Dark Rides
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A vintage shot of Blå Tåget which inspired the design of the new cars
Blå Tåget Gröna Lund
A new scene from the ride I
A rollercoaster column is disguised as a pipe inside the ghost train
n on one form or another Blå Tåget (Blue Train) has entertained Gröna Lund guests for more than seven decades. A revamp of the ride, a classic ghost train dating back to the 1930s, would probably have happened in the next few years anyway, but events suddenly brought it towards the top of the park’s ‘to do’ list. That’s because to make way for Twister, the all-new wooden coaster at this popular park in the centre of Stockholm (see paeg 26), staff needed to demolish Blå Tåget and build a new version in its place. Designed by artist Joakim Hansén, the exterior to the attraction has a beautiful retro flavour. “The new Blå Tåget looks exactly the same as the old one from the outside but inside it is a totally different ride,” highlights Gröna Lund’s in-house historian Andreas Theve.
The revolving tunnel
Thankfully the new ride, which opened in May, retains a classic Ghost Train feel. Build underneath Twister, with which it shares a workshop, the new ride also incorporates columns from other rides including the suspended coaster Kvasten. There simply isn’t room inside the building for elaborate themed sets, but quick gags at every turn – combined with in-car effects – keep riders on the edge of their seats. The 12 four-seater ride vehicles were built in Italy by Gosetto and are the first of their kind. Inspired by the two-seater cars used on the ride during in the 1930s, Gröna Lund and the artist Magnus Sorman designed the body. The new cars are intentionally low-tech in appearance, but underneath they host a series of 4D- style special effects including audio, seat vibration, backstabbers and jets of air. The dual-rail track, also by Gosetto, features several subtle twisted and tilted sections to add to the ride experience. About midway through the ride, the cars come briefly out of the dark, allowing riders to interact with queuing guests. Effects inside the attraction were created by Gröna
The new look station area 32
Lund rides manager Peter Osbeck alongside Sörman and the Swedish lighting/AV specialist Kreativ Teknik.
Even where figures and props have been bought in (from the USA) they have been adapted in some way. Osbeck is most proud of the dramatic spark effect that greets passengers as soon as they pass through the double doors. This is achieved by a series of high voltage Tesla coils placed just the right distance away from the riders.
Other gags include a revolving light tunnel, an approaching train, a car load of skeleton riders, giant wolves and rats, lurching figures underneath the track and some tumbling plates resurrected from the old Blå Tåget. A Medialon show controller synchronises everything from light, sound and video to smoke effects and animatronics as the cars move through the ride. Yet despite the use of new technology, the park resisted the temptation to go interactive and add a shooting system: “An interactive ride is on the list for the future,” notes Theve, “but Blå Tåget is such a historic ride we didn’t want to do that; they are two separate kinds of attractions.”
Starting life in 1932 as the Horror Express, Gröna
Lund’s ghost train was rebuilt in 1935 following a fire that spread from a boat moored outside the park. Renamed Blå Tåget, new effects were built in-house. As the park became a popular hang out for teenagers in the 1960s, the dark ride got darker, but complaints from families prompted management to remove some of the scarier effects. Then, in 1967, the ride became the Ghost Lift, equipped with ski lift-style suspended gondolas by Anton Schwarzkopf, but rather boring effects. Converted back to a traditional track-based system, Blå Tåget returned in 1982, before a brief a hiatus last August and its return this spring. Osbeck says Blå Tåget will always have a special place in his heart as it was one of the first attractions he worked on when joined the park in 1980 as a technical parts buyer (he became ride manager in 1982). He concedes that, “The ski lift was never really a success, however I am really proud of the new Blå Tåget. Gosetto were very responsive when it came to designing the cars, and Kreativ Teknik carried out their work with great interest and commitment. Together we have given a much-loved classic a new lease of life.”
www.gronalund.com AUGUST 2011
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