The Great Scenic Railway is a heritage-listed wooden roller coaster located at Luna Park Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. The roller coaster is the oldest continuously operating roller coaster in the world. The ride is one of only seven roller coasters remaining that requires a brakeman to stand on the train.

History

The Great Scenic Railway opened in December 1912, and has remained continuously in use since, making it the oldest continuously operating roller coaster. The roller coaster was originally built with 65,674 metres (215,466 ft) of Canadian Oregon pine. The roller coaster is regarded as an ACE Classic Coaster. The Great Scenic Railway, Luna Park Sydney’s Wild Mouse and Sea World's Leviathan are the only three operating wooden roller coasters in Australia.

Characteristics

The Great Scenic Railway is a 967 metres (3,173 ft) long coaster which has a height of 16 metres (52 ft) and a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). A brakeman is required in order to brake the roller coaster.

The roller coaster has three trains with two cars. Each car can sit up to 10 riders. Each train weighs about 2 tonnes.

Ride experience

The roller coaster begins by entering a cable lift hill. It then reaches its highest point. The ride starts with a few large drops and goes through a series of small structures. The ride then goes through a series of smaller drops.

See also

• Leap-The-Dips - SBNO
• List of heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne