verticalzero

I recently saw on rcdb.com that this coaster is listed as BOTH SBNO and as a past roller coaster. I don't know what to make of this. Has anybody heard if this ride may actually be removed during and/or after this season? I'm well aware of last season's tragic accident at this park, and wonder if there is some type of connection. Feel free to respond.

Sorry, I thought this was recent news, Can this thread be "locked" / "closed".. ADMIN EDIT. Locked. This is why search is your friend, and reading the enitre article is a good idea before posting.

Taken from: http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/05-06/05-30-06/09local.htm One of the developers of the 308-unit condo and apartment complex at the former Lincoln Park, said they are planning to sell commemorative plaques of the amusement park, perhaps early next year. The plaques, which will be about 12 to 18 inches in length, will feature a piece of rail, mounted on the wood from the park's famous Comet roller coaster. Mr. Williams said proceeds from the sale will benefit the Boys Club of New Bedford. He said he thinks the idea will be popular with collectors interested in memorabilia from amusement parks. "I didn't realize there were people interested in Lincoln Park memorabilia," he said. He said he expects the wooden roller coaster, which was built in 1947 at a cost of $80,000, will be demolished in either late fall or early spring. The Comet was designed by Edward Leis and Vernon Keenan of the National Amusement Device Co. If the roller coaster is torn down later this year, the developers will start selling the commemorative plaques the first of the year. The condo-apartment project has the support of the Dartmouth Select Board and recently received a favorable recommendation from the Dartmouth Planning Board. It now goes for approval to the state and then to Dartmouth's spring annual Town Meeting on June 6 at Dartmouth High School. The development calls for 72 condos for people 55 and over, 173 unrestricted condos and 63 apartment units between a free-standing building and units atop a Mashpee Common design commercial strip building abutting State Road. The commercial area will include a restaurant, a bank and pharmacy. Mr. Williams said he marvels at the interest in the former amusement park and the roller coaster. He said every weekend when the weather is warm there are a few people with cameras taking photos of The Comet. He said a Wisconsin group called "Save The Comet," which acquired the old cars from the Lincoln Park roller coaster, visited Dartmouth in hopes of raising money to save The Comet. However, he said, the Wisconsin group felt the old ride was beyond repair. "We made an attempt to preserve it. It just didn't work," Mr. Williams said. He said the names of the streets in the new development will be taken from the old amusement park. For example, he said, one of the roads is Comet Drive. Recent photos of the former roller coaster can be viewed at the development's web site, the villageatlincolnpark.com.

Most of the coaster is still standing, quite amazing considering how long it has been SBNO. Makes you want to borrow a "piece" of track for all times sake. Pic's as from May 08 Station Roof

Great to see everyone having loads of fun in Parc Asterix. I'll be visiting the park next month, the photo's gives me something to chew on. Can't wait to ride Zeus as it's Megaphobia's older brother. If Goudurix is so rough, wonder why the Park can't spend money and have a smoother ride.

I don't know anything about Drag Racing, but thought this is quite sad to hear, my thoughts are with his family and friends: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0MgcKF2ZGSA&feature=related http://youtube.com/watch?v=EJpnGoXARU4&feature=related

Very nice photo's of the once mighty park. Does the Ferris wheel not look straight..

Big Dipper sold for $5000 (subject to the bid being accepted) and is likely to be re-erected, but not as an operating coaster. Raging Wolf Bobs sold for $2500 to the same bidder. Double Loop $25,000 and The Villain $30,000 were won by scrap dealers. Stories here: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2008/06/18/front/796350.txt http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8513965 Slightly different figures quoted here, but a more in depth article http://www.wkyc.com:80/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=91687&catid=3 A sad day for lovers of Geauga Lake. Who know if either of the two coasters sold to the mystery buyer will ever operate again? Five thousand dollars might be all it takes to buy a historic wooden roller coaster -- but that price pales in comparison to the millions it will likely cost to move it. A representative from a hauling company submitted the sole bid Tuesday on the 83-year-old Big Dipper at Geauga Lake amusement park. Officials from Cedar Fair, the park's parent company, have until 5 p.m. today to accept or decline the offer. The bidder, Tom Woosnam of Apex Western Machinery Movers in Akron, made the offer on behalf of someone else and did not elaborate on the coaster's proposed fate. "It will be re-erected, but not as an operating coaster," Woosnam said. Woosnam, whose company specializes in hauling amusement park rides and other equipment, said relocating and reconstructing a coaster of that size could take at least a year with the foundation work involved. He couldn't speculate on reconstruction costs but said it was safe to say it would be a multi-million dollar project. Other rides and memorabilia, ranging from signs and restaurant buildings to water slides and ferry boats, were also sold in the auction conducted by the Michigan-based Norton Auctioneers. Compared to the wooden coaster, two steel coasters attracted much higher bids for their value in metal. The Double Loop coaster went for $25,000, and the Villain went for $30,000 -- both to scrap dealers. Rick Davis, a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts who attended the auction, said he was sad to see them go. "We had one of our members crying because she loved the Villain so much," the Vienna, Ohio, resident said. For some in the amusement industry, the auction was a chance to browse through a selection of unique rides and restock their parks with necessities, such as overhead doors and trash cans. "We consider the needs of our park, the condition of the items, age and how much work it'll take to get them into tip-top shape," said Russell Melton of PARC Management, a company that owns eight theme parks. "So far, everything has been very reasonably priced." Timothy Bragg, who manages a moving company and came to help transport equipment, said he was pleasantly surprised he was able to buy 28 Thunder Alley racing cars for $4,800. "I'll probably keep a few for my grandkids, refurbish the rest and sell them on eBay," he said. "NASCAR fans love this stuff." For others, the auction offered one last chance for photos and seemed to give a sense of closure. Bill Gartroza of Twinsburg said he still recalls his first visit to Geauga Lake as a 10-year-old in 1932. "It has a lot of history," he said. "I just came to see the end of it." Cedar Fair is still reviewing sealed bids for the park's 400-acre property, spokesman Robin Innes said.

The below link inc's a video: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080617.whawthorn18/BNStory/National/home The first drop is the best - or the worst, depending on how you look at it. One of a few remaining wooden roller-coasters still in working order, Vancouver's classic coaster celebrated its 50th anniversary Tuesday. The old-fashioned scream machine reaches speeds of more than 70 kilometres per hour after dipping over its first hill, prompting shrill cries from riders as they plummet down the track and bounce around in their seats. "It's my favourite ride," Ariana Louwe, 16, said after taking a free ride as the Pacific National Exhibition celebrated the anniversary. "The first hill is the best, definitely, it's really fast. It's not so much scary, just exciting." The ride - simply named The Coaster - was built in 1958, and now sees half a million riders each year. It's made from Douglas fir wood and stands 23 metres tall at its highest point. The 90-second ride is mostly powered by gravity. The trains are pulled by a chain on a motor up each slope, allowing momentum to carry forward to the base of the next big climb. As the trains twist through the track, riders are held in only by a lap bar, compared with the seatbelts and snug shoulder restraints on modern-day roller-coasters. And while Vancouver's wooden coaster doesn't go upside-down or travel at the same break-neck speeds as its modern-day steel cousins, riders say it still provides a thrill. "It's got great hills and it's got great curves," said Paul Kool, 47. "Growing up here, I remember wanting to ride it ever since I was not tall enough to ride it." Ulyana Yordan, a 31-year-old Ukrainian currently studying in Vancouver, rode the roller-coaster more than two dozen times Tuesday. "I love it - we don't have such roller-coasters in Ukraine," she said. "I like how you fly around, because in other ones you are fully fixed, you don't feel it as much." The ride was designed by Carl Phare and built by Walker LeRoy. It's now the only standing roller-coaster built and designed by Phare and LeRoy, who are legendary in the coaster world. Phare's daughter, Nina Faley, and granddaughter, Jennifer Juelich, attended the anniversary ceremony. Faley rode her first roller-coaster when she was just two years old, one of Phare's creations at his own amusement park, Seattle's Playland, which closed more than 40 years ago. She said she was happy to see one of his coasters still standing. "I can't tell you how glad I am," said Faley, before taking a ride herself. "And we're really glad that it's going to last another 50 years, hopefully," added Juelich. "Because he might not be here physically, but his spirit is making hundreds of thousands of people really happy." A few years ago, the city talked about relocating the amusement park, leaving some worried that a move could mean the end. American Coaster Enthusiasts, a U.S.-based group devoted to the rides, listed The Coaster as "endangered." But the relocation plans have since fizzled away, and the city's deputy mayor, Suzanne Anton, said it isn't going anywhere. "This historic roller-coaster, with all its creaks and groans and stomach-stopping excitement - it has to stay here for another 50 years," said Anton. Steve Gzesh of American Coaster Enthusiasts said Vancouver's wooden roller-coaster is one of the best in the world. "It doesn't look like much from the street, but let me tell you, it delivers every time you ride it," he said. "One of the things that many coaster enthusiasts really adore is air time, that sensation that you're lifted up out of your seat, and this coaster does it on every single drop. It's just phenomenal."

When the Park has special days like Beastbuzz, i'm sure they allow the "Beast" to become trim-less for the original ride experience to return. The worst waste of track on the ride is the brake run, why does it have to be so long when a couple of hills can take it's place. Most people who ride the beast don't care if it is braked or not, it's just us small percentace who want it un-tamed.. Braked or non-braked the "Beast" is an amazing woodie and we have to thank Kings Island for building such a monster ride.

As this is a fav ride of the club, I was wondering if anyone who lives near the park can try to take pictures of this ride to see what state it is in since being SBNO for nearly 2 years. I hope it can be saved one day as it is the last example of Oscar Bitler..

When you visit a large Theme Park like Disney or Cedar Point, How do you plan your day..? Do you head for the rear of the park and ride the coasterrs before anyone else or start at the front of the park..

In this order is a good start, From mild to scary: Mine Train Corkscrew Spinball Wizzer Air (Be your own Superman) Rita Nemesis Oblivion (Rode this once and nearly black'd out in the tunnel)

I hate needles and could never have anything pierced, I have 1 tatoo on my arm which I nearly passed out while they were filling in the middle park.

Never used Firefox, still on Explorer.. What are the advantages to be on Firefox..?

A few construction pictures, what the trains and seats look like

Leap-the-Dips looks great fun esp as it's so old, there was a simular coaster at Folkstone in England, but the park closed and before anyone could save it, the ride was razed in typical "english" fashion as below. the Runaway Coaster at the former Rotunda Amusement Park, Folkestone, was demolished yesterday. Built in 1922, it was the only remaining side-friction coaster in the UK. Save Dreamland Campaign Leader, Nick Laister, made the following statement last evening: “The ride was earmarked for demolition first thing on Monday. As soon as we found out that demolition was imminent, the Save Dreamland Campaign worked tirelessly over to save the Runaway Coaster, being the only side friction figure eight coaster left in the UK. We contacted the developers of the former Rotunda Park and said that we wanted to move the ride off the site and place it into storage. The developers said they would delay demolition by 48 hours to give us time to confirm to them in writing that we would remove the ride from the site within six weeks. An engineer visited the site and inspected the ride, which was found to be in remarkably good condition, although some wood replacement would have been necessary. We contacted an established ride transportation company and got a quote for dismantling the ride and moving it to storage. We were able to secure financial support for this amount and, on our behalf, our supporter wrote to the developer confirming they would underwrite these costs and the ride would be removed within the required period. Despite confirming receipt of the letter, demolition proceeded today regardless with no explanation. This is disappointing as there are no more traditional side friction coasters left in the UK." You can find pic's of this 1920's coaster below: http://rcdb.com/ig862.htm POV:

http://www.screamscape.com/html/morey_s_piers.htm Current rough GCI plans for the 2010 wooden coaster project at Morey’s Piers. As you can see the left side of the plans shows off where the station, lift hill, first drop and final brake run will be placed, but the rest of the ride (other than the long dark tunnel) will take place at the right side location.

According to the vice president of Norton Auctioneers, Geauga Lake's Big Dipper was offered to the American Coaster Enthusiasts at no cost, but the organization did not accept the offer. The ride will be a part of the auction this coming week. Nine months after parent company Cedar Fair closed it forever, pieces and parts of Geauga Lake amusement park will hit the auction block Tuesday morning. Starting at 11 a.m. Monday morning, you can get your first and, most likely, last look at what you can bid on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday's preview ends at 5 p.m.. There's a $10 admission fee for the preview. Starting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Michigan-based Norton Auctioneers will start auctioning the rides and the ride-related equipment. At 10:30 a.hm. Wednesday, the auction for campground trailers and equipment will wrap up the two-day auction. All items will go to the highest bidder and there will be no minimum bids. Some of the rides up for auction include: the Double Loop coaster; two SkipperLiner paddle wheel boats; the Intamin Space Tower; the Chance Pirate Ship; the Eli Scrambler; the Raging Wolf coaster; the Mack Himalaya; and the Sansel Flume. The Big Dipper? "The Big Dipper has not been sold and will be part of the auction," Norton Vice-President Dense Kinsey told KC.com Friday. "It was made available to the American Coaster Enthusiasts, an association dedicated to roller coasters, a few weeks ago at no cost, other than dismantling, re-locating, and reassembling. They have not accepted that offer," Kinsey added. Removing and reassembling the coaster would be a huge expense, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Geauga Lake fans have been most concerned about two of the Geauga Lake rides in particular, the landmark 1926 Big Dipper roller coaster and the historic carousel. The Big Dipper was subject to the seller's approval and also subject to a possible prior sale before next week's auction. "The carousel that was at Geauga Lake is in storage, will be restored, and placed in another park owned by Cedar Fair," Kinsey said. Cedar Fair owns amusement parks and water parks across the UA.SA. and the world. It owns Cedar Point in Sandusky and closed Geauga Lake amusement park because of declining attendance. Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom that is adjacent to the amusement park was not closed and opened for the season May 24. During next week's auction, a $10 admission fee is in effect for June 16, 17 and 18 for the amusement park, with a separate $10 fee collected each day. You can bid on three, 120-foot greenhouses, 400 assorted picnic tables and 24 12-foot camping cabin trailers, used only in the summer time since 1998. There's also camping equipment, including fire rings, shower stalls, fencing and a wooden bridge. There are even buildings and kiosks up for auction, including food stands and smaller pavilions. Miscellaneous park equipment, some with Geauga Lake logos, will also be auctioned, including Geauga lake signs, light poles, nautical-themed props and Geauga Lake uniforms. -------------------------------------------------------------- If this coaster is so important to save, there should be no "cost" limit to how much a park is prepared to pay to take it down and relocate it elsewhere. I'm sure there will be lots of interest at the auction. I just hope the BD can be given a new "loving" home.. CLP rides should be auctioned off as well, "Blue Streak", "Turtle Bug" and "Devil's Den" maybe saved instead of SBNO for years.

An interview with Werner Stengel who desgined MF, Maverick and 498 other coasters. He is making millions of people scream and screech. Many call him a guru. He is known as the first reference throughout the world for theme park owners when they are planning to have a new rollercoaster ride in their parks. Engineer WERNER STENGEL, who was born in Bochum, is planning and constructing dreams made of steel and wood in his unimposing office in Munich- Forstenried. Up to now Stengel’s engineering company has created more than 500 roller coasters. This implies that almost two-thirds of the big roller coasters on earth had their origin in Werner Stengel’s brains. http://www.freizeitpark-welt.de/index_news.php?id=1484&PHPSESSID=8f5558e584a9e76e4041902f3965f420

Hope you enjoyed your day riding Ravine Flyer 2, it's a coaster I want to go on, but as I live in the UK, I'll have to save loads of money to make that drive from Chicago. One day i'll be back at CP and KI. Sorry to ask you "Big Mike", just out of interest how much money has this trip roughly going to cost you and are you taking a year off work or have you retired...? Keep up the excellent reports..

I visited CP and Kings Island on the 10th and 12th of July in 2000 ( I have not saved enough money to return as i've done other things within the last 8 years of my life, but I will return to CP and KI soon). I found all the Q's at Cedar Point, less than 1 hour and Magnum was a walk-on.. No problems with Q's at Kings Island, had 4 rides on "Beast", the last one was at night, amazing coaster with no lights anywhere..

England are going to have a 4-day Petrol delivery strike starting this Friday, it's going to affect 1 in 10 petrol stations as Diesel has reached £1.30 per litre.

Got a new job, start on Monday 16th June as a 1st line Tech Support Advisor for Fijitsu

Justin Garvanovic wrote: getting stuck is “almost like the holy grail of coaster riding.” He said "Almost getting stuck", I agree a roll-back on TTD or KK beats anything which can happen on a coaster, apart from a wheel coming off.