I know this is not strictly railway in the accepted sense, but yesterday afternoon fire ravaged the grade 2 listed scenic railway on Margate's Dreamland site. The Scenic railway (rollercoaster) is the third oldest in the world and the oldest in the UK, being built in 1920. The two older ones are in Melbourne and Copenhagen.
The smoke from the blaze was able to be seen up to ten miles away and involved fire crews from all over East Kent.
Thanks must be given to the Kent Fire and Rescue crews for saving as much as they did. It seems that local feeling is that the ride must be repaired and Thanet District Council has already confirmed that this is the aim.
I was invited onto the site last night as one of my relatives is involved directly in the project and invited me to visit I could not take any photos as by that time (20:30ish) it was to dark, but was able to view, as fas as practicable the devastation at first hand.
Those wishing to discover more about Dreamland are invited to visit savedreamland.co.uk.
The news link can be found at here.
Regards
The smoke from the blaze was able to be seen up to ten miles away and involved fire crews from all over East Kent.
Thanks must be given to the Kent Fire and Rescue crews for saving as much as they did. It seems that local feeling is that the ride must be repaired and Thanet District Council has already confirmed that this is the aim.
I was invited onto the site last night as one of my relatives is involved directly in the project and invited me to visit I could not take any photos as by that time (20:30ish) it was to dark, but was able to view, as fas as practicable the devastation at first hand.
Those wishing to discover more about Dreamland are invited to visit savedreamland.co.uk.
The news link can be found at here.
Regards