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ATA › Gallery › Miscellaneous › Behind The Scenes Tour - Trial Run
March 11th 2006

The park trials a special tour of "off limits" areas, for enthusiasts.
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 10:15amThe tour guide for the day was Terry Dunn, head of Engineering at the park. Rachael Lockitt and Matt Martin, who concieved the idea for the tour/s, also accompanied the group. Here Terry shows the group part of the Sky Ride gondola.
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 10:23amThe group moves into the Towers Street Sky Ride station.
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 10:26amInside a storage warehouse, Terry explains what the various bits and pieces are.
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 10:28amTerry explaining another piece of equipment.
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 10:40amOutside, the group gathers round... a skip.
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 10:44amTerry talks about the Oblivion chain that has been replaced (shown in the skip!), the Nemesis chain's lifespan, and why Thunder Looper was removed from the park in 1996.
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 10:56amEn route to Duel, the group walks through Katanga Canyon and has a look at the new golf game there.
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 10:59amGathered outside Duel.
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 11:00amOutside the huge Duel warehouse, waiting for Terry to unlock the door.
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 11:02amOnce inside, Terry stands next to the control cabin and explains how the ride works.
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 11:10pmIn the maintenance area of Duel, Terry shows some of the group how the restraints lock.
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 12:01pmSingle file, please - a nice stroll up the Air lift hill.
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 12:07pmOutside the Nemesis computer room.
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 12:32pmThe group heads for Rita, via the gardens.
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 12:33pmGathered outside Rita, waiting to be let into the hydraulics bunker.
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 12:35pmInside, Terry explains how the ride can be sped up or slowed down during the launch itself to achieve the 100km/h top speed.
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 12:51pmThe group has a wander around the Rita platform, and inside the control tower.
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 1:06pmHeading through some heavy gates towards the old Coaster Corner, where the Alton Beast and the Alton Mouse used to live.
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 1:11pmWaiting at the foot of the Flag Tower, the group is told to be careful of the spiral steps leading to the top.
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 1:16pmFrom the top, the group gets a fantastic view of the park and the surrounding countryside.
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 1:16pmNotice the equipment on the floor - this is because the Flag Tower is nowadays used as one giant telephone mast, with several mobile phone companies' aerials attached.
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 1:16pmTerry and Rachael have a chat while the group takes photographs.
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 1:27pmBack down to earth, and everyone heads to Hex via the staff access route.
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 1:27pmOutside the giant shed which houses the finale of the ride.
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 1:29pmInside the control room, the operator shows the group how he controls the ride. Hex was open today, so the group gets to see it fully in action.
     
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