zordmaker

Well Bussy, you get your wish. The approval for the demolition of Wonderland (including Bush Beast) was granted by Blacktown Council yesterday. And so it ends. To any remaining coaster freaks..I hear Raby Road is still good, and you can still find Datsun 1200s out there. Zordmaker Signing off.

Not when you can drive from the SWR Tx site at Horsley park, all the way to Quakers Hill with the window open.. with the same smell coming in.. ZordMaker

I think all resident would agree the problem is not the park, it's the tip - and would much rather see something done about it than bother closing Wonderland just because it stank there. A soft overnight south westerly breeze blows the stink over the suburbs as far as Quakers Hill (I know, I have smelt it regularly). But as usual the problem is a "not in my backyard" problem, and Sydney will continue to use Eastern Creek until it is literally higher than the Blue Mountains. Im moving to North Richmond in July so I don't care (p.s. thats exactly the attitude that does all the damage..) ZordMaker

What I was illustrating is that regardless of the machine, the decision to run it or not to run it is a digital one, i.e. it is either a "yes" or a "no". Just because a "yes" suddenly seems to become a "no" one day, doesnt mean something catastrophic happened the day before to change everybody's mind. It just means that (as others here have said) certain parts are deemed to have reached the end of their safe service life and now need to be replaced or fixed. As far as Wonderland is concerned its no secret that a vast majority of rides were reaching the end of their economic service lives (some after 18 years in service) and that the decision for management was either to inject a s**t load of cash into the park to deal with this or just to close it and cash in on the land value. They chose the latter. The time comes when maintenance stops being maintenance and crosses over into that world we call "preservation". That usually happens when the work needed to fix an item exceeds it's replacement cost - which might not be the actual cost needed to replace it but is more likely to be the percieved worth of the item on the open market if it were still working or in the case of a theme park, whether the item is a major draw card of the park or not. There are dozens of parks around the world that keep rides working that are beyond their "service life" and spend more on their "preservation" than they otherwise would if they didnt feel that the ride was an integral reason why visitors come and visit their park. These decisions are always being reviewed by managements of these parks and nobody ever knows when the "last ride" day will come. Usually it comes when certain major items need reworking again after the first restoration. Not sure if WL staff considered this but a common fix for getting around the problem of worn pinions, bearings or racks is simply to reverse the rack or pinion or bearing on it's shaft or track. Usually in service these parts wear on one side only but the case hardening is always appied to both sides of the teeth or track, meaning that you can swap or reverse the rack so that the force is taken off the (worn) side and placed on the (still good) side, thus doubling the effective life of these parts. There is a good chance that some of the rides at WL had already had this done to them back in the '90s meaning that this time around when they "wore out", it meant that there was no option but to complely replace the part with a newly engineered item.. and that's when it's time to start some deep thinking and ask "do we still need this ride"... ZordMaker

It'll give me great confidence to know that Coles' national food distribution centre is across the road from Sydney's biggest peutriscible waste tip. Anyone whohas taken a drive out there over the past few months would know exactly what Im talking about. Think I'll avoid Coles.. at least Wollies is about 10km further west.. Zordmaker

No it's not amazing actually. A rubber band breaks suddenly, it doesnt take years to break. That doesn't mean that you can't still use it as a rubber band just before it breaks. Same with anything mechanical. It works up until the day that it stops working. Then it no longer works. ZordMaker

Ill tell you what happened... Sydney. That's what happened. ZordMaker

Can't ever remember that being a problem for me. (1 x spandex bike short is fine for hopping between the Beach, Snowy River Rampage and Bush beast all day...) :-) ZordMaker

It's more likely that the fence is to keep unwanted visitors out as the rest of the site is due to become a demolition site. Demolition requires approval from Blacktown Council, and they have already stated that this will not be issued for BB until their own heritage study is complete. I don't think the current owners will want to completely f*** their chances with Council by defying their own orders, otherwise the chances of them rezoning the site will reduce to almost zero. ZordMaker

You're correct. The "Disney" site is a 30Ha section of the Govt's "new" regional parkland, in this case located behind Blacktown Drive in Cinemas. The issue is directly linked to Wonderland however, as the whole thing has come about due to pressure from BCC to the State Govt that they do not want Wonderland rezoned unless there is another park site reserved in Blacktown to replace it (now.. where have I heard THAT before..). The 30Ha site will be owned by the NSW Govt and leased to the successful tenderer. A total of three groups have expressed interest so far, including Disney. Now in the subject of Bush Beast. BCC's attitude to this is that it is an item of significant local heritage and that they want it preserved. It is likely to become yet another bargaining chip in the deal, with BCC accepting to rezone the 50Ha Wonderland site in return for the State Govt reserving the 30Ha at Prospect for a fun park, with BB being moved there as part of the deal, costs being met by the successful tenderer (a move that would otherwise never have been financially viable). The result? ING get their 50Ha Business park with it's 3B Commercial zoning with blessings from BCC, who get's it's Bush beast and 30Ha major tourist attraction to replace WL, and the State Gov't gets a nice little earner from leasing the new site. Add lots of spin, speeches and credit being taken by those who had nothing to do with the deal, and it might even help Mr Carr get out of the hole that was dug for him by his planning minister on Orange Grove and Mr Gazal. To my knowlege some Disney reps have been out to WL but only to look at the rides and assets on offer (inc BB), it was never considered an option as a site itself. Politics is weaving it's wonderful magic. We'll have to see where it leads in 10 years time won't we, and be left to wonder if it would have still happened if it wasn't for one particular resident who simply wasn't willing to let things go without some sort of noise being made. ZordMaker

Just remember.. it's the vibe. And yes, I have a lawyer, and yes, they have a photocopier.. :-) Just to shut you all up.. my own prediction is that Bush Beast will end it's days in a fire deliberately lit under the station, thus rendering the remainder of the structure useless. But hey.. I had to try, didn't I. Crazier things have worked before.. like saving the red rattlers. zordmaker

Yeah. That was BEFORE the incident on Space probe... ZordMaker

Yeah. Ill have to ask the next door neighbours if its OK to pitch some guy wires over the fence. Now where can I get some trains. Hmm. Yeah, well you're right there, it seems. It just seems a little odd that's all, on a site dedicated to roller coasters. ZordMaker

Petitions are useless. If you want to beat the system, you have to use the system. That means you first need to know the system. Most of the decisions are made by Public servants, not pollies, who just rubber stamp what the servants tell them to do. It depends on what other concessions the NSW Govt get in return for it now, doesnt it. Im sure if BCC wanted it preserved, the NSW Govt would be happy to swap 2 acres of land that it stands on with say, another 10 acres of Council land that Council doesnt want but would be useful to the NSW Govt, or even just BCC "getting out of the way" in relation to rezoning of the remainder of the site. Maybe theyll even broker a deal that the NSW Govt takes over Blacktown Olympic Centre in return for handing over half the Wonderland site, which would be significantly more useful to BCC and less of a money pit than the BOC. Who knows. Perhaps when the ACCC finds against Craig Knowles and Bomb Carr in relation to Orange Grove, theyll be able to shut Mr Gazal up by buying up his land on Cumberland Rd and selling him some at Eastern Creek instead which is zoned more suitable to a designer outlets centre.. with only one catch.. Mr Gazal.. see that wooden Beast there.. you have to make it part of your centre and keep it working... It's all about push and shove, give and take, you scratch my back, ill scratch yours. This is the stuff that is politics. If it was preserved its likely the financial benefits (and there WOULD be some) would be reaped on another site far from Wonderland. ZordMaker

yeah, yeah, yeah. But where's the wood???? ZordMaker