I know, the obvious question is: what if you don't brake? For obvious reasons, that's never been tested; all the answers about it were so cautious they didn't work in the video! But in summary, there wouldn't be a disaster: it'd probably cause a bit of whiplash for folks on board, and the ride would need to get thoroughly checked over afterwards.

Tom's journey from being terrified of rollercoasters to becoming a fan of airtime is honestly inspirational

The fact that she's just... standing there. On a rollercoaster. Not strapped in or anything like that. Absolutely insane.

Little does everyone know, Tom achieved something amazing in this video. He managed to find a day where the The Great Scenic Railway isn't closed for maintainance or one of the various other reasons i've been given every time I go.

It’s honestly amazing to me as someone who lives in Melbourne and has been on that coaster that I never really realised that it was so unique in the sense that the rollercoaster could only be stopped/have it’s speed adjusted by someone on the train, rather than a centralised system. Thank you for this insightful video Tom, next trip to Luna Park will be one with new eyes ^^

who else remembers when tom was scared shitless by rollercoasters? now here he is sitting on one as he records a video, without even batting an eye. good job with overcoming your fears, tom

Watching Tom enjoy roller coasters is satisfying knowing how petrified he was of them only a little while ago. Way to go Tom!

Seeing Tom casually riding another rollercoaster honestly makes me so happy

Tom getting over his fear of Rollercoasters and learning to ride a bike have been such simple, yet extremely inspiring videos. Thank you for reminding everyone it's never too late!

From having a mortal fear of roller coasters to going to Australia to go on one, Tom Scott has had quite the character development

Linnanmäki in Helsinki also has one of these old wooden rollercoasters where the brakes are operated manually by a person onboard. When it opened in 1951 it was deemed such a tasking job that they specifically sought out airforce pilots from the military for the position.

Tom is gradually becoming a coaster enthusiast. Welcome to the club, Tom.

"The longer you leave Risk, the more chance it has of occurring" is such a good line.

Look at you, Tom. In less than a year you went from the edge of a panic attack at the thought of riding a roller coaster to this. Be proud of yourself.

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE. i went to luna park in august last year and i referenced your alton towers video to my friends as a reason for why i wasn't as scared of roller coasters as i used to be before we went on the scenic railway and now you've made a video about it! i hope you enjoyed your time there^^ it's a really fun roller coaster.

I do appreciate Tom actually pronouncing Melbourne correctly

If you had no idea Tom was previously afraid of roller coasters, this video would be just as mundane as any of his others (not in a bad way). But with the added experience of us getting to watch Tom OVERCOME his fear of roller coasters in 2022 then making THIS video just makes it more special than most in a way.

The old rollercoaster in the Finnish amusement park, Linnanmäki, also has manual breaks operated by a person. It opened in 1951, so it's quite a bit newer than the one shown in your video, but it wasn't constructed with methods that were modern at the time, so it resembles Luna Park's ride a lot technically. When it opened, it was the biggest rollercoaster in any Nordic country. There have been times when the break operator has made a mistake, and the ride simply stops somewhere where it shouldn't. The ride can get completely stuck, and the people riding simply have to step away and take the stairs. There's a news article about it from July, 2011, and on that article the CEO of the amusement park says it happens once or twice a month. Two accidental deaths have been recorded over the 72 years the rollercoaster has operated (in 1953 and 1985), and both were because of improper use of the safety bar causing both riders to fall on the tracks and getting run over by the ride. The American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) has given the Finnish ride an ACE Coaster Classic status. This title is only given to 9 rollercoasters in Europe and 30 globally. The classic coaster must use traditional lap bars that allow riders to experience so-called airtime, or negative G's (that sensation of floating above the seat!). Individual, ratcheting lap bars do not meet this requirement. Furthermore, the coaster has to be built from wood, it has to allow riders to slide from side-to-side without constraint, it has to allow riders to view the upcoming drops and thrills and the riders have to be able to choose where they sit. Luna Park has 2 classic coasters in there!

Tom went from terrified on the Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers to able to give running commentary while riding a ride with no automatic brakes. It's amazing what one terrified ride on an intense coaster does to people. Same thing happened with me when I went to Blackpool: I entered the park open to only a couple of coasters, left it having rode the lot of them.

Welcome to Melbourne, Australia! I hope you enjoyed your stay! I was surprised to see you pop up in my neck of the woods instead of some far off land. Really have become a global traveller :)

I spent my childhood on this roller coaster. Now, at 31, I still pay it reasonably regular visits. Thank you for another high-quality video!

Wow! Never expected to see my drive to work featured in the background of a Tom Scott video. I drive by Luna park and the roller coaster most days of the week. Glad to see Tom is back in Oz and hope to see many more videos from here. It's a long way to come just to ride a roller coaster.

I have friends I met in 2015 when they visited the United States and in 2018 I was able to go to Australia to visit them. One of the many places they took me to was Luna Park. The park is very small but has a certain charm. I was told of the second oldest roller coaster in the world and had to ride it. It's really tame by most coaster standards, but that isn't really the point. It's a piece of history and it was very surreal riding a coaster built the same year the Titanic sank. Loved every second it. They take your pic on it like most modern parks do and we bought the picture. On our ride in the very front of the train was a newly married couple still in their bride and groom wedding attire. I thought that was cool that I was there on the ride for that as well.

For anyone in the UK, there's a very similar rollercoaster called the Scenic Railway at the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth which has manually-operated brakes.

You really weren’t kidding Tom, you seem to have completely overcome your roller coaster phobia!

It’s cool to see Tom has gotton more comfortable with rollercoasters after his Alton Towers video, this would have never been made a year ago haha

Am I the only one who feels a sense of pride when people like Tom Scott talk about things I have been to and/or are in my region?

There is also a roller coaster that has a person controlling the brake in Pleasure Beach (Great Yarmouth) , England. It’s actually , officially called ‘Roller Coaster’ and opened in 1932. It is one of the only 7 scenic railways still in operation! I didn’t even realise this when I ridden it and was really confused why someone was operating it but now I know why!

Citation Needed viewers will remember roller coasters with brake operators from the Flip Flap Railway episode (from a different Luna Park, for the record) and it's so cool to see that prophecy fulfilled--from Tom himself, who once was terrified of roller coasters, no less! Now we just need a roller coaster constructed from sweets.

The "RUTSCHEBANEN" at Tivoli in Copenhagen is also hand-brake-operated. We are fortunate to live across the street and get to go all the time, sometimes just after dinner, walk over, ride it and go home.

Such a nice and well kept old woodie. I hope they can continue the operation for many more years. Thank you, Scott!

You see, Tom was having difficulties maintaining control on his jetpack flights, so he thought the brake operators on this roller coaster could teach him something about the physics of objects in motion. That's actually what this whole roller coaster arc has been about.

Great video Tom, glad to see you back in Australia, if you ever get the chance you should ensure you check out Ballarat. During the gold rush it became the most preeminent leader in steam engine technology for gold mining and too this day has an industrial gold mine, as well as sovereign hill, a historical recreation of the town at the time, with old mines you can take tours through. Hope you enjoy/enjoyed your time here.

I'm disappointed that the opportunity was missed for Freya to say "I've been operating for 5 or 6 years now, there's been a lot of ups and downs in that time..."

Tom going from pissing-in-pants terrified of rollercoasters to effortlessly making a video while on a 110 year old HAND OPERATED coaster is unironically one of my favourite character arcs. i feel so genuinely giddy and happy looking at him overcome his fears.

as a person who lived in melbourne for quite a few years and had a year pass for that particular luna park, i can say that the rollercoaster is really amazing

0:15 Ah, so Freya's the opposite of a "Hype Operator" then? Loving that Rollercoasters and Australians have been reunited again after just a smidge over 5 years (Citation Needed 7x04, December 14th 2017).

There's one closer to home - Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach has one which opened in 1932 and still operates with a brake operator :)

You handled that rollercoaster so much more casually than I ever could. Maybe next time you’ll need to stand up and control the brake? 🫣 I hope you enjoyed your time in Melbourne! 🇦🇺

Someday the world is going to be so grateful that Tom made all these time capsules of things long gone. Thanks Tom!

If you're based in the UK, there's a rollercoaster with the same manual brake design at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach! It's great fun!

lad went from "deathly afraid of roller-coasters" to "vlogging while riding a roller-coaster". love to see it!

hearing Tom use thoosie words like “airtime” and referring to rollercoasters as simply “coasters” brings nothing but joy to my little nerdy heart

Great video, but more importantly, great to see you enjoying yourself on a rollercoaster. Well done Tom :)

It’s great to see you’ve truly conquer your fear of roller coasters 👍

We'll that took a quick turn from "afraid of rollercoasters" to "sitting in a manually controlled coaster"

Was not expecting to see the Scenic Railway on the feed this morning - it is terrifyingly bumpy, and feels like it gets air at times. A unique rollercoaster experience!

Glad to have you in Australia, hope you enjoy(ed) your visit.

Seeing the happiness in Tom's eyes when he rides is simply heart warming.

I love the character arc of Tom going from being terrified of Rollercoasters to actually enjoying them. Also that's so cool that they're preserving such an old coaster.

I love that you are genuinely having fun on rollercoasters now, it's so cool to see the comparison between before and after you got over the fear... Well done Tom!

great video!, i always love the insightful interviews

"The longer you leave risk, the more chance it's got of occuring," wise words.

The old rollercaster from 1914 at Tivoli in Copenhagen is built the same way, with manual brakes and brake men/women riding along. It's just a bit smaller than this. Generally it's believed the trains and the coaster structure itself will break if they go too fast, so the brakers are very thoroughly trained. At our version they will also run when it rains or sometimes even snows, of course within the safety limits, but since it's Denmark rain and wind is difficult to avoid. They will typically also let the train go faster if it's full of young people and brake more if it's an elderly crowd, so you will usually never get the same kind of ride twice in a row. Tivoli's coaster is also protected, so it has to be preserved the way it is as much as possible, as there are not even a handful left of these old coaster, and this means the brake system will never be changed, but has been renovated a few times as the brakes, wheels, and tracks do wear out

thrilled to see you in Australia! hope you had a blast!

Love to see you having a good time on the roller coaster!

I love seeing how much you’re enjoying this ride considering how fearful you were. Glad you’ve come to enjoy a good roller coaster.

Melbourne! You do get around Tom! Another highly educational video, I didn't know such rides existed ever; never mind now.

Thanks Skip! Great to have you come through Australia! Looking forward to a few more Aussie stories and tales!

Awesome to see you here in Australia Tom! Glad to see you enjoying the sights of Melbourne.

Tom having a great time on a manually operated rollercoaster is the follow-up I didn't expect but I'm glad we got.

Seeing Tom go from being scared of coasters to becoming an enthusiast was great! 👍

Great video mate!!!

This so cool. Thank you Tom, I can always trust you to find cook and interesting facts AND make em sound great. That looks like a lot of fun to ride

I remember the citation needed episode talking about the brakeman on an old roler coaster and now tom has experienced it himself

The Scenic Railway at Margate's Dreamland is also a manual break rollercoaster still running today, would recommend it to anyone who fancies a trip to the British seaside!

Welcome to my home town Tom, it's called Marvellous Melbourne for a reason, and this is one of them. I hope you enjoyed your visit. As it's next to St. Kilda Beach it can often be very windy. I'm not surprised it doesn't run during high winds. Very informative, even for a local.

Enjoy your time in Australia Tom! I can’t wait to see where else you visit

1:11 bro said airtime, he has changed since nemesis

I love to see your new found love of rollercoasters. Very wholesome Tom!

it brings me so much happiness to see you enjoying rollercoasters. your rollercaoster video on Tom Scott plus genuinely made me emotional

Great to see Tom in Australia... looking forward to seeing what unique things he can find here.

So nice to see the development from being afraid of rollercoasters to getting over the fear and riding them again.

It delights me to see that you were finally able to cover this highly interesting subject (coming from a rollercoaster enthousiast), after having beaten your fear of rollercoasters. And airtime is indeed one of the best rollercoaster feelings you can experience! :)

I love seeing these roller coaster videos. I’d love to see Tom go around to different parks and review different coasters!

I am loving the look of joy on your face as you ride this coaster.

So good to see Tom casually riding roller coasters!

I remember going here in 2009 with some mates for a birthday outing, we picked a school day so it wasn't too crowded. Anyway, us three and brake operator were the only ones on the carriage (which would otherwise be chockers on a weekend) and because it was underweight (we were skinny 13 year olds) the carriage lost momentum on one of the long flat sections at the top of the ride. We came to a complete stand still and got to enjoy the views, act as perches and indeed toilets for a flock of seagulls, all while waiting for what felt like a long time for someone to climb the tracks and gives us a push from behind. Perhaps it was a different carriage to the one Tom's on, which seemed to work fine with the weight of just him and the operator. All in all a fond memory nonetheless.

I've been on the scenic railway, once. I hated it, but I hate most rollercoasters. it's definitely iconic and I'm delighted tom came down here to see it

Another great video Tom & Team

so glad to see Tom going on a rollercoaster after he beat his fear on Tom Scott Plus. Absolutely amazing.

We have one if these in linnanmäki in helsinki. It is fully wood construction and tar is regularly applied to the beams to make them last for over 70 years now

nice to see you down under tom, I have really been enjoying your videos since i found them and even got mum involved in watching them

Hello from Melbourne! I can't believe we had Tom Scott in our city, what a privilege! :D

Good job going on a coaster, Tom! You've really shown that fear who's boss!

In case you're curious, the oldest operating roller coaster in the world is "Leap the Dips" at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA. It was restored to operating order by roller coaster enthusiasts. It wasn't operating the day I went to ride it last summer but I hope to be able to someday.

That was a good video, cheers Tom 👍

On the bucket list for sure!!

So glad others are remembering the scenic railway at Dreamland, Margate. Even if its not as old as most of it got burned down in a fire years ago. So happy it got restorated. Hope to visit soon. Im 38 now but my family went to Margate every year from wben i was 7 to when I was 15. Loads of happy memories there.

There is also a roller coaster like this on the Norfolk Coast in Great Yarmouth, where the roller coaster has been open since 1932. It is great fun becuase when my dad was younger and at school he used to spend his evenings and weekends working on it, so when I was born he then took me on it a few times with him doing the brakes.

Love that you've finally made it to my home town.

To see and hear Tom enjoy himself on a rollercoaster, did bring a happy smile to my face

In Finland, Helsinki, there is another wooden one and manual like this

The fact that 5 years go this was covered on citation needed, which is now an actual video by Tom amazes me

Seeing Tom now love rollercoasters warms my heart.

It's great to see you've made it to Melbourne.

This brings me back to citation needed, that one episode about the runaway train

I see you're doing very well getting over your roller coaster fear, tom!

Hey that's cool seeing Tom out in my city :) been on this coaster *many* times throughout my childhood, always lots of fun! Also very proud seeing you have fun on a rollercoaster, Tom

You seem over your fear of roller coasters now! Mostly loving it!