Amusement Technical delivers Devon’s largest rollercoaster to Big Sheep

Posted by Sean Brian

Amusement Technical was retained by the Big Sheep, Devon to relocate, refurbish and restore a 400m rollercoaster at its Bideford theme park. On completion, Rampage became the biggest rollercoaster in the Devon region.

In 2014, Big Sheep purchased Rampage, a 400m long roller coaster that had previously been based at the Metroland indoor theme park in Gateshead. Metroland had closed its doors, and this pivotal attraction needed a new home.

However, before relocation, Rampage needed to undergo a full refurbishment and restoration. Amusement Technical was tasked with providing a turnkey solution including full project management. Sean Brian, Managing Director, Amusement Technical explains the project: “We worked on the coaster in our workshop in North West England, carrying out full nondestructive testing and weld testing to ensure it could safely switch to a new outdoor location.

“Next, we replaced and refurbished the motors and gearboxes, and designed and built a new control system from scratch, essentially giving this well loved train a whole new engine. Shot-blasting all of the metal sections to clean and polish them, a brand new blue colour scheme, and a remodelling of the front of the coaster to make it resemble a train were the finishing touches.

“Finally, we assisted with moving the coaster and rebuilding it in its new home, ensuring that it could operate smoothly and safely.”

Rick Turner, Owner, The Big Sheep is delighted with Amusement Technical’s efforts: “Amusement Technical provided a total turnkey solution for the refurbishment of the Rampage rollercoaster and went above and beyond their brief. We are delighted with the look of the ride and its performance.”

Rampage is now Devon’s longest, tallest and fastest rollercoaster, with heights of up to 13m enjoyed by the whole family – this ‘pink knuckle’ coaster has a minimum rider height of just 1.2m.