The Great Scenic Railway

Wooden roller coaster in Australia

The Great Scenic Railway

Luna Park Melbourne
Location| Luna Park Melbourne
Status| Operating
Opening date| December 13, 1912; 112 years ago (December 13, 1912)
General statistics
Type| Wood
Manufacturer| LaMarcus Thompson
Lift/launch system| Cable lift hill
Height| 16 m (52 ft)
Length| 967 m (3,173 ft)
Speed| 60 km/h (37 mph)
Inversions| 0
Height restriction| 100 cm (3 ft 3 in)
Trains| 3 trains with 2 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 5 rows for a total of 20 riders per train.
Website| Official website
The Great Scenic Railway at RCDB

The Great Scenic Railway is a heritage-listed wooden roller coaster located at Luna Park Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. The roller coaster is the oldest continuously operating roller coaster in the world. The ride is one of only five roller coasters remaining that requires a brakeman to stand on the train.

## History

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The Great Scenic Railway opened in December 1912, and has remained continuously in use since, making it the oldest continuously operating roller coaster. The roller coaster was originally built with 65,674 metres (215,466 ft) of Canadian Oregon pine. The roller coaster is regarded as an ACE Classic Coaster.[1] The Great Scenic Railway, Luna Park Sydney’s Wild Mouse and Sea World's Leviathan are the only three operating wooden roller coasters in Australia.[2]

## Characteristics

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The Great Scenic Railway is a 967 metres (3,173 ft) long coaster which has a height of 16 metres (52 ft) and a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). A brakeman is required in order to brake the roller coaster.[3]

The roller coaster has three trains with two cars. Each car can sit up to 10 riders, although only 8 are used in the rear carriage. Each train weighs about 2 tonnes (2.2 short tons).[4][5]

## Ride experience

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The roller coaster begins by entering a cable lift hill. It then reaches its highest point. The ride starts with a few large drops and goes through a series of small structures. The ride then goes through a series of smaller drops.[6][7]

## See also

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* Leap-The-Dips \- SBNO
* List of heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne

## References

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1. ^ ACE Coaster Classic Awards Archived 8 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ Parkz (7 December 2020). "Six upcoming roller coasters you can ride without leaving Australia in 2021". Parkz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
3. ^ "The Great Scenic Railway". Luna Park Melbourne. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
4. ^ "Scenic Railway Overview". Parkz. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
5. ^ Wilson, Richard (6 March 2006). "Scenic Railway". Parkz. Retrieved 27 October 2021. "As its name would imply, it is more of a scenic journey than anything, with great views of the nearby Port Phillip Bay."
6. ^ Wilson, Richard (6 March 2006). "Scenic Railway". Parkz. Retrieved 27 October 2021. "A series of bunny hills makes up the second half of the ride."
7. ^ Theme Park Review (2 April 2011). "Scenic Railway Wooden Roller Coaster Front Seat POV Luna Park Melbourne Australia". YouTube. Retrieved 27 October 2021.

37°52′04″S 144°58′35″E﻿ / ﻿37.8678°S 144.9765°E﻿ / -37.8678; 144.9765