The Scenic Railway Roller Coaster at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach

A scenic railway roller coaster of 1928, by Erich Heidrich, opening at Great Yarmouth in 1932.

MATERIALS: timber posts on concrete pads, with iron reinforcements to the timber structure, iron tracks and sheet steel cladding. The safety railings have been partially clad with fibreglass.

PLAN: linear on plan, orientated roughly north-south, with loops at each end, and crossing over in the centre.

EXTERIOR: a timber lattice structure with timber posts on concrete pads supporting double loops and crossover sections with iron tracks of various dates. The cladding, added in the late 1970s is painted sheet steel.

A large chain on a steep incline to the rear (east) raises the linked cars*, thereafter the roller coaster operates on gravity, and the rider experiences a series of exhilarating deep plunges, followed by further smaller plunges. The speed of the ride is controlled, and the ride ultimately stopped, by a brakeman riding on the vehicle.

The station on the west side has planked walkways and late-C20 storage and maintenance sheds are located within the loops. A C21 children's ride is interwoven with the rollercoaster at low level, and part of the monorail ride* occupies the same space at high level; the sheet steel cladding at the south end is pierced to allow the monorail to pass through.

Although continued maintenance has necessitated replacement of many structural parts, the roller coaster retains the 1932 configuration of the original scenic railway.

• Pursuant to s. 1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ('the Act') it is declared that the aforementioned items, (namely the maintenance sheds, the linked cars, the children's ride and the monorail ride) are not of special architectural or historic interest.