Black Hole, briefly known as Black Hole II (1988) and New Black Hole (1989), was an enclosed

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated whee ...

located at

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water pa ...

theme park near Alton in the English

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

county of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, United Kingdom. Manufactured by

Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf (8 July 1924 – 30 July 2001) was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs ar ...

and designed by

Werner Stengel Werner Stengel (born 22 August 1936, in Bochum) is a German roller coaster designer and engineer. Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH (or Ingenieurbuero Stengel GmbH). Stengel first worked on a ...

, the Jet Star 2 model opened to public in 1983 and operated until 2005. The track layout was enclosed within a large tent to provide a

dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects. Appearing as early as the 19th century, su ...

experience.

History

Taking the place of the former Dinosaur Land attraction, which had then been moved into storage, the modular steel track for Black Hole was constructed by

. The roller coaster was given a

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...

theme and debuted at the park in 1983. In 1985, the bottom of the first drop was modified slightly to make the ride run more smoothly. Lights were also added to the lift, so that riders were able to brace themselves for the first drop. For the 1988 season, Black Hole was dismantled and transported to Europe, where it had an overhaul by BHS (later becoming Maurer Söhne) of Peißenberg in Germany, to accommodate dual-car trains. The reconstructed roller coaster reopened, and was briefly named Black Hole II in 1988, and then New Black Hole in 1989, before reverting to its original name. The opening of Oblivion in 1998 led to the redevelopment of Fantasy World, which became known as X-Sector. Black Hole underwent another refurbishment and was integrated into the new themed area. The colour scheme of the original tent was changed from yellow and green to a dark blue, and the entrance was revamped to reflect the X-Sector theme. Its interior was redesigned, featuring a modified queue layout and station, which were restyled with a

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...

theme. In later years, the Black Hole became costly to maintain, and the park decided to close the attraction in 2005. The roller coaster track was dismantled and sold in 2007. There were no confirmed plans to reuse the site, and the tent remained unused for several years. During a question-and-answer session in 2010 celebrating the opening of TH13TEEN, it was confirmed by

John Wardley John Richard Wardley (born 6 June 1950) is a British developer for theme parks in the UK and Europe: an innovator of special effects, dark rides and roller coasters in the themed attraction industry. Career Wardley started his career as a stag ...

and then-marketing director Morwenna Angove that preparation for a new roller coaster in 2013 had begun, and that the former site of Black Hole was being considered for the location. A

planning application Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

for the Black Hole site was submitted in early 2012 and approved by

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midland ...

. The large tent which housed the now former Black Hole was eventually dismantled in April 2012 to make way for The Smiler.

Scare mazes

During the park's annual Halloween ''Scarefest'' event in October 2011, the former Black Hole tent was used to house two temporary scare maze attractions. This was the first time the structure had been put to public use since the attraction's closure in March 2005.

Relocation

After a renovation from

Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...

, the former Black Hole ride was transported to Sweden and reopened as Rocket at Furuvik Zoo on 21 May 2011. In late 2021, Furuvik Zoo put the rollercoaster up for sale.

References

External links

Black Hole
— at TowersTimes.co.uk, via Archive.org
Rocket
— at Furuvik Zoo {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Hole (Roller Coaster) Alton Towers 1983 establishments in England 2005 disestablishments in England Roller coasters in the United Kingdom