Author: Gilbert, M;Melbourne, C
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Gilbert, M;Melbourne, C
The Structural Engineer, Volume 72, Issue 21, 1994
Of all the inanimate objects that man possesses is there anything which he uses or depends on more than the buildings in which he lives, works, recreates himself or worships? A building is either new or it is not; if it is of any age then it is not new and anyone having an interest in that building will want to know if it has been altered; if it is used for its original purpose or is not; if it has been properly maintained or it has not, and so on! Brian Clancy
Blackpool Pleasure Beach (BPB), Britain’s most popular attraction with over 6.5 million visitors annually, occupies a 42 acre site on the sea front 2km south of the centre of Blackpool, Lancashire. Established in 1896, over 130 rides and attractions compete for space on a congested and exposed site. These include three famous and historic traditional timber rollercoasters ‘Grand National’ (1935) ‘Big Dipper’ (1921) ‘Rollercoaster’ ( 1909, reconstructed 1993) as well as a steel toboggan coaster (‘Avalanche’, 1988), a smaller timber coaster for young children (‘Zipper Dipper’, 1934), and several coaster derivatives such as Europe’s first modem looping coaster (‘Revolution’, 1979) and an indoor steel- racked ‘dark ride’ (‘Space Invader’, 1984). J.M. Roberts
It was on 21 May 1894 that Queen Victoria made her Royal visit to Manchester to proclaim the £15M construction ofthe Manchester Ship Canal ‘well and truly open ’. Over the past 1O0 years the Ship Canal has served the region well, and its fortunes have been closely allied to all the vagaries of the political and economic climate, the effects of two World Wars and the general changes in the methods of conveying and handling freight. Hubert Dickson