Ever fancied riding
into the park on a cow? Or how about being given a guided tour by a
real life pirate? Well at Alton Towers you can!
Climb aboard the
newly refurbished monorail system and you never know what sort of
trip you may end up taking to the park and back. You may end up
aboard Captain Black's Mutiny Bay Train or indulge in some tropical
travels with the the Splash Landings Train. You could even end up
riding on Gertrude the resorts very own moo-norail; but whichever
train you climb aboard you are guaranteed a truly unique
introduction to the park.
Although it can get extremely busy towards closing time, the
monorail's high throughput ensures that wait shouldn't be too long,
even with the longest of queues.
During the
monorail's retheme in 2008 the traditional grey fleet of monorails
is running alongside the newly themed trains. The themed trains that
are currently in operation are as follows:
1. Splash
Landings - Take a relaxed trip to Alton Towers on this totally
tropical train. Why let the Caribbean vibe end at the doors of
Splash Landings Hotel, when you can take it all the way to the park
entrance.
2. Mutiny Bay
- Climb aboard Captain Black's fine vessel and sail into the
park in style. While Captain Black maybe a new comer to the park
himself, he knows everything a landlubber could need about the
resort.
3. Explorer - Let Alton Towers' very own explorer, Sir Algenon, guide
you through some of the wondrous jewels the resort has to offer. And
Sir Algenon's the man to ask, having filled Alton Towers Hotel with
many of the gems from his own private collection.
4. Moo-norail
- For a slightly more sedate ride, why not jump onto Gertrude the
park's very own people moo-ver. Don't worry, she's recently won best
in show, so feel free to milk her for information about the resort.
5. Celebration -
Crack out your balloons and streamers and enter the resort in style
on this veritable conga line of a train. After all the excitement
never ends at Alton Towers, so why not start the party as soon as
you get out of your car?
6. Daisy Train
- It's a bug's life aboard this fresh and friendly train, as you're
introduced to the resort from an insect's point of view. It turns
out it's not just humans that enjoy Alton Towers, and so this train
is always buzzing with excitement! Blooming marvellous.
7. Jelly Bean
Train - For the sweetest journey into the park, why not
hop on board this veritable sweetshop on wheels. Meanwhile on your
journey you'll receive a veritable pick and mix of information about
the resort and its attractions
8. Strawberry
Train - You've heard of going to hell in a hand basket, well now
you can travel to fun in a fruit basket. This train is packed full
of natural goodness and whilst at Wimbledon its the balls that fly
back and forth, at Alton Towers its the Strawberries zooming back
and forth from the car parks.
9. The Fish Bowl
- Celebrating the launch of the resort's new Sea Life Centre,
climb aboard your very own roving aquarium. Whilst Sharkbait Reef
gives the ultimate underwater experience, this train, bubbling with
information about the park's latest attraction, let's you take a
glimpse from inside a fish bowl.
Ride History
The Monorail was installed in 1987, a year after Towers Street was constructed. The car parks were originally located just outside the main entrance, where Towers Street
is today but the new car park built in 1986 was almost a mile away from the main entrance.
In the season before the Monorail opened, guests therefore had two choices, you could ether take a free bus which was provided by Alton, or walk the distance.
The Monorail was always intended to be installed in Towers Street in
1986, but was delayed until 1987 due to the manufacture not being
able to import the equipment in time for the 1986 season. Towers
Street was therefore designed with this later addition in mind.
During the 2008
season the monorail is said good bye to the grey trains it had
operated with since its opening. One by one, the entire fleet was rethemed around different aspects of the Alton Towers Resort,
introducing much more colour to the parks transportation system.
Geek Spot!
During the height of the visitor season, each of the 40m-long trains may have to carry up to 4800 people per hour along the site's 3.2km of monorail track.
Each of the trains, was originally imported from Canada, and powered by eight 12.3kW electric motors.
Up until 2001 The system was controlled by analogue converters which had been reliable for a long time, but nothing lasts forever and they were starting to suffer breakdowns.
In 2002 the old analogue converter was replaced with the latest digital drive technology (ABB's DCS 500), which gave the monorail more accurate torque and speed control, they offered better reliability. Oblivion uses the same system which is manufactured by ABB!
