THIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARD
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The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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This is the Monorail that appeared in August 1980 about 15 feet in the air on specially constructed pillars along 600 yards of central promenade. It was the middle section of a proposed longer line. The doomed Monorail’s 40-seater trains ran for only six or seven weeks.
This monorail was not a council project, it was a private enterprise venture which backfired. The early 1980s was a period of economic recession; the owner was unable to borrow enough money to continue. He was forced into liquidation with debts of more than £650,000.
In the lower picture the clock tower, which now faces the top of High Street, is shown in its original position a few yards to the northeast and on the promenade walkway – with Punch and Judy standing by.
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SUN 21st FEB 2016 UPDATE: A recent arrival here at Jones Towers is this shot of the Monorail:
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MON 19th NOV 2018 UPDATE: This month the following auction item could be found on Internet. It is a cloth badge, presumably for monorail staff to have on their jackets. The badge does not add much to the sum total of human knowledge but tells us the company's name was Metrim.
I recall Eric Hughes telling me that the man behind this monorail project was somebody involved with Rhyl Amusements Limited, the company that owned Ocean Beach Fun Fair.
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6720. Three additional images added here in June 2020:
1. Monorail and Gaiety Theatre
2. Riding on Monorail
3. Demolition of Monorail
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