hillflyer

Maybe it was a discouraging news report I heard on TV about the coaster because on one rainy day in March 1978, I did something I’d never done before. I ditched school so that I could take the bus to Belmont Park and take some pictures of the roller coaster while I could. When I arrived, I was heart-wretched when I saw all the rides gone. Only the roller coaster, former roller skating rink, the Plunge indoor swimming pool and a few colorful vestiges remained. I watched workmen demolishing the Enchantedland section of the park for a while, with a guard dog standing watch at the gate. Using my pocket instamatic, I took a series of photos from end to end of the coaster making a panoramic view when taped together. With only a few amateur photos, I remember thinking they would be a good enough reference to see if I really could build a model of the coaster for historical posterity. This is also when I learned the roller coaster had a name, Earthquake, as it was painted in big bold letters on the station's billboard. My first day of summer break and it was a gorgeous June day. I - now brandishing a new driver’s license, drove my Dad’s Cadillac down to Mission Beach and look more at the Earthquake. Here is when I first gained illegal access to the roller coaster property. Once through a hole in the wooden fence, I found myself in a forest of 6” x 6” weathered posts all around me with 2”x6” boards going every which way. I was so overwhelmed with emotion I had NO idea where to begin exploring. I thought maybe I should start at the beginning so with a camera, tape measure, a scale ruler, and some vellum paper to sketch notes on, I headed for the station house. Below are the photos I took the first day I stepped foot inside. 1) The outside of the faded station house. 2) At one time this was one of many free entrances into the park. Once the POP policy was adopted in 1971, a fence with one entrance gate went up all around the park. 3) Inside the station house. The 50's added drop celing towards the front became home for half the world's pigeon population. 4) Looking at the back of the station. The queue rails over on the left were also part of the 50's renovation. 1) Inside the North turnaround looking south. That is the tunnel in the middle with the brake tunnel up on the right. 4) The last photo shows the wooden fence that went up around the coaster some time in the 50's. Belmont Park and its closed front gates.

Inspiration I wasn’t shattered when I heard of Belmont Park’s closure in November of 1976. Nobody was really clear as to whether or not it was going to ever open again so I remained optimistic. It wasn’t until the late spring of 1977 when I learned the closure was permanent. I didn’t think much about it for there were many other diversions that were holding my attention. Model building has always been a passion of mine. In high school I was taking drafting classes and I wanted to work in Hollywood making miniatures. Roller coasters were stored on my shelf at the time I was building a model of Hollywood’s iconic Capitol Records building when I discovered Gary Kyriazi’s book, The Great American Amusement Park. Suddenly I had school trips to Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm coming up and I was really excited about a summer trip to Magic Mountain. My high school band played at a competition parade in Long Beach and the awards ceremony was at the arena there. I had NO idea there was an amusement park right next door - The Pike. I was so excited about roller coasters that I began designing what was to be an operational model of the Revolution, but I never got beyond making the train. And let’s not forget that summer’s release of Universal Studio’s thriller, Rollercoaster! My rekindled love for roller coasters went over the top at this point, so much so that in photographs, I tried to reenact the opening scene from the movie (out take in lower right corner). After weeks of grueling yard work, I earned my second visit to (pre-Six Flags) Magic Mountain on June 30th, 1977. As we entered the park I saw, on the main plaza, an astonishing scale model of their next upcoming attraction, Colossus! The sign boasted this would be the largest twin racing coaster in the world. The model fascinated me as well as the ride stats so getting to ride this was all I could think about for one entire year. Here is a picture I took the moment I thought, “Forget building the Revolution, I want to build a model of the Belmont Park coaster!” A 1/8th scale of the newly introduced Colossus. By Tim Cole - 1977 The top two are my first attempt at making a roller coaster train (Magic Mountain's Revolution). It rolled pretty good! BL: Models I built in high school including Hollywood's Capitol Records tower that functioned as storage for cassettes, 45's and LPs. BR: The only photo I can find of my "Rollercoaster" opening sequence in photos. By Tim Cole (1978) My High School Drafting Class. My desk is in the forefront.

Belmont Memorys I rode about 5 or 6 flat rides before I mustered up the courage to ride the roller coaster. I remember clearly, being very nervous when we ran up the station house ramp and then very VERY nervous when I slid into my well-cushioned seat and saw there was only a fixed grab bar and no seatbelt! I remember the first time I rode it (with classmate Michael Wong) and how I bonked the left side of my head against the high rounded handle bars attached to the sides of the car as we went over the top. It was a rough and tumble kind of ride, I never got up the courage to ride in the front seat of the open front car, but I did get as close as the second. Other than an involuntary symptom of puberty, the Belmont roller coaster was my first woodie. I believe I rode it 5 times that first day. Have you ever had post-park letdown the day after a park outing? Oh, I hated it. Even though the park was 15.2 miles north from our apartment, it seemed worlds away because of strict parents who worried too much about their only child going anywhere on his own. Since that trip to Belmont, I channeled my coaster frustration using my HO-scale train set to make this Mad Mouse-type coaster. It was a rainy afternoon while the radio played the newly-released “Philadelphia Freedom” by Elton John. I just remember that, I don’t know why. The parents always showed little to no interest in wasteful things like carnivals and parks so it took a good amount of pleading to get them to take me to Belmont Park for my 15th birthday. So we and some friends of the family took a three-hour visit to the park where I remember riding the coaster multiple times in a row. Still never did get the courage to ride in the front. That October 4th of 1975 would be my final day at Belmont Park which had become my favorite spot on earth, even more so than Disneyland. One of 9 coaches from the coaster train. Note the fixed lap bar and the ball in the front that hitched to the socket under the seat. Taken in 1976. 1 - looking east toward the entrance. 2- looking north west towards the entrance. 3 - looking north up the midway, roller coaster is at far end. 4 - looking northwest towards the coaster. 5- Looking south down the midway. Note the station house is red white and blue for the bicentennial. Taken around the time I first visted Belmont Park in 1975. Note the Orange, purple, and mustard yellow colors of the station house.

I went back through the spiral and marked connections that needed to be re-glued. (see previous page) The repairs process has turned in to another phase of the project. sigh Now before I just go back and start re-gluing all the broken joints I thought it best to first realign the shape of the whole structure, making sure everything was straight is straight and everything round - round. I placed three rows of chop sticks and sturdy plastic beams on the side of the rise to the spiral to soldier-up all the bents. The top rim of the spiral was starting to widen out somehow so I used string, tape and a right angle to sort of squeeze it back together. That was NOT as easy to do as it sounds! Since the track ultimately has to fit across all the ledger boards just right, I thought it to be an important component of the repair process. The attentive follower will remember that the track was made so that it could be removed from the structure (for painting & detailing) so for now, tied the incomplete track down to the ledgers. This was also helpful in righting the rouge posts. I'm using chop sticks to soldier-up wavering bents. Note crooked bent that needs to be lined up straight with the upper right chop. You can barely see the right angle I'm using to help straighten up the spriral. I made plastic struts to encourage rouge posts back in to the footprint. Squaring it all before re-gluing snapped joints.

FOREWARD – by Tim Cole I'm not sure if my family’s 9-year absence from San Diego makes me a TOTAL native although I was born here. My Dad was in the Navy and I was 5 when we moved to the bland lifeless mountains of Adak, Alaska. For the latter five, we lived in Honolulu, Hawaii where my love for carnival rides began to germinate. The first coaster I ever rode was a Mad Mouse in 1973 at the 50th State Fair. My love for roller coasters really started when I saw the Brady Bunch kids riding the Racer at King’s Island on the “Cincinnati Kids” episode of the Brady Bunch in 1973. I was 13 when we returned to San Diego on May 15, 1974. By the time we arrived back in California, I had already developed quite an appetite for carnival rides and the new ones that were introduced to me over-filled my stomach, pardon the pun. There was the Turbo, the Toboggan, the Zipper, and the Sky Diver all at a small carnival in an empty lot in Chula Vista. Then I went and peeked under the canvas tents to see the poor abnormally-formed livestock. Roller coasters were my favorite and I got to enjoy Disneyland’s Matterhorn and the Del Mar Fair’s High Miler before cutting my tooth on a wood coaster. My first trip to Belmont Park was on May 10th, 1975 while on a school field trip. We departed from Chula Vista Jr. High at 11am late one foggy morning. As we crested the bridge over the San Diego river, I caught my first glimpse of the roller coaster, looming afar like a dinosaur through the marine layer. There were not yet trees in the surrounding Mission Bay Park, so I could not take my eyes off if it as the bus pulled up to the parking space. Taken in the mid 50's The Belmont sign was placed there in 1954 after the park changed over from Mission Beach Amusement Center. Note the light standards holding the lights high above the tracks. Mid 60's - the light standards were taken down with bulbs being relocated to just below the handrail. Watch for the Prior and Church coaster train!

Giant Dipper under construction circa June 1925. Photo courtesy of San Diego Historical Society

HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY OF THE HISTORIC GIANT DIPPER REOPENING! (8/11/1990 - 8/11/2015)! All ACE members, watch for the summer issue of Roller Coaster! magazine. The San Diego Mission Beach roller coaster had one close brush with the wrecking ball after another since it the park went into decline as early as the 40's. My cover story will feature an article about the trials and tribulations and eventual success of the Save the Coaster Committee and our efforts keeping the Giant Dipper guarded from one wrecking ball after another. Here is a much longer and detailed version (I still need to finish): Hi Everyone, Tim Cole reminiscing... For those of you who are a little behind on your roller coaster history, let me tell you about a 1925- built Prior and Church roller coaster located in Mission Beach, San Diego, California. The 70’ tall all-wooden seaside attraction, originally named “The Giant Dipper” opened on July 4th, 1925 as part of the new Mission Beach Amusement Center. Between 1925 and 1976, there was a steady rotation of owners and operators of the amusement area and surrounding facilities. The condition of the park over the decades went back and forth, from being freshly rehabilitated to showing signs of neglect. A fatal fire caused the coaster to shut down for 2 years in the 50’s and it was almost demolished. Late in the 60’s the coaster was condemned for six weeks in the middle of the summer until sufficient repairs were made to some sagging trusses. In November of 1976, Belmont Park (as it was renamed in the 50’s) closed its gates due to too much costly upkeep required by the city to keep the park profitable. The park closed and the rides and attractions where sold or demolished within a year. The coaster was actually slated for demolition in 1980 and was on its way to getting the final permit when at the 11th hour, a viable interest was proposed that would keep the coaster around for a while longer. Soon after, a community group called “The Save the Coaster Committee” was formed for the purpose of restoring this ride. I was a member of that group. On August 11th, 1990, the Giant Dipper opened to the public resulting in quite an interesting preservation story. This photo journal will take you through a brief history of the coaster with most photos taken by me during the Save the Coaster years. After all, what good are they sitting in a shoe-box? Keep checking back every so often for additions to this crazy, dramatic story. Feel free to comment or ask questions, it's all part of the process. I hope you enjoy strolling down the memory midway with me...holding hands. ~Tim Cole~

How could I have forgotten to put up a pic of this little detail - the gold diamond plate!

A little departure from the subject... Since my favorite wood coaster is the Voyage at Holiday World in Santa Claus Indiana, I thought my PTCruiser should pay tribute by sporting the colors.

After a recent trip to Los Angeles, I'm beginning to think of ways to transport the completed project. It won't be long before I have to decide because the plan involves breaking the coaster into three sections.

AIRPLANE SCANDAL!! ROLLER COASTER CONDEMNED BEFORE COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION! San Diego~ A quality control inspector for the R.A.M.D. board has ceased construction of the long-anticipated Airplane roller coaster model and its property has been condemned until necessary repairs are made. "A careful review of joint connections has found a shocking number of joints that have come unglued while in the construction process", says director of the project Tim Cole. "The structure can take a good beating even during its own construction", said Cole, a 53 year old American Coaster Enthusiasts Member (since 1982). "I knew I was going to have to go back through and check for loosened connections, but I sure didn't expect so many to have come unglued!" Unfortunately for Cole, the only poking and probing he's been involved in lately, has been testing each joint for security. Red tape markers are now being placed on areas that will need some re-gluing and probably some reinforcing. As of the taking of these photos, about 65% of this section has been checked and marked. The pull-out of the spiral has been added upon with new plastic strip tracking. The upper deck - the trains would be heading towards the camera after having left the mid-course brake. The bottom deck - the pull out of the spiral.

The fastest project to come together is the lift hill track. The sticks I will use to make one 70' rail. Both rails are done. Pictured is 210 feet of track. Now to connect the ties. Ties are added... Track only temporarily placed on the lift because I just couldn't wait to see what it would look like I guess what it would look like as you begin to climb the lift (yes I know it's tilted

Love the coaster and I LOVE the drive-in! I've always wanted to make a scale model Drive In, but a themed one that also serves as a putt putt and family fun center. The screen would be between to launch pads and star-shaped speakers that hang in the window. The concession stand would be in a big spacecraft and the dome on top would be where the projector is. Then there's one with a desert theme...I had forgotten all about those until I saw your pics!

I managed to complete sub-tracking the spiral thus closing the gap that's been gnawing at me. The undershot shows the sub-track lamination.

Thanks, Hopefully it will be done by IAAPA.

I thought it would be easier to resume laying sub-tack from the bottom up. (boing). I didn't leave much wiggle room to splice into the existing track so it was really hard to separate the layers. But eventually I did and was able to make two pretty good slices. I was able to merge into the two ends seamlessly! Much to my delight it was very easy. I was finally able to start merging the boards of the new sub-track in to the older. The blending of the two ends turned out almost seamlessly. I think that if the Airplane had never existed, we would never know that an all-wood coaster could do a stunt like this.

Hi everyone~ I'm back working on tracking the spiral. It takes a good savings of patience s every time I lay subtrack. It also takes a lot of patience to put the ties on exactly right or they can start looking slanted - there is an optical illusion where it looks right from one angle, but lopsided from another. Adjusting that all while trying to keep an exact 3' center distance between the ties was a bitch. So I came up with the following solution. I make a centipede of 2x8 6' long ties glued temporarily to a 2x2 spine - spaced 3' apart on center. This is the subtrack on which the ties will be placed. I think I'm getting better at the laminating. I've noticed on PTC, Allen, Dunn et. al. the ties are always on the bottom. Church's twisters required more of a spring acting subtrack. Same section of track with the spine of ties added. It's SO much easier. Weeee, I'm not far from finally closing up this gap! Within the frayed mess of track sticks from where I left off, I have to start weaving in new layers. So I spread apart the rails and separated the layers. Hmm, first merge encouraging. Next I place on the next layer using three 4x4's as a substitute for 12 2x2s. I'm out of sticks I need to make the next layer, so watch out soon,

Thanks. There are certain things in life that I am really very impatient.

This shows how I transferred a sliver of structure from one section to another for the purpose of building accessibility. The area I've been working on is circled in red. My goal is to construct the track (blue line). This is how the train would approach the merge into the underpart of the highest part of the lift hill A view looking the other way. This lower run of bents were easier build by first making it as part of the lift hill structure. But trying to merge the track would have been difficult to manage due to accessibility issues. So after I merge the lower run in to the lift hill, I strategically cut out the merged section along with part of the lift hill. And now it's merged with the lower trackage of the bottleneck. The track will be much easier to extend out of the this tight area. When that is done, I'll be able to place the lift hill back on top. A higher view of this area.

Carving in to the lift hill to create a path for some lower trackage that needs to barrel through there, Photo 1) Before the carving. This would be the POV from the front seat towards its destination. Photo 2 & 3) Carved. Photo 4 & 5) The structure for the lower trackage. Photo 6). The structure for the lower trackage merged in with the lift hill. (It is just set in there, its not affixed yet.)

Secret: I'm using actual tar to gob on the structure where you might find grease, in this case, the area around the pull chain. Not gonna say where the tar comes from...but I've been doing a lot of smiling lately!

Construction of the lift hill continues. Just a series of shots of it in place. Up and over then swish! Squint hard and you can see me sittin' at the top of the lift.

The lift hill rises! The highest point pictured here, will be very tippy top of the coaster.

Looks like this would be a mishmash of total fun. The taller bundle o' bents leaning towards the left make up what will be the top crest over the lift hill. This is also the very first photo I've downloaded on my new laptop! Happy New Year Everybody! Tim Cole

So what's in the bag? My cheap Target backpack has been faithful to me since 1988. It's had several purposes over the years, now it serves as my portable tool bag for my model. Let's take a peek inside... The Bag All departments removed From L to R, My trash bin for scraps, my sticks from Evergreen Plastics, my tool box which features a tin of paints and a box with tweezers, glue, clippers et al, and paint brushes, a black box of clips and clamps, a small "Warheads" tin where I keep track templates and clamps, and then my file folder full of mostly notes and photos. I've finished the subtrack for the drop-curve off the trim brake (upper) and the lower portion of the spiral (bottom). Note the handrails too. The only thing that's keeping me from finishing the upper layers of track is the lack of track pieces, I need more scale 2 x 2s. Santa.....