It’s old – very old. And a nod to Warrington’s rich industrial past.
And now the iconic rail transporter bridge, a towering beacon from a bygone industrial age, is being revealed as ‘The Old Kent Road of Warrington’. This comes four weeks ahead of the brand new official MONOPOLY: Warrington Edition game being released and rolled out by Winning Moves UK, along with global play and entertainment company Hasbro.
It’s the very first of the 22 multi-coloured property squares being announced. The other 21 – along with the train stations and utilities, and Chance and Community Chest cards – will be revealed at the game’s launch on Tuesday 25 October, when the board hits the shops.
The bridge has been ardently championed since last being used in 1975. Warrington even has a very dedicated ‘Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge’ group.
And so successful were they in lobbying MONOPOLY bosses to include the bridge in the game that in true MONOPOLY style they have rolled a double. The bridge will not only be featuring on its very own square... but will star on the customised MONOPOLY money too.
“A huge congratulations to The Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge who launched the most persuasive – and ultimately successful – social media campaign,” says a clearly impressed Jennifer Lau, from the makers of this new unique edition of the world’s most famous board game.
In this edition, all of the famous multi-coloured MONOPOLY property squares, like Mayfair and Park Lane, from the classic MONOPOLY London original are represented by Warrington landmarks and organisations.
News of Warrington landing the honour of its very own customised MONOPOLY game was made earlier this year in February. At the time of the announcement the public were invited to suggest landmarks to feature in the game.
The Mayor of Warrington, Cllr Jean Flaherty, says: “It’s exciting to start to see which locations have been included on the Warrington edition of this iconic game. Margaret and the group have done a fantastic job to ensure the Transporter Bridge has won a coveted place on the board. I can’t wait to find out which other landmarks will join them."
The Old Kent Road square is the lowest ranked space on a MONOPOLY board – but hugely popular to buy as it is the game’s most affordable square.
Ms Lau adds: “We have been wonderfully spoilt for choice putting this game together.” Ms Lau, who is Custom Games Executive at Winning Moves UK – the makers of the board under official license from Hasbro. “Thank you to everyone who sent in suggestions. We are very hopeful the game will hit the spot. It features all of the great and good of Warrington – past, present and future. Old Kent Road is a prized square which is very high cachet as it is so must talked about.
“The Transporter Bridge, we feel, is the perfect fit for this square for several reasons. Firstly it’s ‘old’ – like Old Kent Road - dating back to 1916. It’s from a bygone industrial age which is often associated with a dark colour. Old Kent Road is on a brown square. Also it’s very high cachet. As well as getting its very own high profile square, the Bridge will also feature as a motif on the money.”
Margaret Ingham, Chairman of the Bridge’s campaign group, says: “We are very grateful to the makers of Warrington MONOPOLY for making more people aware of the world's only Rail Transporter Bridge, here in Warrington. It may even further our dream of getting it restored to be a special tourist attraction for our town."
Over the last 25 years, Winning Moves UK and Hasbro have produced official versions of MONOPOLY in places all over the world from Dubai to Sydney. Now the MONOPOLY dice are shortly to roll on Warrington.
The MONOPOLY: Warrington Edition game hits the shops at 10am on Tuesday 25 October and will be available at Waterstones, WHSmith and The Works – as well as extensively online, including on Amazon and Booghe.