In 2023 me, Rob Fenton and Tom Addis from Buzz Murals were commissioned to create the world's first hand painted artwork on a rollercoaster track. Not just any rollercoaster either, the world famous Nemesis at our local infamous theme park, Alton Towers. Of course, being Stokie's we were very aware of the international profile of the Nemesis and so we jumped at the chance. We're excited to finally be able to share this project after a year of operating in secrecy.
Nemesis Reborn is a re launch of the iconic world's first inverted rollercoaster, 30 years after its original inception. For the new theming, we had the immense challenge of painting the Nemesis' veins sprawling along all 53 pieces of 10 meter long track sections. We painting each piece of track one by one, at an undisclosed MOD site, where we worked in secrecy for months. We painted the artwork on each side of the track for the entire length, including around the iconic loop.
As this kind of hand painted artwork has never before been done directly onto the track of a rollercoaster, we had no blueprint for this project and therefore lots of working out to do. At our undisclosed workshop location, we used whiteboards, rollercoaster maps, computers and ipad's to help us figure out where exactly the veins needed to be on each piece of the track. To see them all link up and flow seamlessly once the track was put together was a great feeling of achievement.
We had to add the finishing touches on site at Alton Towers, as the roller-coaster track was being put together with cranes. We painted the entire lift hill on site, which at the top is 30 meters high, the highest point of the rollercoaster. We worked overlooking the entire track and could see all our work piecing together. To now see it finished and all our painted veins linking up perfectly and interweaving around a Mile long steel monster of a rollercoaster is amazing.
In celebration of this monumental project we were invited to a private launch party for the opening of the Nemesis at the Alton Towers Resort where we got to ride the brand new roller coaster before it opened to the public the next day. Seeing our work emerge from red smoke at night with the sound of the roller coaster racing around the track and people screaming was very eerie.
We are blown away by the finished Rollercoaster and truly proud to have been involved in such a project.