KIRMES & Park REVUE (English) Special: Rouen (Vorschau)

PORTRAIT
1977: Tivoli’s Orbiter
“Mark I” – still with paybox /
control stand in the centre,
as well as folding steps for
loading the gondolas
1977 to Ocean Beach amusement park in Rhyl
(North Wales) and Blackpool Pleasure Beach. A
lifting centre meant no steps were needed for
loading of the cars, and the ride was intensified
with increased speed on both the centre and
each of the six arms. As well as on offset paybox,
the machine supplied to Willie Wilson in
June 1979 also featured a folding floor for an
easier build-up. A further 10 Orbiters were built
by Tivoli Enterprises for showmen in the UK, with
many more were shipped overseas to customers
in the USA, Australia, Scandinavia, the Netherlands,
and Germany.
Invaders & Megatrons
Wilson’s Orbiter established the ride at the top
of the many British showmen’s wish lists, and it
was not surprising that various other manufacturers
tried to get in on the act. The first rival machine
came courtesy of Norson Power, a hydraulics
company based in Glasgow. Working
with showman Matty Taylor, they applied their
skills from the manufacture of oil rigs to introduce
the ‘Invader’ in 1981. Three such rides were built
before the operation was successively challenged
by Woolls. The Norson Power Invader
Orbiter “Mark II” from
Tivoli at Adventure Island,
Southend-on-Sea, 2001
Orbiter “Mark II” from
Henry Evans – with separate
paybox and folding floor
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