Orphan Rocker, Steel roller coaster at Scenic World in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia.
Orphan Rocker is a steel roller coaster at Scenic World in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia. Its 840-metre track follows the rainforest terrain and includes a curve along the edge of a cliff over 200 metres high. The cars were designed to swing from side to side during the ride.
Built in 1988 by an Australian company, the Orphan Rocker never opened because of numerous problems. Parts were rebuilt and track segments replaced from the 1990s, but in 2006 work was stopped and no opening is planned. Some sections were removed in 2017.
The Orphan Rocker never carried a paying rider, yet its name reached a wide audience through Australian media coverage of the stalled project. The track and its cars remained in place at Scenic World for decades, becoming a landmark visible to park visitors. In 2017 some sections were dismantled, leaving only part of the layout.
The ride is currently not accessible to the public but can be viewed from outside the park. Visitors may observe the track structure and layout from various vantage points within the Scenic World grounds.
The cars were designed to swing from side to side as they ran, a feature meant to amplify the ride on the 840 m track. The coaster never carried a paying passenger, and in 2017 parts of the structure were removed, though the rails stayed in place.
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