The idea of "rescuing" something is very different from what fiction teaches us. There are no explosions or helicopters to whisk us off a rooftop at the last second… but today's story involves a ship over 60 years old and dozens of arcade machines. In 2012, a group of collectors managed to board this rusty time capsule after months of negotiation, launching what is now known as "Operation Lancaster", the largest collaborative arcade rescue in the United Kingdom.
The TSS Duke of Lancaster
The ship in question is the TSS Duke of Lancaster, a passenger vessel built in 1955 that operated in European seas from 1956 to 1978. In the mid-60s, vehicle ferries gained popularity, so the Duke of Lancaster underwent modifications to carry up to 105 vehicles and offer cabins for 400 passengers.
That service ended in 1975, and the "duke" assumed a new role as a relief vessel on the Holyhead (Wales) – Dún Laoghaire (Ireland) crossing, until its final retirement in November 1978. The TSS Duke of Lancaster had finished its work at sea, but its act as a guardian of arcade machines was about to begin.
The Legal Battle and Abandonment
In August 1979, the ship moved to Llanerch-y-Mor (north Wales) for conversion into "The Fun Ship", a mix of park, shopping center, and hotel. At first everything went wonderfully: it created new jobs and quickly became a tourist attraction to be reckoned with. The problem was that its owners found themselves in a massive legal conflict with the city council. The ship had been deliberately beached to exploit a loophole in the law (the so-called "Shops Act" of 1950) that prohibited shops from opening on Sundays, since vessels were not subject to it.
The council's position was that the ship would destroy local commerce, and it began a systematic process of rejection, denying permits, seals, signatures, and so on. The ship became trapped in a complete "legal war of attrition", and "The Fun Ship" closed its doors... with almost everything inside. In 2009, a member of the urban exploration forum "28dayslater" published this image:
The Rescue Begins
Dozens of machines waiting to be rescued. Oliver Moazzezi, one of the UK's most important arcade collectors, went into action to contact the owner of those arcades. He located him in January 2011, and a month later he was with two colleagues exploring the ship. Rare cabinets, a couple of bootlegs… the place was magical.
However, the magic didn't extend to what the owner wanted for the arcades. There are no more details on that, but I suppose he intended to guarantee his great-grandchildren's retirement with the sale. Eight months of fruitless negotiations, four months of radio silence, and Moazzezi received word that the seller was "consulting prices" in the market. Time, reason, and additional information helped the process.
Both parties reached an agreement, but "Operation Lancaster" wasn't going to start peacefully: Water had entered the ship (threatening to damage several cabinets), they had ten days to remove the machines (scheduled maintenance work allowed not a minute more), and they would need a crane. After all, the only way to get the arcades out "in one piece" was through the main deck.
Operation Lancaster
A total of fifteen collectors and enthusiasts, several vans (own and rented), organized payments (making "Operation Lancaster" a crowdfunding campaign in its own way), and a giant crane revolutionized the small town on February 4, 2012. In total, more than four dozen arcade machines were rescued, including a notable number of pinballs, and several children's games. The complete list can be seen in this image.
According to the subsequent evaluation of the games, none were later than 1981, which explains the presence of titles like Space Invaders and Galaxian. The rarest on the list? Gypsy Juggler by Meadows, Atari Splash, and Exidy Side Trak, to name a few. I imagine several of these machines have already been restored, while others await an economic opportunity from their owners, but the mission was accomplished, and more than thirty years later, they are in good hands.
https://old.neoteo.com/la-era-dorada-de-los-salones-de-arcades-en-fotos/
