Many Mancunians growing up in the 1980s and '90s will remember the excitement of a trip to Frontierland.
The Wild West theme park in Morecambe, Lancashire, closed in 2000 and has lay abandoned for the past 20-years. But many will remember it fondly for its classic rides such as the Texas Tornado roller coaster, Runaway Mine Train and Polo Tower.
The theme park first opened in 1906, titled West End Amusement Park, however little is known of what the park consisted of before 1936, when it was purchased by the Thompson family, owners of Blackpool Pleasure Beach. They also owned Pleasureland in Southport.
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The theme park changed its name once again to Fun City and then Morecambe Pleasure Park. It finally transformed into Frontierland in 1987 in an attempt to reverse falling visitor numbers.
In its 12 years operating as Frontierland, new rides were regularly added. In 1989, the 'Sky Ride' was introduced which was a cable car system that allowed people to fly over the park and out over Morecambe's spectacular promenade.
In 1993, Frontierland also added the 'Polo Tower'. Originally known as the 'Space Tower', the ride had been a fixture at Blackpool Pleasure Beach for over ten years but had to make way for The Big One, its now famous £12 million, 235ft tall roller coaster.
The new tower, sponsored by Polo Mints was positioned at the front of the park, resulting in a welcome boost in visitor numbers. In its heyday, the park had a number of popular rides, some of which have now been dismantled and shipped across the world, whereas others were moved to Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Sadly, neither this nor a visit from Margaret Thatcher, who named one of the horses on the carousel after herself, in 1997, could save Frontierland. The park began to shrink in 1998 as rides were sold off, before it officially closed in 2000.
Now the site of the former Wild West themed park is finally set to be reused after more than 20 years of lying derelict. Lancaster City Council has bought the area that used to be home to the Frontierland theme park in Morecambe, saying it intends to use the land to 'help drive the reinvention of the town'.
So as a the final remnants of the park are erased, we've decided to remind ourselves of some of Frontierland's classic rides that brought joy to kids from Manchester for many years.
Texas Tornado (formerly Cyclone)
The 3,000ft long coaster was renamed Texas Tornado in 1987 after the entire park received a western theme. Sadly it was demolished in 2000 after 60 years at the theme park.
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A rare wooden roller coaster built by the legendary designer Harry Traver, using materials from another roller coaster at the 1937 Paris Exhibition to save on construction costs.
Runaway Mine Train
Another rarity, this wooden single car ride with tight turns opened to visitors in the park in 1961. Known as a Wild Mouse ride, the front of the car travels past the turn before quickly changing direction, giving the sensation that the car will career off the track.
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The ride moved to Southport Pleasureland in 2000 and was renamed as King Solomon's Mines. The ride is now thought to be in storage at Dreamland in Margate.
Log Flume
The ever-popular Log Flume opened in 1982, and despite the park’s closure in 2000, remained on site until 2009, making it a magnet for urban explorers.
Polo Tower
The Polo Tower, sponsored by the confectionery of the same name, was originally known as the Space Tower and was built at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1974. It was moved in 1993 to make way for the Big One roller coaster and rebuilt at Frontierland in 1993, opening to the public in 1994.
Does Frontierland awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
It survived until 2017, although the cabin was removed in 2008, because a mobile phone company had a transmitter on top of it, and the contract ran until 2013.
Haunted Silver Mine
The Haunted Silver Mine was ghost train ride that opened in 1987 and closed in 1998. The ride was originally known as Scream Machine when it first started operating in 1978, although it soon changed its name to Star Treker.
The ride was given a western mine theme when the park changed its name to Frontierland. The ride was removed in 2000 when the park closed.
Stampede
Stampede was a steel roller coaster that originally opened as Cyclone at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1974. It was relocated to Frontierland in 1987 and operated until 1998.
The coaster has since operated at Canvey Island Amusement Park and Killarney Springs Family Park. It's not known where Stampede is now.
Noah's Ark
This classic funhouse attraction was sadly demolished when the park closed in 2000. One of the oldest rides at the park, it first appeared in the 1920s.
The Rattler
The Rattler was a classic family friendly roller coaster known as a wacky worm ride. It had the face and body of a giant caterpillar made up of six single train cars.
The ride was later removed from the park and put into storage until 2004 when it made a second debut at Blackpool Pleasure Beach called Big Apple - but it only stayed there for one season. It's now thought the ride is at Fun Land in Towyn, Wales.
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