Big Dipper (Battersea Park)

Big Dipper was a wooden roller coaster located at Battersea Park in London, opened in 1951 and was one of the Battersea Park Funfair's biggest attractions. The ride was the main attraction of the funfair, opened as part of the Festival of Britain.[1] It closed in 1972 after an accident killed five passengers.

Big Dipper
Previously known as Scenic Railway
Battersea Park
LocationBattersea Park
Coordinates51°28′45.98″N 0°9′24.91″W
StatusRemoved
Opening date1951 (1951)
Closing date30 May 1972 (1972-05-30)
General statistics
TypeWood
Lift/launch systemRope lift
Height15 m (49 ft)
Length1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Inversions0
Trains3 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 4 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Big Dipper at RCDB
Pictures of Big Dipper at RCDB

1972 accident

Two years after a fire hit the ride, a major fatal accident occurred on 30 May 1972. A train being hoisted up to the start of the ride broke loose from its haulage rope, and the rollback brake failed, causing the cart to roll backwards towards the station. In spite of the efforts of the brakeman the train gathered speed and the back carriage jumped the rails and crashed through a barrier with the other two carriages crashing on top of it. Five children were killed, and thirteen others injured in the accident.

After the accident The Big Dipper was closed, and dismantled. With the lack of a main attraction at the funfair its popularity quickly declined. The rest of the fair was closed two years later in 1974.[1] Very little remains now to even suggest that a funfair once stood on the site.

The Independent newspaper published a story 6 June 2015 recalling the accident, prompted by an accident at Alton Towers in which sixteen people were injured, four seriously. Regarding the 1972 accident, Carolyn Adamczyk, a passenger on the ride during the accident, said: "As soon as we started shooting backwards everything went into slow motion... I turned around and saw the brake man desperately trying to put the brake on but it wasn’t working. Most of the carriages didn’t go around the bend, one detached and went off the side through a wooden hoarding. People were groaning and hanging over the edge. It was awful." [2]

After the accident, the manager and engineer of the fun fair were accused of manslaughter but both were acquitted after being defended by George Carman QC and Lewis Hawser QC, respectively.[3]

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References
  1. "1972: West London fairground ride crash kills five". London Today. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. Jamie Merrill (6 June 2015). "Battersea Park big dipper disaster in 1972: The funfair tragedy the nation forgot | Home News | News". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  3. "Dipper men cleared of manslaughter". The Guardian. 20 November 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 25 March 2020. – via newspapers.com (subscription required)
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