Blue Flyer
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Blue Flyer
Blackpool Pleasure Beach · GB · Charles Paige (with Harry Traver) Junior wooden coaster (formerly Zipper Dipper)
“A little timber circuit from Blackpool’s grand old pleasure days.”
UNOFFICIAL · NOT PARK-ENDORSED
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Fast facts
- Opened in 1934 as Zipper Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. historicengland.org.uk
- Built as a wooden children’s roller coaster, overseen by Charles Paige. historicengland.org.uk
- Stands about fifteen feet, or 4.6 metres, high. en.wikipedia.org
- Runs without inversions. en.wikipedia.org
- Operates with one train of five cars, seating twenty riders. en.wikipedia.org
- Designated a Grade II listed building on 19 April 2017. historicengland.org.uk
- Pleasure Beach Resort lists Blue Flyer among its ten roller coasters. blackpoolpleasurebeach.com
The story of Blue Flyer
The little coaster began service in 1934, when Blackpool Pleasure Beach refreshed its children’s area for holiday families arriving at the shore. It opened as Zipper Dipper, a modest timber ride with the manners of a seaside afternoon rather than the thunder of the larger machines nearby. historicengland.org.uk
Historic England records the ride as a wooden children’s roller coaster by the Dayton Fun House and Riding Device and Manufacturing Company, overseen by Charles Paige. The track rises to about fifteen feet, turns, dips gently, and carries visitors through a compact circuit of timber construction. historicengland.org.uk
Its value lies partly in survival. The listing notes that Blue Flyer retains its original track configuration and essential character, and describes it as one of only six pre-Second World War wooden roller coasters in the country, as well as the second-oldest children’s roller coaster in the world. historicengland.org.uk
After many seasons under earlier names, the coaster took the name Blue Flyer in 2011. Today it remains in operation at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a small and civilised piece of amusement history still taking young visitors around the boards. en.wikipedia.org· blackpoolpleasurebeach.com
Sources
- historicengland.org.uk Acceptable source
- en.wikipedia.org Acceptable source
- blackpoolpleasurebeach.com Preferred source