The Big One, formerly known as the Pepsi Max Big One, is a

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

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. It operates as a secure facility, and has introduced epayments via smartphones for admission charges, repla ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

, United Kingdom. Designed by

Ron Toomer Ronald Valentine Toomer (May 31, 1930 – September 26, 2011) was an American roller coaster designer credited for designing 93 roller coasters around the world. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1961 with a degree in mechani ...

and manufactured by

Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (194 ...

, the ride opened to the public on 28 May 1994 as the tallest and steepest roller coaster in the world. It held the record until July 1996, when Fujiyama opened at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan. The ride is currently the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom.

History

The Big One's construction began in 1992 by

with

as its lead designer, and by the time it was completed, the total cost had reached £12 million. The tubular track and supports were airlifted from

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

and stored at nearby

Blackpool Airport Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport. Ownership of the ai ...

. During the start of the construction of the ride, the south of Blackpool promenade was closed and pieces of the structure were stored on the road adjacent to the Pleasure Beach. The first pieces to be fitted were the large foundations that would follow on from the main supports. Once all the supports were fitted, the tubular track was fitted followed by additional supports on the turnaround and the mid-course brake section. The roller coaster opened as the Pepsi Max Big One on 28 May 1994. It was both the tallest and steepest roller coaster in the world when it debuted, but it was not the fastest.Although not standing as tall as the Big One,

Steel Phantom Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

had a longer drop of 225 feet and therefore achieved greater speed. The Big One's height record was surpassed by Fujiyama in July 1996, but it remains the tallest roller coaster in the UK as well as the country's second-fastest. The Big One was also one of the longest, as its out-and-back roller coaster layout measures over a mile in length at . Its top speed of in 1994 was second only to

at Kennywood, but it was the fastest coaster in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The ride has maintained its sponsorship from Pepsi Max. However, the Pepsi Max branding was removed from the ride name in 2011. The

Pepsi Max Pepsi Max (also known as Pepsi Black in some countries) is a low- calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi and Diet Pepsi. Pepsi Max is still available primarily in Asian and European markets. While Pepsi Max wa ...

drink can A drink can (or beverage can) is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans are made of aluminum (75% of ...

ride tunnel still remains as part of the ride. The Big One has been partially re-tracked by Taziker over three recent closed seasons. In 2019-20, four sections of track were replaced in the section which passes through the Big One lift hill. The following year, a further 75m of track was replaced towards the end of the ride. In 2021-22, another 103m of track was replaced, from partway over Star Hill through the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...

and into the mid-course brake.

Statistics

The ride reaches a height of and has a first drop measuring , confirmed by

of Arrow Dynamics. The first drop has an incline angle of 65 degrees and the usual maximum speed for the ride is . The ride lasts approximately three minutes and during this time riders normally experience positive

g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...

s of up to 3.5 g and negative g-forces of up to 0.5g. Blackpool Pleasure Beach advertises the ride as in height, but that is above sea level and not the actual height of the ride from ground level. The ride is capable of running three trains at any one time, but usually only runs on 2 trains. Each train has five cars with six passengers to a car, enabling each train to carry 30 riders two abreast in total. This gives the Big One a capacity of 1,700 people per hour. The colour scheme for each train is the same: a blue base with two coloured bands around the side and front (red and white) showing the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

logo. Each train is numbered at the back of the fifth car, and each car is numbered according to the back of each section. During testing, sandbags are used to weigh the train down. This is a safety mechanism and is common practice on roller coasters of a certain height. Before the ride was granted a certificate to operate, Blackpool Pleasure Beach had to appeal to Blackpool Airport which is one mile from the park. Due to the ride's height, warning beacons had to be installed on the peaks of the first two hills, including the main drop, before the ride was given the all-clear to operate.

Ride experience

Once riders are seated and secured, a siren sounds and the train exits the station down a small dip, turning 180 degrees straight into a tunnel decorated as a Pepsi Max pop can. After the brief tunnel, the train climbs the

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

, which has height markers every showing riders the rising elevation, crossing over

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

's track. After reaching a height of , the train drops after first entering a quarter right turn before rapidly descending a 65-degree drop. As the drop levels out, riders experience up to 3.5 G and rise up a large hill with minimal

airtime Air time or airtime may refer to: *Air time (broadcasting), also spelled "airtime", available hours for broadcast or time purchased for broadcast * Air time (mobile phone), also spelled "airtime", top-up for mobile roaming services *Air time, also ...

. The track bends slightly right into a large 180-degree, heavily banked left turn followed by three slightly-banked airtime hills. After the third hill, the track crosses under Big Dipper and enters the mid-course brake run, before descending into a downward helix. The finale features an angled decline through Nickelodeon Streak into a tunnel – where the

on-ride photo An on-ride camera is a camera mounted alongside the track of a roller coaster, log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing vehicle. They are often mounted at the most intense or fastest part of t ...

is taken – and a short ascent into the final brake run before returning to the station.

Incidents

In July 1994 during the ride's inaugural season, 26 people were injured when the computer system failed to completely stop a train returning to the station. The result of this brake failure was a collision with a train parked inside the ride's station. Another train collision occurred in August 2000, caused by another computer failure and injured 16 people. In April 2021, a train ascending the lift hill halted, leaving a number of people stranded near the top of the ride. Park staff had to scale the ride and safely guide riders as they walked down off the ride.

Notes

References

External links

Pleasure Beach Blackpool, The Big One Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big One, The Steel roller coasters Blackpool Pleasure Beach Roller coasters in the United Kingdom PepsiCo buildings and structures Roller coasters introduced in 1994