Nemesis Inferno

Not to be confused with the roller coaster at Alton Towers, Nemesis (roller coaster).

Nemesis Inferno is a steel inverted roller coaster at the Thorpe Park theme park in Surrey, England, UK. Its layout was conceived and designed by John Wardley and then built by Bolliger & Mabillard with Werner Stengel providing the layout calculations, the same Swiss firm that built the related Nemesis inverted roller coaster at Alton Towers. As a result, Nemesis and Nemesis Inferno are often compared. It is also listed on the Alton Towers website that the ride is “Nemesis’ Sister”.^[1]

Nemesis Inferno
One of Nemesis Inferno's trains navigating the vertical loop.
Thorpe Park
Location	Thorpe Park
Park section	The Jungle
Coordinates	51°24′13″N 0°30′59″W / 51.403476°N 0.516408°W / 51.403476; -0.516408
Status	Operating
Opening date	5 April 2003 (2003-04-05)
Cost	£8 million
Replaced	Mr. Rabbit's Tropical Travels
General statistics
Type	Steel – Inverted
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	John Wardley & Werner Stengel & Jordan Forster
Model	Inverted Coaster – Custom
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	29 m (95 ft)
Drop	28 m (92 ft)
Length	750 m (2,460 ft)
Speed	50 mph (80 km/h)
Inversions	4
Duration	1:43
Capacity	1,150 riders per hour
G-force	4.5
Height restriction	140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Trains	2 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.
Fastrack available
Wheelchair accessible
Nemesis Inferno at RCDB

The 750-metre-long (2,460 ft) Nemesis Inferno is themed around an erupting tropical volcano. The ride stands 29 metres (95 ft) tall, features a top speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), and four inversions.

History

In 2002, after the opening of Colossus, Thorpe Park officially announced the addition of Nemesis Inferno in 2003.^[2] Construction took place throughout 2002 with the first test run being completed in December 2002.^[3] Nemesis Inferno officially opened to the public on 5 April 2003.^[4] According to Nikki Nolan of The Tussauds Group who operated the park at the time, the ride was installed just one year after Colossus to "help transform Thorpe Park into a real thrill park".^[5]

In 2004, Thorpe Park approached Guinness World Records to set the record for the "Most Naked People on a Rollercoaster". In May 2004, 81 students took part in the record, which was set at 28 – the number of seats on a single Nemesis Inferno train.^[6][7] In August 2004, Nemesis at Alton Towers broke the record with 32 riders.^[8]

The roller coaster was prominently featured in an episode of The Inbetweeners.^[9]

Characteristics

The 750-metre-long (2,460 ft) Nemesis Inferno stands 29 metres (95 ft) tall. With a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph), the ride features four inversions including a vertical loop, a zero-g roll, and a set of interlocking corkscrews. Riders of Nemesis Inferno experience up to 4.5 times the force of gravity on the near-two-minute ride.^[4] The ride is reported to have cost £8 million.

Nemesis Inferno operates with two steel and fiberglass trains, each containing seven cars. Each car seats four riders in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.^[4] Two seats on Nemesis Inferno have been modified to cater for larger riders.^{[citation needed]}

The ride is themed around an erupting volcano.^[10] The name of the ride suggests that it is related to the original Nemesis, an inverted coaster installed at Alton Towers in 1994.^[5]

Ride experience

 

A train going through one of the interlocking corkscrews

After leaving the station, the train takes a right-hand swing drop into a tunnel, where it is shot with simulated fire. It makes a brief left turn before entering the 29-metre-tall (95 ft) lift hill. At the top, it takes a long left-swing drop into its first inversion, a vertical loop right, then rises straight into the second inversion, a zero-G-roll. The ride then turns to the right and enters the first of the interlocking corkscrews, then enters a right-handed, over-banked turn before continuing through the second of the interlocking corkscrews. After a large right turn, followed by a sharp upwards left turn, the train enters the brake run. Following a small right turn, it continues to the station.^[4][11][12]

Reception

In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, Nemesis Inferno entered at position 70 in 2003, before peaking at 51 in 2006. The ride's ranking in subsequent polls is shown in the table below.^[13]

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Steel-Tracked Roller Coaster^[13]
Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Ranking	70	55	63	51	60	61	88	94	^[nb 1]	123	138

Nemesis Inferno is commonly compared with its Alton Towers counterpart, Nemesis, with many citing the latter as the superior ride. Nemesis has ranked favourably in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards, being one of only seven roller coasters to appear in the top 50 steel roller coasters for all 15 years. Nemesis Inferno, on the other hand, has never made an appearance.^[14] In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll Nemesis Inferno has an average ranking of 80, while Nemesis' average ranking is 6.^[13] In a poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times, Nemesis received 37.93% of the vote for title of best roller coaster in England, while Nemesis Inferno received 0.32%.^[15] Jeremy Thompson of Roller Coaster Philosophy describes Nemesis as "a vastly superior ride" to Nemesis Inferno. Thompson describes Nemesis Inferno as "something a bit better" than his expectations; however, he was "not sure if it was a particularly good ride or not".^[16]

Notes

1. No steel roller coaster poll was held in 2011.

References

1. "Nemesis | Theme Park Ride at Alton Towers Resort". www.altontowers.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
2. "Timeline". Thorpe Park Mania. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
3. "Nemesis Inferno completes test run". Coaster Buzz. 9 December 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
4. Marden, Duane. "Nemesis Inferno  (Thorpe Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
5. Koranteng, Juliana (27 January 2003). "Tussauds pumps up its park offerings". Amusement Business. 115 (4): 5, 10.
6. "Naked rollercoaster record feat". BBC. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
7. . Sky News. 23 May 2004. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
8. . Sky News. 27 August 2004. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
9. "The Inbetweeners Thorpe Park Plot Summary". IMDb. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
10. O'Brien, Tim (6 January 2003). "Buyers eyeing medium-priced rides". Amusement Business. 115 (1): 3, 11.
11. "Thorpe Park POV – Nemesis Inferno". Thorpe Park. YouTube. 19 June 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
12. "Nemesis Inferno Front Row Seat on-ride HD POV Thorpe Park". East Coaster General. YouTube. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
13. Hawker, Mitch. "Steel Roller Coaster Poll 13 Year Results Table (1999–2013)". Best Roller Coaster Poll. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
14. "Issue Archive". Amusement Today. 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
15. MacDonald, Brady (22 July 2012). "Poll: Vote for your favorite in the All-England Coaster Olympics". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
16. Thompson, Jeremy (6 June 2010). "Thorpe Park". Roller Coaster Philosophy. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Nemesis Inferno at the Roller Coaster DataBase