A similar attachment was felt by some of those who worked at Dreamland.
After spending a lot of time at the park growing up, Shelley Nicholls began working there when it reopened in 2015.
She said: “I worked front of house. On days where we’d come in and the Scenic wouldn’t be running we all knew we were going to have a bad day.”
Reflecting on the closure, Nicholls said: “Technically she’s only 10 years old. She was rebuilt and rebuilt for a reason.”
Dave Collard, a former brakeman on the Scenic Railway, began working at the park in the 1990s.
There was a real clamour for the ride and affection for the staff, he said.
“So many people wanted to come on the ride and talk to you as well,” Collard said, adding that there would often be “hundreds of people” waiting.
He recalled stopping at the top on the last run during fireworks shows on Thursday nights.
“We would just sit up there and watch the fireworks.”
