Having experienced severe flooding in our seaside arcades at Towyn in 1990 I would sympathise with you greatly
Home arcades and garage dwellers with odd machines could be feeling very low this week if their cherished games have been underwater from the storm deluge across the midlands and other low lying areas near river flood zones. Let’s hear your woes and here is what we had to do prior to scrapping hundreds of 70s/80s woody fruits and video cabs . Chipboard cabs were very vulnerable to permanent damage as it swelled up and virtually fell to bits within a week or two.
Don’t be disheartened as several survived with tlc and rapid attempts to dry them out. However a lot were also sacrificed and totally written off that day when the tide came in on the last day of February just as we prepared to open for the season.
During the night the excessive high sea tide breached the sea wall at Towyn completely washing away the entire fun fair at Knightleys. Waltzer cars were found in gardens half a mile inland and caravans were snatched from their bases and crushed up in piles against the next solid structures - the arcades and shops of sandbank road
Debris from homes and gardens spread across about 5 square miles , so needless to say the arcades were under about 3ft of sandy sea water (like muddy river bursts) for several days or longer in places.
Having access to a jcb digger we were allowed to get to properties but you couldn’t see the kerbs or road centre islands were people cross over in summer..
One arcade in sandbank road was 100% lost woody fruits and pool tables just collapsed by time we entered a week or so later the only survivors were a metal dock crane and some beaver vends on stands but the sludge stank awful and trying to rescue coins left in some cash -boxes over winter made us heave as they remains full of sandy sea water and a hammer was the only way in due to door being too swollen to release with a key .
I do recall all our pinballs were lucky to be on metal legs and only one got wet internally but no permanent damage beyond slight stains to the side art,.
Further from the main flow of the incoming tidal wave more machines survived . The roads were about 2ft deep but inside the arcades the water had only swapped under doors and shutter which partly sealed themselves up with muddy stinky sand so only about 9” to 1ft deep inside - till were opened the door to get in!
We decided to just tip many of the 2 p fruits on their side and lift the better stuff on to them where possible , a hectic few hours.
I have seen myself on a newsreel film ‘the day the tide came in’ on google posted archive footage in 2014 you can look back at - 8 minutes in I am in a jcb driven by my associate partner Colin and property of Palins holiday camp .. a bit later it can be seen parkeked at the caravan park entrance also still under about a ft of water there too the machines got the same treatment and quite a few cleaned up ok as the water was less sludgy but carpets reared and made us heave when lifting them as drains in that area had back flowed up though all the grids and sewage manholes.
The only outcome was eventually many of the chipboard cabs just went in the skips tho some plywood video cabs dried out ok for that summer and maybe the next they had sandy tide marks inside at about an 18” level and metal coin boxes rusted quickly and switch mode power supplies had to be swapped in the bottoms of cabs. Many classic games died and no insurance could be claimed on many as it was not that easy to get any sort of cover for those businesses. So I pity any home collector now in this position today
One long time survivor was Trigger pictured below from Cambria arcade in Gainc lane Towyn we lifted him on to the pooltable as he was with us since the 70s he was loved and Colin already owned him when I met him in 1978 . Made locally by Parker’s Automatics in Rhyl in the late 50s a ruggid kiddie ride but even cleaned and repainted in the early 90s by the year 2000 the plywood succumbed to the sea and began growing fungi inside in damp weather so it retired to my garden.
Here he has stood there patiently dying of old age but he is being given a chance of life this autumn ( love a challenge) . Many of the fibreglass newer rides survived ok as 1990 was a year of hard slog refurbs of them cleaning motors and timers and most lived on as did our Cromptons 1p cake walk pusher for many years we got it on to our 7.5 ton taillift lorry on day two of the flood with many other centre pieces, rides , and cranes. Still almost knee deep in water even the fore mentioned pooltable survived once it got a double leg transplant as they gave way under the weight but plywood body it was good for years after. Sadly it ruined the season in 1990 as many businesses and lots of the caravan camps didn’t re-open while caravans were cleared and replaced and a massive area clean up was under way , not least the repairs and reinforcements to the sea wall with construction traffic , Every winter since then Knightlys have moved the whole fair into winter storage as part of the insurance needs that stuff is expensive to buy !!!
I will try post some refurb on here if Trigger gets reborn but depends on what I can salvage from below the rotting decking as the bearings and motor haven’t moved in almost 25 years ,, ouch !
One lucky survivor tho ‘ my , I think new, warm woollen beige jumper with a dark stripe round , perhaps a Christmas present in 1989 ? Is still ok and I still have it and wear it in winter occasionally , it’s on me in the 1990 video clip riding shotgun in the jcb that following day, soaked up to my knees we smelled awful as we dried out later.
So if you have been unfortunate to suffer a flood or water rise invasion - good luck but acting quickly you could get away with it but stuff on the ground like carpets and spare monitors I wouldn’t give the same outlook …. This is Trigger today crumbling to bits and paint flaking in sunlight but he’s nearly old as me we can try to live on a bit longer we both just need love and tlc ????
Home arcades and garage dwellers with odd machines could be feeling very low this week if their cherished games have been underwater from the storm deluge across the midlands and other low lying areas near river flood zones. Let’s hear your woes and here is what we had to do prior to scrapping hundreds of 70s/80s woody fruits and video cabs . Chipboard cabs were very vulnerable to permanent damage as it swelled up and virtually fell to bits within a week or two.
Don’t be disheartened as several survived with tlc and rapid attempts to dry them out. However a lot were also sacrificed and totally written off that day when the tide came in on the last day of February just as we prepared to open for the season.
During the night the excessive high sea tide breached the sea wall at Towyn completely washing away the entire fun fair at Knightleys. Waltzer cars were found in gardens half a mile inland and caravans were snatched from their bases and crushed up in piles against the next solid structures - the arcades and shops of sandbank road
Debris from homes and gardens spread across about 5 square miles , so needless to say the arcades were under about 3ft of sandy sea water (like muddy river bursts) for several days or longer in places.
Having access to a jcb digger we were allowed to get to properties but you couldn’t see the kerbs or road centre islands were people cross over in summer..
One arcade in sandbank road was 100% lost woody fruits and pool tables just collapsed by time we entered a week or so later the only survivors were a metal dock crane and some beaver vends on stands but the sludge stank awful and trying to rescue coins left in some cash -boxes over winter made us heave as they remains full of sandy sea water and a hammer was the only way in due to door being too swollen to release with a key .
I do recall all our pinballs were lucky to be on metal legs and only one got wet internally but no permanent damage beyond slight stains to the side art,.
Further from the main flow of the incoming tidal wave more machines survived . The roads were about 2ft deep but inside the arcades the water had only swapped under doors and shutter which partly sealed themselves up with muddy stinky sand so only about 9” to 1ft deep inside - till were opened the door to get in!
We decided to just tip many of the 2 p fruits on their side and lift the better stuff on to them where possible , a hectic few hours.
I have seen myself on a newsreel film ‘the day the tide came in’ on google posted archive footage in 2014 you can look back at - 8 minutes in I am in a jcb driven by my associate partner Colin and property of Palins holiday camp .. a bit later it can be seen parkeked at the caravan park entrance also still under about a ft of water there too the machines got the same treatment and quite a few cleaned up ok as the water was less sludgy but carpets reared and made us heave when lifting them as drains in that area had back flowed up though all the grids and sewage manholes.
The only outcome was eventually many of the chipboard cabs just went in the skips tho some plywood video cabs dried out ok for that summer and maybe the next they had sandy tide marks inside at about an 18” level and metal coin boxes rusted quickly and switch mode power supplies had to be swapped in the bottoms of cabs. Many classic games died and no insurance could be claimed on many as it was not that easy to get any sort of cover for those businesses. So I pity any home collector now in this position today
One long time survivor was Trigger pictured below from Cambria arcade in Gainc lane Towyn we lifted him on to the pooltable as he was with us since the 70s he was loved and Colin already owned him when I met him in 1978 . Made locally by Parker’s Automatics in Rhyl in the late 50s a ruggid kiddie ride but even cleaned and repainted in the early 90s by the year 2000 the plywood succumbed to the sea and began growing fungi inside in damp weather so it retired to my garden.
Here he has stood there patiently dying of old age but he is being given a chance of life this autumn ( love a challenge) . Many of the fibreglass newer rides survived ok as 1990 was a year of hard slog refurbs of them cleaning motors and timers and most lived on as did our Cromptons 1p cake walk pusher for many years we got it on to our 7.5 ton taillift lorry on day two of the flood with many other centre pieces, rides , and cranes. Still almost knee deep in water even the fore mentioned pooltable survived once it got a double leg transplant as they gave way under the weight but plywood body it was good for years after. Sadly it ruined the season in 1990 as many businesses and lots of the caravan camps didn’t re-open while caravans were cleared and replaced and a massive area clean up was under way , not least the repairs and reinforcements to the sea wall with construction traffic , Every winter since then Knightlys have moved the whole fair into winter storage as part of the insurance needs that stuff is expensive to buy !!!
I will try post some refurb on here if Trigger gets reborn but depends on what I can salvage from below the rotting decking as the bearings and motor haven’t moved in almost 25 years ,, ouch !
One lucky survivor tho ‘ my , I think new, warm woollen beige jumper with a dark stripe round , perhaps a Christmas present in 1989 ? Is still ok and I still have it and wear it in winter occasionally , it’s on me in the 1990 video clip riding shotgun in the jcb that following day, soaked up to my knees we smelled awful as we dried out later.
So if you have been unfortunate to suffer a flood or water rise invasion - good luck but acting quickly you could get away with it but stuff on the ground like carpets and spare monitors I wouldn’t give the same outlook …. This is Trigger today crumbling to bits and paint flaking in sunlight but he’s nearly old as me we can try to live on a bit longer we both just need love and tlc ????
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