Shockwave (Drayton Manor)
Shockwave (Originally The 7up Shockwave) is an Intamin stand-up roller coaster, located at Drayton Manor Resort in Tamworth in the United Kingdom. It was opened in 1994 and is one of the only two stand-up coasters in Europe. It is also the only stand-up roller coaster with a zero-gravity roll ever made.
| Shockwave | |
|---|---|
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| Drayton Manor Resort | |
| Location | Drayton Manor Resort |
| Park section | Adventure Cove |
| Coordinates | 52°36′45″N 1°42′58″W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 26 March 1994 |
| Cost | £4 million |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Werner Stengel Mark Golding |
| Model | Stand-up roller coaster |
| Track layout | Out and back |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 119.7 ft (36.5 m) |
| Drop | 105 ft (32 m) |
| Length | 1,640 ft (500 m) |
| Speed | 53 mph (85 km/h) |
| Inversions | 4 |
| Duration | 2:00 |
| G-force | 4 |
| Height restriction | 55 in (140 cm) |
| Trains | Single train with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train. |
| Shockwave at RCDB | |
The ride, designed by Werner Stengel, was created as part of a two-year, £4M project in 1993-94. Shockwave's station is located directly above The turntable station of the Adventure Cove River Rapids ride, located in the Adventure Cove area.
Shockwave was supplied and sold under the brand of Intamin amusement rides, despite the technical design and manufacturing being subcontracted to Giovanola. It uses a box section track, despite not being made by B&M.
On September 4, 2023, Drayton Manor announced Shockwave would be converted to a sit-down coaster, which will mean the Intamin Stand-Up coaster will be extinct and will leave no stand up coasters with a zero g roll.
Ride Experience
Shockwave, which reaches 53 mph (85 km/h) and delivers up to 4 g, features a lift to 119.7 ft (36.5 m), then an 105 ft (32 m) drop into a Vertical Loop followed by a zero-g roll, 2 corkscrews and bends around back into the station. Originally, the track was a shade of grey with brown supports, but between 2004 and 2012 it was repainted to have a light blue track and turquoise supports. Also in 2012 the Trains were repainted: 1 Blue and the other Red, the red train was previously used when the blue trains in for maintenance, however it is no longer on the track (or in the maintenance bay) at all. Originally, the train would re enter the station by braking to a low speed and moving back to the loading area; now it stops completely before moving back to the loading area. In 2016, the ride and trains received new logos
In 1994, the ride opened along with two other roller coasters in the UK: The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Nemesis at Alton Towers (which opened one week before the Shockwave).[1]
References
- "An Interview with Colin Bryan". Coaster Kingdom. 2004. Retrieved 2006-03-24.