Rollite Products Ltd.

[badpenny]

Does anybody know anything about the following company..........

Rollite Products Ltd
Clarence Drive
Filey
Yorks
Phone 2729

I imagine they were manufacturing Electro-Mech amusement machines as late as the seventies.
I've checked Google, Paul Braithwaite and my Argos catalogue but all to no avail.

Looking at Clarence Drive on Gurgle Earth the first few hundred yard has commercial units and the rest of the road looks to comprise of houses and bungalows of the 60/70s.
So over to The Collective please.

[slotalot]

Hi BP.
I have been doing a little digging Re "Rollite".
The only reference I can find, and it may or may not the company you are after, is from the London Gazette July 4th 1958. It lists Rollite Ltd as being dissolved as from this date, no address or details given.
Could your machine be that old??

[badpenny]

I think that must be a coincidence S. I have discovered they went to The Moscow exhibition with Jamiesons ...........

The 1971 Moscow show was arranged jointly by the DTI and Alan Willis (BACTA) and involved companies from the UK including Streets, Cromptons, Mayfield Diamond, Rollites and Jamieson Automatics.

Here's the machine in question with its playfield removed. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what it is?

Luckily it broke down into four different parts which enabled me to get it up my back entry .... oo'er Missus
Send your entries written on the back of a ten bob note to the usual address.

BP

[JC]

So,.................that's two of you who don't read the magazine. I can't remember which issue it was (Stuart, you're in charge of the investigation), but Rolite Products manufactured Moonraker, a large pusher type thingy, at least one of which is known to survive (which can be found at Watermouth Castle).

[andydotp]

Sounds familiar but earlier. We had one in the Rhyl fairground in '81.
Ours was splet differently though
.p

[badpenny]

So is Rollite

[slotalot]

So,.................that's two of you who don't read the magazine. I can't remember which issue it was (Stuart, you're in charge of the investigation),

Yep, I hang my head in shame.
It is indeed mentioned in issue No 33 from March 2009.

Here is a scan of the page from the M.M.Magazine and also a view of how the building looks today

[badpenny]

It is indeed mentioned in issue No 33 from March 2009.

Oh well that explains it. I was still in prison then.

[pennymachines]

A search of this website finds "Rolite fibreglass horse from a kiddie ride" in the Arena

[badpenny]

We can't all be right ...... we can't all be wrong, it's Rollite not Rolite.
Perhaps this is why they went bust, no bugger could remember their name!

Good morning Rollite, how may I help?

Oops, I must have the wrong number I wanted Rolite, sorry to have bothered you CLICK

[badpenny]

I think that must be a coincidence S. I have discovered they went to The Moscow exhibition with Jamiesons ...........

The 1971 Moscow show was arranged jointly by the DTI and Alan Willis (BACTA) and involved companies from the UK including Streets, Cromptons, Mayfield Diamond, Rollites and Jamieson Automatics.

Here's the machine in question with its playfield removed. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what it is?

utf-8BSU1HMDA0MzQtMjAxMzA4MTgtMTcwMS5qcGc.jpg

Luckily it broke down into four different parts which enabled me to get it up my back entry .... oo'er Missus
Send your entries written on the back of a ten bob note to the usual address.

BP

Ok so I didn't get any 10/- notes

Here's a video showing it. It was never intended to go in Sally's house, but my van which was carrying it got towed off the motorway on the way back from collecting it. Consequently it ended up at home instead of in storage.
It's two inches wider than a domestic doorway and even more so on its side .... happy days

However the case is on a plinth and the dome removes so it did go in sideways in three takes plus the motor



It runs very smoothly and is quiet, it's good fun too. Ideal if you have children gullible enough to accept their pocket money in 1,5 & 20np coins.
The original intention was to put it in the November Coventry Auction, but now Sally's got the flavour for it and wants me to make a tabletop to put on it so it can also be used when not being played

[chris roadhog]

Anyone intersted in Rolite machines should get in contact with Simon Rollinson, Bridlington. His step brother who with his dad built all the machines now runs Springfield Motor Homes, Bessingby Industrial Estate, Bridlington. Also, Eric, his dad is still around!

[badpenny]

Thanks Chris ........

Good lead, thanks for that.

BP

[lizb]

I used to work for Rollites in 1970. At that time I was painting horses for fairground rides and also creating clay statues based on The Jungle Book to put into fibre glass production for talking waste paper bins!! I had a studio above the factory floor. A good summer and happy memories.

[treefrog]

Lizb, looks like your post was missed, rarely done. Welcome and good to again hear from someone who worked at an old slot firm. I know little about Rollites, it would be great if you can share more about the types of machines they made or other information

I always think we miss a trick with people who post on here who worked for firms, as they are part of the history, there have been quite a few over the last few years, it would be good to try and gather info into a separate topic for people to post on their experiences at various manufacturers and build up a good history/knowledge base.

[slotalot]

Just for a change I thought I would search about on the internet
I didn't find what I was after
But I did find this
so I copied the photos to post them on here

[badpenny]

Well done S and thanks to lizb for his post.

I remember Moonraker it was most impressive to an eleven year old, taller than me!

You dropped coins onto a lunar landscape which was pockmarked with craters (like my face at the time) The floors of which were spring loaded so when they filled up they'd dump their contents into the payout trays.

I bet no one has one?
I know one of our members has a bit of video .... I think?

[pennymachines]

Our slotty friend's video of the Piccalilli Circus:

[badpenny]

Now this gets confuddling, so bare with me.
The Piccalilli Circus ... I mean Piccadilly ... you've got me at it now, was mine and was made by the same company as Moonraker.

The member who bought it from me who placed that video on also has footage of the Moonraker ... I think.

Which is what we were talking about.

BP

[pennymachines]

Piccalilli Circus

Ha Ha! Good ol' spell checker.
Far as I can see there's no video of Moonraker on youtube, else I would have posted it.