During the 2015/2016 closed season lots of work was done at Chessington World Of Adventures Resort. Tomb Blaster was refurbished, Safari Skyway was removed and Bubbleworks had a major re-engineering of the lift system.
Brought to light by a sponsored post on social media. A company called “Garmendale Engineering Limited” where called in to re-engineer the lift hill of the bubbleworks ride. The ride originally opened in 1990 and was built by Mack Rides. Previously known as “Professor Burps Bubbleworks” the ride was retimed in 2006 to its current theme “Bubbleworks” Over the past 25 years the ride has run with very little issues. Apart from a fire that burnt down the Creeky Cafe and partially damaged the building hosting the ride.
Taken from the Garmendale Engineering Limited website:
“Our role was to re-engineer the entire lift mechanism. This lift is around four minutes into the ride and takes the tubs into an upper level, but had become unreliable. The lift is a 20m section and we completely re-engineered it to meet and exceed all of the latest standards and ensure it is good for another 25 years service.
So, the work included a new galvanised structural steel tub, new gearbox for the lift section, re-vulcanizing the belt, new bearings throughout and a completely new automated greasing system. The main drive roller which weighs over 1.25 tons had to be installed by a monorail crane we fitted to the roof in order to complete the work and the final piece in the puzzle was to completely re-tank the trough itself to ensure it remains watertight.”
Read all about the Bubbleworks refurbishment on their website:
http://www.garmendale.co.uk/blog/bubbleworks-refurbishment-chessington-world-of-adventures/
