Back in 2019, Pleasurewood Hills reopened their popular family roller coaster after it closed to the public in 2017. The ride was revamped and themed to become "The Egg-spress", but how much do you know about the history of the attraction?
The coaster first arrived at Pleasurewood Hills back in 1986 and was originally known as "The Ladybird". Each individual train car was styled to resemble a ladybird, with a red paint scheme and black spots.
In 1990, the park revamped the ride and gave it a new theme. "The Rattlesnake" was born. A snake head was added to the front car and a tail to the rear, with the main body of the train forming the rest of the creature. Over the years, a number of features came and went. You may recall the luminous snake artwork inside the lift-hill tunnel. Perhaps you remember racing at full speed through a further tunnel at the midway point of the track. You might have even spent some time queuing behind individual perspex "gates" on the train platform.
Various colour schemes adorned the train over the years and the ride was briefly renamed "Snake in the Grass". Then, in 2017 the ride formally closed. The attraction remained in place, out of action and untouched for the entire 2018 season. However, in early 2019 the park announced that the ride would return with "a twist".
That twist was a new name, theme, station building and significant work to the train and track. "The Egg-spress" opened in time for the start of the 2019 season.
Facts and Figures:
Manufacturer: Zierer
Model: Large Tivoli
Track length: 360m
Height: 26ft 4in
Max speed: 22mph
Many thanks to Brian Meldon for his contribution.