Roller Coaster

Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach was already a seasoned seaside pleasure ground when this railway arrived. The park was established in 1909, and an earlier scenic railway had stood there before fire, rebuilding, and a changing seafront made room for a greater successor. historicengland.org.uk· pleasure-beach.co.uk

The present Roller Coaster was the work of Erich Heidrich of Hamburg. After service at the Paris Colonial Exhibition, it was purchased for Great Yarmouth, carried across the water, and re-erected on the Pleasure Beach by German workmen. historicengland.org.uk· pleasure-beach.co.uk

Since 1932, visitors have found its old-fashioned ceremony undimmed. A single pull-up takes the train to its work, and from there gravity carries the party home while the brakeman rides with a practised hand at the lever. pleasure-beach.co.uk

Historic England’s listing records the ride as a rare survivor of Britain’s seaside amusement architecture. Though maintained and renewed over the decades, it keeps its original configuration, a timber monument to the holiday coast. historicengland.org.uk