Classic Mode

Mechanical Memories Magazine

Issue: 2014-October - Issue 87

So we were delighted when Dr Alan Meades of Canterbury Christ Church University
contacted us earlier this year to say that he believed he had made a significant find of
rare and unusual videogame cabinets deep within the Dreamland vaults. Dr Meades
has now catalogued and assessed the collection and is presenting an exhibition of the
lost cabinets in the Dreamland Visitor & Learning Arcade at weekends.
IT'S A HIT!
The Visitor & Learning Arcade has proved to be a tremendous hit with locals and
visitors to Margate - we've welcomed over 25,000 visitors since we opened on 25th
May. We even have our regulars who drop in to catch the latest film showing in the
bijou cinema, people who previously worked at Dreamland, the curios and folk
bringing to us their archive photographs, memorabilia and memories.
Now showing in the Arcade is our short documentary film , Dreaming of
Dreamland, an affectionate portrait of Dreamland, Margate and our seaside heritage as
told by the local community. The film takes the view on an exciting journey through
Dreamland's chequered past, present and future.
FROM THE ARCHIVE ... ALL ABOARD THE CATERPILLAR!
MEMORIES OF A DREAMLAND ICON
One of Dreamland's most memorable rides, the Caterpillar was first introduced to the
park in 1922, and became a favourite with generations of visitors until the early 1980s.
John Henry Iles bought the sole European rights for the ride the previous year, and it
was therefore forever associated with Dreamland. For many years, Iles operated
Caterpillar rides at a number of British and European amusement parks, each under
individual operating tenders.
Over the years, countless thousands of people were whirled around a sixty-foot
diameter undulating track at increasing speed. At the peak of the ride, participants
were plunged into darkness by a continuous, tent-like covering, to the accompaniment
of a wailing Klaxon. Moments later, the cover would be pulled back and a blast of
compressed air would be blown under each individual rider, much to the merriment of
bystanders.
The Dreamland archive possesses an original paper order from the Caterpillar
Company in the U.S. for the purchase of the original Dreamland Caterpillar. There
were similar Caterpillar rides at Barry Island, Southport and Battersea Pleasure
Gardens.
If you have any memories of the Caterpillar or Dreamland we would love to hear
your stories and see any photographs to build up the Dreamland archive. Email us at
arcade@dreamlandmargate.co.uk or pop down to the arcade and speak to our staff.
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JUNIOR WHIP CARS
We now have on display three delightful Junior Whip cars thanks to Dave Love and
supporters who helped salvage the ride for Dreamland. These fabulous dragon-themed
cars are from the last surviving Junior Whip ride in the UK following the demolition
and complete rebuild of the American Whip at Southend's Adventure Island in 2009.
The Junior Whip opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1927 as the Fairy Whip.
It was believed to have been originally located in Bingle & Bob's, the children ' s park
set up that same year between the Jack n Jill Slide and the Scenic Railway. In 1934, it
was moved to the replacement children's park, Emberton ' s Kiddies Park, where it was
located immediately south of the Zipper Dipper.
It operated until 2008, in recent years as Griffin' s Magic Dragon, and in 2009 it
was dismantled and moved to Dreamland where the ride awaits assessment for
restoration.
BLACKPOOL ILLUMINATIONS COME TO DREAMLAND
Last autumn The Dreamland Trust and HemingwayDesign visited Blackpool Pleasure
Beach and Blackpool Illuminations on what turned out to be a very rewarding research
trip. Whilst there we were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Illuminations HQ,
archive and works depot by Head of Illuminations , Richard Ryan. The operation and
scale of the collection is truly breath taking and we were thrilled that Richard agreed
to donate selected items to Dreamland Margate.
Blackpool 's world famous illuminations came about in the 1870s when the
council awarded £5,000 to experiment with electric street lighting. Dr Siemens' 8
dynamo-electric machines, powered by 16 Robey engines, were switched on, on 19 th
September 1879, to power 8 arc lamps on along the seafront emitting light equivalent
to 48,000 candles, with approximately 100,000 people from across the UK travelling
to marvel at the spectacle - and the rest, as they say, is history .. .
We are now super excited to announce the arrival of some of Blackpool ' s classic
illuminations to adorn Dreamland's park environs in 2015. Amongst the selection are
fountains, snowflakes, angels, devils and all manner of sparkling decorative features.
The Dreamland Trust will be working with the local community and volunteers to
restore and up-cycle these pieces ready for installation next spring.
UP-CYCLING
We' re about to embark on a large-scale community up-cycling project to help us
interpret Dreamland' s rich heritage from its origins in the early 1860s railway boom to
Victorian circus and pleasure gardens, 1920s modernist era through to the birth of
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Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

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