This was actually the last coaster my Dad rode on... That was in 1980, and it put him off riding any other coaster, ever again!
Corkscrew is an odd one. It's a clone, it's old and it's long past it's sell by date. As a ride, or exemplar, it's nothing special. As the key to unlocking the Theme Park industry though, it probably does deserve that title. I think that without Corkscrew, the Theme Park landscape in the UK would be a much worse place.
Corkscrew showed the UK that you didn't need to be at the seaside to enjoy a fairground. It brought all that into central ground which was accessible as a day trip purely for the rides - the seaside the rides have ALWAYS been an addition to the traditional seaside day out/holiday. It created an entirely new industry in the UK - at a time when you'd have thought this kind of thing was long dead.
For the previous 20 years, the seaside amusement park industry had died on it's feet. Blackpool was investing though and seeing some returns, and I think John Broom recognised this, and took as bold a step as Geoffery Thompson did at Blackpool. They invested heavily into a dead industry and created something new. Certainly the next fifteen years saw a superb rivalry between Alton and Blackpool, which led to the bouyant industry we had in the 90's.
Corkscrew was certainly the catalyst to all of this, in it's location at Alton Towers - it wouldn't have worked anywhere else in the country (remember, another Vekoma Corkscrew also opened in the UK in 1980).
So as a pivotal, key piece in the development of the UK park industry, it deserves a special place.
However, as a ride, and a piece of actual history - with archeological interest let's say - it's worthless today. There are still Vekoma Corkscrew clones remaining (even in the UK) - even if there weren't, it's not important as it's part of a machine built, assembly line manufacture. Okay, so is a Model-T Ford, and it's nice enthusiasts restore them and run them so we can view a piece of automotive history. The Corkscrew is just like that, it's an object rather than a structure. I know I fought to save the Cyclone, but it was the last remaining example of that ride type left in the world, and it was built in-situ, by hand. That made it a designed and architectured structure, rather than a simple object (again, it was a rubbish ride :lol: ).
I hope people can understand it. There is an attachment to the Corkscrew we can all have (in the UK) because of what it did for us within the industry. It's not something which should be forgotten, but it's no reason why the ride should be kept going on and on and on forever, at a massive cost to Alton Towers.
It's a tough call, and 20 years down the line I'd be fighting for Corkscrew to stay. right now though, it really is too young...
