Things had moved forwards on the electrical front by this time, and ex GPO relays
were no longer used; they had been replaced by modem relays made to special order
by Maughan Relays of Manchester. The Roulette machine was so popular it is still in
production to this day as a round floor standing machine.
Following on from the success of the Roulette machine, Tom Catlow (the same
gentleman who asked about the original dodgem parts) paid Whittakers a visit and
asked them to design a new multi-player machine with a horse racing theme. So in
1965, the Grand National was produced. Do you recognise the man who is standing
to the right in the photo below? Yes that's right, it is Sir Billy Butlin, and I am reliably
informed that he was so impressed with the Grand National he placed an on the spot
order for six of them for his chain of holiday camps.
Sir Billy Butlin with the new Whittakers Grand National horse racing machine.
(Note the Ainsworth Aristocrat stand behind).
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