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It's quite a funky skeleton, but maybe a bit too ghost train-y for the tone of the ride, so I have a feeling it wasn't used.

 

It's from the same person's studio sessions who hand painted the trompe l'oeil murals and features around the rest of the station, which I'm sure stick in every childs memory who went through it. Sadly the lighting for them disappeared when the chandeliers were removed so most the murals are too dark to see these days

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I have always wanted to ask this but does anyone have further details on why the Vampire was modified in 2001? I understand it was experiencing a lot of downtime but why exactly? Other parks still have Arrow suspendeds in operation - why wasn't it possible to fix the problems instead of modifying it to such an extent to what we have today? And why was the tunnel's length was halved? I remember riding it on a hot day and the tunnel's temperature was noticeably cooler to the outside temperature because is was so long and dark, it really did feel like you were flying into a cave. Why, why, why!?

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22 minutes ago, dickie001x said:

I have always wanted to ask this but does anyone have further details on why the Vampire was modified in 2001? I understand it was experiencing a lot of downtime but why exactly? Other parks still have Arrow suspendeds in operation - why wasn't it possible to fix the problems instead of modifying it to such an extent to what we have today? And why was the tunnel's length was halved? I remember riding it on a hot day and the tunnel's temperature was noticeably cooler to the outside temperature because is was so long and dark, it really did feel like you were flying into a cave. Why, why, why!?

 

5 minutes ago, Matt10 said:

Were the trains not changed in 2001 because it was hard to get parts, as they had to all be individually manufactured, and weren't available immediately?

Vampire was revamped in 2001 because it was suffering from a lot of downtime and reliability issues...and to make matters worse, Arrow Dynamics, the original manufacturer, had gone bankrupt, so they had no choice but to turn to Vekoma to provide new trains. Extensive groundwork also had be carried out on site in order to fit the new trains, as these are longer and therefore very under-slung compared to the old Arrow trains. :)

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There's a lot of fluff and vagueness on why the Vampire was changed and the nature of those changes. I gather the main reason was that the park needed a supplier for the ride's maintenance (Vekoma are still regularly contracted for new parts or refurbishment of parts today). The ride was forcibly closed for a year and at the time it was expected not to reopen. Something fundamental needed to change to get it open again, now that Arrow had closed.

 

An alternative is to contract to other firms to retrofit parts and take on the running of the ride, which Vekoma was contracted to do with The Vampire, and rather than keep the existing trains (which would still have been possible, although perhaps more costly in the long run), the idea of making a 'New' Vampire won out with the floorless trains.

 

In fairness, unlike many other similar marketing-friendly modifications to existing rides (laser guns in Terror Tomb, The Swarm backwards), the change to floorless trains did help stop the ride becoming more dated, once floorless coasters became prevalent in the UK. However the new trains are just cheaper and naff compared to the originals. They look so tacky and came with all the gaudy bright purple 'New Vampire' branding at the loss of the ride's original theatrical, darker theme.

 

The tunnel was mostly removed I think to create access into the tunnel, in order to dig out the ground a bit more to accommodate the new trains, and perhaps widen the openings to the tunnel (the rock work was removed). Shame because it should have been built up again afterwards, now it is just a shack.

 

Other changes made was the floor of the station was removed and lowered over a foot, which changes the feel of the room quite a bit, and the decorated loading bays were removed for the awful steel scaffolding. Some chunks were cut out the supports and trenches dug all around the ride track. That was it really.

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^ Well that was because under the old system the third train didn't wait on lift two, and instead came right on through even if the brake run wasn't clear. So there really was a pressure to send trains out on time, haha. There are a couple stories I've head of trains crashing! (Though not nearly as dramatic as it sounds, there was still a fair bit of the break run clear to slow the carriage down.)

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Whilst I just missed on the park golden years (first visiting in 2006) , I have certainly noticed the ride deteriorate further.

 

Aside from the fact the ride no longer (and probably never will again) run three trains, the queue line is messy with the corrugated steel fence and the once great crypt feature replaced cheaply a few years ago. The minor additions this year are nice but still don't rectify this.

 

The station now is sadly a shadow of its former self, through the loss of it's once impressive  chandeliers, side lighting and original audio amongst the now lifeless organist. The maplin UV lights only add insult to injury. 

 

Would love to see the station see some restoration, but can't see this happening in the park's current state of operation and only a further reminder of how great Chessington was and how the park is slipping. 

 

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23 minutes ago, Mattgwise said:

And not forgetting how the old trains used to dispatch in no more than 40 seconds on three train operation! Never used to faff pulling into the station stopping several times before reaching its final position. Who remembers the unique sound the trains used to make pulling into the station? 

40 seconds?!  It's about four minutes now :(

 

Regarding the reasoning for the new trains, I find that strange as there are plenty of Arrow Dynamics coasters still running with their original trains.

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As much as I appreciate the station and SOME aspects of vampire, I find the ride overrated, rough and bad in general. Comparing it to 13 (both have Gothic themes as family coasters), the station feels fake once you exit and you can clearly see it is a warehouse, it is seriously rough (those restraints are absolutely awful) and operations are always awful. I wouldn't mind vampire being replaced or having a HUGE revamp because at the moment, it is a VERY disappointing ride. As one of the main attractions for chessington, it is one of the worst so I easily prefer scorpion express any day!

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57 minutes ago, Coaster Jamie said:

40 seconds?!  It's about four minutes now :(

 

Regarding the reasoning for the new trains, I find that strange as there are plenty of Arrow Dynamics coasters still running with their original trains.

 

I bet it's a lot easier for the parts to come in from the same country rather than across the entire Atlantic... Plus I'm sure Tussauds at the time were probably quite stumped on cash especially when Thorpe was the pet project at the time...

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36 minutes ago, Benin said:

 

I bet it's a lot easier for the parts to come in from the same country rather than across the entire Atlantic... Plus I'm sure Tussauds at the time were probably quite stumped on cash especially when Thorpe was the pet project at the time...

True, but I'm referring to UK parks as well.

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2 hours ago, Coaster Jamie said:

40 seconds?!  It's about four minutes now :(

 

Regarding the reasoning for the new trains, I find that strange as there are plenty of Arrow Dynamics coasters still running with their original trains.

Yes, crazy to think that used to be the norm and what's sad is your mention of four minutes is not an exaggeration, sometimes it's longer!

 

The old trains didn't have belts to be fair and from what I remember all the restraints used to just fling up when released and if they didn't they were light to lift.

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I've never been on the Vampire since the change of trains. I know that there were complaints about them being really rough after the changeover, I know we're talking around 16 years ago now but have they improved on this? I usually just don't bother queuing for the Vampire as the queues are always significantly longer than the other rides whenever I go to Chessington.

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In a word, no. 

 

I'd say the biggest problem with the trains is the lack of weight reducing the swing so it isn't as exciting and doesn't flow properly. 

 

The problem that causes the discomfort is the trains seem to not be solidly coupled which causes them to shuffle back and forth into each other as it travels along the track. This isn't really noticeable at the front or back but is worse in the middle of the train. Swinging side to side softly is fun, jerking back and forth not so much.

 

I wouldn't really say it's uncomfortable in the painful sense though, it's more just annoying. 

 

I've not been for a few years now though,  maybe they've fixed it? 

Doubtful!

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