Scenic Railway structure

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Luna Park, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Best viewed large on black. Just press L.

"Luna Park in St Kilda was established by the US/Canadian entrepreneur J D
Williams, with the three Phillips brothers, Leon, Herman and Harold from Los
Angeles. Williams was the main instigator, and had established one of the
first cinema chains in Australia soon after arriving in 1909. They leased
the triangular site of a previous failed amusement park on the St Kilda
foreshore in mid 1911, and proceeded to construct an amusement park based on
the latest American trends. They imported designers and craftsmen from the
world famous Coney Island amusement area outside Manhattan, notably T H
Eslick who is credited in the opening brochure with the design of many
amusement parks, and in particular with the design of the exotic Indian
Moghul - style face and towers. The Scenic Railway itself was designed by
the L A Thompson Scenic Railway Company of New York, whose founder LaMarcus
Adna Thompson had constructed the world's first purpose built roller coaster
at Coney Island in 1884. His 'Scenic Railway' company was so named in 1886
because their designs usually incorporated painted 'scenes' inside tunnels
built over sections of the track, and by the 1890s the emphasis was as much
on safety as thrills.

Luna Park was a name used around the world for American-style amusement
parks, inspired by the first park of that name established in Coney Island
in 1903. The Melbourne version opened to throngs of merrymakers on the night
of 13 December 1912.

The park at first featured live acts during 'matinee' openings, but it was
mainly the purpose-built attractions such as Funnyland (later the Giggle
Palace) and the River Caves of the World and the fairy-land effect provided
by over 30,000 tiny light globes that drew crowds in summer evenings. Closed
during WWI, it reopened in 1923 after a major reconstruction, most notably
adding the Big Dipper (demolished 1989) and the beautiful 1913 Carousel
(separately classified). Various further attractions were added up to the
1950s, such as the Dodgems in 1926 (separately classified) and the Ghost
Train in 1934 (separately classified) and the park remained extremely
popular. In the late 1970s, the original purpose-built attractions began to
be replaced by mechanical fairground rides. In1981 the Giggle Palace was
destroyed by fire, the River Caves were then declared unsafe and demolished,
and the park declined in delight and popularity.

Rejuvenation finally started in the late 1990s with the restoration of the
Face and Towers in 1998. The remnants of the original face were discovered
under later concrete, and retained under a new fibreglass version of the
original 1912 face. The Carousel and its canopy were restored by 2001.

The Scenic Railway is constructed entirely of timber, except for the rails,
and includes nearly a mile of track in a double circuit around the park,
dipping up and down, creating the complex web of timber beams seen today.
The cars come in pairs with a 'brakeman' in the centre, who controls the
speed of the cars, to ensure that it slows to a near stop at the top of the
main dips. The front cars feature ornate carved dragon figures on each side.
The ride depends on gravity after being pulled up by a cable run by a 1940s
DC generator housed under the main slope. This section also features a side
entrance/exit that was enlarged and elaborated in the 1930s with Art Deco
style framing."

Source: vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic#detail_places;66627