Katoomba Scenic World
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Katoomba Scenic World is a popular privately owned tourist attraction located at the southern end of the town of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia, about 100 kilometers west of Sydney. Scenic World is home to a number of attractions, of which the most famous is the Katoomba Scenic Railway. The Katoomba Scenic Skyway and the Cableway are the other two rides on the site . Other attractions include a Theatre, a Souvenir Shop, Kiosk, Cafe and a revolving restaurant.
The Scenic Railway is the steepest cable-driven funicular railway in the world, with a steepest incline of 52 degrees contained within a total incline distance of 415 metres. It was originally constructed for a coal and oil shale mining operation in the Jamison Valley in the 1880s, in order to haul the coal and shale from the valley floor up to the escarpment above. From 1928 to 1945 it carried coal during the week and Passengers at weekends. The coal mine was closed in 1945 and it became a permanent Tourist Attraction.
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[edit] History
Built in 1958, the Scenic Skyway is another cable-driven conveyance at Scenic World. It travels across the gorge above the Katoomba Falls, 200 metres above the valley floor. This original Scenic Skyway was dismantled early in 2004 and replaced by a new cable car in December of the same year. The new Skyway was built by Doppelmayr and CWA Constructions, and features an 72 person cabin with sections of liquid crystal glass that turns a raised section of the floor from translucent to transparent as the ride progresses. In November 2006 a second station on the opposite cliff-face opened, allowing Skyway passengers to disembark and follow bushwalking trails to the nearby Echo Point.
In 1984, Scenic World began building a roller coaster known as the Orphan Rocker, named after the nearby Orphan Rock. This is the first roller coaster to be completely designed and manufactured in Australia. The highlight of this ride is meant to be a swooping banked turn that takes riders within metres of the edge of a 200m cliff. It has in the past been referred to as a "sitdown suspended" coaster, because although it is a conventional sitdown coaster, the trains can tilt from side to side, like a suspended coaster, giving it its name. It was originally planned as a scenic monorail ride, but it soon evolved into a roller-coaster ride. Numerous rumours and controversies exist over this ride, due to the inordinate build time, and the question of whether or not it is an appropriate attraction.[1] As of 2010 this ride has been under construction for 26 years and has not yet been opened for the public. No target opening schedule has been provided by the ride's owners.
In 2000, Scenic World installed the Sceniscender, now called Scenic Cableway, an 84 passenger cable car from Doppelmayr that passess over a 25 meter high tower on the edge of the cliff, and then 510 metres to the Valley Station in the Jamison Valley 200m below.
[edit] Restaurants and shops
In addition to the Revolving Restaurant, there's a Cafe with outdoor seating, an outdoor barbecue selling coffees and steak on nice weekend days and a Kiosk for takeway food items.
There is also the largest souvenir shop in Australia.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 1
[edit] Further reading
- Shale Tramways of Katoomba Luxton, John R. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, January 1962
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Katoomba Scenic World |
- Blue Mountains virtual video tour. including aerial footage over scenic world
- Scenic World website
Coordinates: 33°43′43″S 150°18′04″E / 33.7285°S 150.3010°E
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