a ride at Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey. It is S&S Power's 'Screamin' Swing', and, along with Slammer was the park's new attraction for the 2005 season. It was also the tallest ride of its type in the world, at the time of opening.
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[edit] Construction
Construction for Rush started late 2004, after the 'Eclipse', the ferris wheel had been removed. It was originally meant to have four air tanks, instead of two. It took around 4 months to construct, and test.
[edit] Ride Opening
The grand opening for Rush was at midday on on May 27, 2005.After testing all through the morning, it opened, only to breakdown after four ride cycles. It tested for over 1 hour, and reopened again. As the ride has two swings which swing in opposite directions, it is thought the ride needed to close due to the swings falling out of sync, which is why the ride mostly only worked in one swing operation, whereby can only hold 16 people per ride.
[edit] Criticisms
Many people have criticised Rush for many reasons, such as the amount of emergency stops it undertakes, the noise, and the lack of themeing. In concept art for Rush, it was shown to have vinyl themeing placed up the towers, but this has not happened. Also, there have been complaints about the type of restraints on the ride. With just a lap bar keeping you in, the ride feels quite dangerous when you are sat on there.
[edit] 2007 Season
Rush opened later than the rest of the park in the 2007 season. A main cause could probably be the February opening therefore a shorter closing season to repair the ride. Another reason could possibly be some minor adjustments to the ride to improve its reliability. It opened on April 3, 2007 with two swings running smoothly. Its reliability has been greatly improved this season with a tiny percentage of the days running one swing as well as rarely closing for longer than a day. The reliability has been significantly improved suggesting the delay was needed to improve the ride's reliability.
