Tyrolean Tubtwist

Tyrolean Tubtwist at Joyland Great Yarmouth (on ride). The Stimpsons ride the Tubtwist !!!

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• tyrolean tubtwist
• joyland great yarmouth
• stimpsons

[Dazman2K8]

According to the Roller Coaster DataBase, the Tyrolean Tubtwist is currently the only remaining example of a Virginia Reel-based rollercoaster in the world. It is fairly small and the cars are powered by two metal tracks which provide electrical current to the motors inside each tub.

Virginia Reels used to be very popular in the old days along with carousels and big dippers, and while some of those rides are still operating these days, more modern attractions have become dominant in theme parks

[psyclonesteve]

This is very true, but it is still a very aggresive ride probably more so than the original Virginia Reel !

[terryatkins002]

0.59 LMAO im gonna pee in a minute ahhaa...u used to love this ride :P

[Dazman2K8]

I have seen the video just now...and it is so sad to have heard that it closed in the early 1980s. If I was around in the 1970s I might have had a chance to go on that Virginia Reel. Unlike the tubs on the Tyrolean Tubtwist, the tubs are much larger and up to 8 grown adults could fit into the tubs at once!

The Tyrolean Tubtwist should be preserved as long as, and as much as possible for the benefit of future generations as the last remaining example of a Virginia Reel rollercoaster.

[psyclonesteve]

There is a brilliant video on You Tube called Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire (1926) which has some great footage of the original Virginia Reel ... It certainly looks a lot tamer than the Tyrolean Tubtwist and by the way, the last time I rode it , it kept spinning throughout the entire journey !!

[Dazman2K8]

...and the tubs relied on gravity to carry them along the rest of the course. But the motors inside the tubs on the Tyrolean Tubtwist seem to allow them to travel at more controlled speeds.

The Virginia Reel is featured in the RollerCoaster Tycoon games and RCT3 in particular, lets you incorporate banked turns into your track designs. However, I think the best designs incorporate tight turns in a sort of zigzag fashion in order to make the tubs spin as much as possible.

[Dazman2K8]

I once went on the Tyrolean Tubtwist during a week-long trip to Great Yarmouth; the tubs were quite small, which is fine for a single adult or teenager, or two or three children, but it can be a bit of a tight squeeze for a group of fully-grown men! The ride itself was quite fun, and the tub I had been on at the time kept spinning even on straight sections of track!

I think earlier Virginia Reels have chain lifts with the chain almost level with the rest of the upward track...