Big Dipper vs Grand National
card comparison
| Stat | Big Dipper | Grand National | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 65 ft | 62 ft | |
| Speed | 40 mph | 45 mph | |
| Inversions | 0 | 0 | |
| Throughputest. | 900 rph | 720 rph | |
| Build Costest. | 0.1 $m | 0.2 $m | |
| Vintage | 1923 | 1935 |
Vintage is the reversed stat — the older ride wins. Every number here is the same one printed on the card; see /methodology for how Build Cost and Throughput are sourced.
The verdict
Big Dipper shades it 3–2. Close enough that calling the wrong stat hands the round over.
Big Dipper is a wooden Classic wooden out-and-back coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, GB, built by William H. Strickler & John A. Miller (extended 1936 by Charlie Paige & Joe Emberton). Grand National is a wooden Möbius-loop racing wooden coaster coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, GB, built by Charlie Paige (in-house).
Both live at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, so this is a comparison you can settle on foot in an afternoon — and one the park itself has to answer every time someone asks which to queue for first.
Both are wooden-track, so nothing here is the usual steel-versus-wood argument in disguise.
Stat by stat
- Height goes to Big Dipper at 65 ft against 62 ft — ahead by a whisker.
- Speed goes to Grand National at 45 mph against 40 mph — clearly ahead.
- Inversions splits them not at all: both read 0.
- Throughput goes to Big Dipper at 900 rph against 720 rph — well clear.
- Build Cost goes to Grand National at 0.2 $m against 0.1 $m — more than double.
- 12 years separate them, and because Vintage rewards age it is Big Dipper (1923) that banks the point, not Grand National (1935).