SeaWhippet

Yes, it's true ... I'm all about the history. But every now and then I like to mix it up a bit. So here are a few pics of Kings Island's hot new Diamondback hyper. It's a great ride, which is no big surprise, really. It's B&M (B. was here today to cut the ceremonial ribbon!), and their hypers are always rather impressive. Though Apollo's Chariot remains one of my favs, Diamondback is an incredibly powerful contender. It rides like CW's Behemoth but it's more twisted and secluded. The airtime, especially in the aft sections of the train, is quite impressive. How nice to be yanked over the drops and then float ALL THE WAY DOWN. Wheeeeeeeee I'm looking forward to night rides tomorrow. I imagine they'll be even more intense. Leaping over KI's railroad bridge. This will be DARK during night rides. Is that an inversion? Backseat nirvana! Free-falling! Pure joy!

I'll look around The Closet for a few pics I have. The ride was a large ravine thriller that featured a number of devious elements including plenty of head-choppers (literally!) and a 100-foot double dip that ended up in the bottom of the gully. It was buried in the trees. If you go to Glen Echo today, you can still find concrete footers and follow the path of the ride if you know the layout. I'm off to Kings Island tomorrow for Diamondback's media preview but will look for the pics when I return home.

That's a sweet card! I've always been intrigued by Glen Echo's Coaster Dips. It was notorious for being a wild ride and suffered at least five fatalities during it's long run ... including decapitations. I find it amusing that the Do Not Standup warning is on the "front" of the lead car.

Here's another old ride that deserved a better fate – The Mountain Park Flyer. I was lucky to ride it many times during its last few seasons. It was always fast, loose and entertaining. The Century Flyers made this classic extra special. I miss it too.

One of my rare Idora cards became part of the discussion over at my Closet. I thought I'd share it here as well. Idora fans will notice the white-painted structure instead of the later, more familiar deep yellow/turquoise color scheme. Though its been gone for 20+ years, I still miss the wonderfully intense and powerful Wildcat.

Ok, I agree HRP's new 'name' is a bit less than imaginative. Frankly, I thought it was a horrible mistake/typo ... or possibly a secret Lost-like subliminal encoded message. A quick rearrangement of the letters comes up with: A Perfect Silky Serum or A Priests' Fluky Creme I know, both of those are equally disturbing for a variety of reasons. Especially that last one ...

Glad to see these trains have not been scrapped and may one day be restored. Of course, to have the Wildcat rebuilt with them once more burning up the track would be even better! Someone asked a few pages back about photos of the blue train in operation, I finally found my postcard. Note the structure was white here and not the more familiar deep yellow most people remember in later years.

Not sure what was up with your less-than-comfortable rides on the Joyland coaster. I always found it rather smooth. Of course, I tend to stay away from wheel seats ...

Yeah, I don't know why more weren't produced. AFAIK, the three that went to FPH were the only ones PTC built. NAD played around with the headlight thing (and did a great job with their classy Century Flyers), but that sleek streamlined railroad-inspired rolling stock is my fav.

What???!!! The Puyallup Coaster is a perfect little gem and one of my favorite rides of all time. That thing is a living, breathing piece history. Oh, and those trains ... And though it's near-perfect, it'll be even better once it finishes its upcoming stint in rehab (everyone needs a little love/help sometime ... ).

No, it's just a strange optical illusion.

I was just perusing The Closet's many wonders and thought it was time to share a few tasty nuggets of defunct coaster goodness. So here, in absolutely no particular order, is yet another a grab bag of classic rides from the past. Enjoy! These trains featured a sweet purple-yellow-red color scheme. Too bad they were scrapped. They belong in a museum. These PTC-designed beauties on the Forest Park Highland's Comet are among the most beautiful trains ever produced. Yet another Happyland shot. Another view of Church's Happyland Giant Dipper. Looks a lot like Revere Beach Cyclone ... This Fred Church ride preceded the current Playland Coaster. These trains -- currently in operation on the Coaster at the Puyallup Fairgrounds -- are the last examples of Church's rolling stock in operation today. Joyland's Coaster. This is an excellent ride that deserves to be saved. Riding in these roomy PTC trains with a fixed lap bar is beyond wonderful ... That 'other' Playland up in Vancouver. OK, it's not defunct, but the shot looks nostalgic. Builder Walker LeRoy stands atop his magnificent Coaster. I LOVE this sweet ride! The Playland Rocket (in Texas) before it flew to Pennsylvania to be reborn as Phoenix! Postcard of the Flyer. Hunt's Pier Flyer. I rode this one ... but not when this cool miniature train was there. Long Beach's biggest mistake was removing this monstrous thriller. I wish I'd ridden it.

There are a LOT of painful Vekoma/Arrow coasters out there that would only benefit from these restraints.

One can only guess, Shane. We just saw a nice new privacy fence covering the loading area and lagoon of the old Arrow flume. I guess time will tell re: 2010 ...

Just a got back from the media event for Carowinds' Carolina Cobra, the Vekoma Boomerang relocated from Geauga Lake. Despite dreary overcast skies and eventually rain, the park offerd a nice lunch, band, CC ice sculpture and even live snakes (no Cobra's ... sorry. ). Opening remarks came from Bart Kinzel, Carowinds VP/GM. Dick Kinzel was also in attendance but did not speak. Along with new paint on Borg-Hawk and lots of landscaping, there are BIG things planned for this park in 2010 and the years ahead. And where the old Arrow log flume once was you'll find a nice big construction fence where work is underway on "something"... The new Vekoma trains are major improvement over the standard vehicles. Though the "vest" rests snugly against ones shoulder and chest, there's still a LOT more rider freedom. And there's NO additional seatbelt-thing attaching the restraint to the car body. This "should" speed up cycles as the crew gets used to the ride. Here a few pics I got before the sprinkle became a downpour. Gotta run, we're off to a wet Spring Fling at SFOG! -S Snakey ice sculpture Bart Kinzel

Someone sent that to me a while ago. If you mean the Native American decal/painting on the front looks Pshopped ... I have no idea. I have see other shots of the ride in operation and it also features that graphic.

I'll see what I can find on the lap bar. I'm always happy to inspire self-touching! Sorry to hear some loser cut the brake handles off the Dipper. Nice act of preservation.

No, Arrow did NOT develop the first modern suspended coaster. That honor goes to Germany's Werner Stengel and Messerschmitt. The ride was Alpen-Flug, the first suspended coaster, which operated at Munich's Oktoberfest 1975: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=655778#655778 Sadly, Messerschmitt elected to ignore Stengel's advice to bank the track on the turns. This resulted in that ride and a duplicate under construction to be scrapped. Arrow made the exact same mistake with The Bat. The ride that got it right was BGE's BBW. In an ironic twist of fate, THAT project initially was under the direction of Stengel/Schwarzkopf. Arrow showed up and completed the Wolf when Anton's company encountered ... financial difficulties. Cheers!

Though I was able to walk much of the Chippewa Big Dipper's course when I shot those pics in 1982, the track and uprights were in pretty good shape after all those years of neglect following the park's closure. That white train on the covered transfer was even better preserved. Too bad nobody every snagged those cars for preservation before the vandals had their way with then. Has anyone seen video of that ride in operation? I'd love to check that out. Big Dipper in operation.

Glad to see the lead car is at least under shelter now. Are the wheels still intact? Though it will take some work to restored it, I'd be interested to see once this happens. Also, the next time I speak with Tom Rebbie at PTC, I'll ask if he might have an old lap laying around the shop. Good luck!

On the outside The Closet appears entirely normal, but once you cross the threshold ... well, it's ... vast ...

The last time I rode the Wildcat was in the blue train. This is the only shot I can find of it at the moment (in my collection). Somewhere I have a postcard showing the blue train on white structure. I'll have to dig that one out. Post a pic of your car when you can. Would love to see it. What happened to the other cars in that train as well as the yellow train?

Yeah, guys, I totally agree. Looking through The Closet always is a bit saddening when you consider just how much has been lost to history. I'm just doing my part to keep some of it alive ...

I don't get any actual rides until next weekend when when we check out Carowinds' 'new' Cobra and Spring Fling at SFOG. So, 'til then, here are a few more tasty morsels of wooden coaster goodness ... Hitting the brakes. Those Church skids are massive compared to Miller/PTCs. That's what we're missing. Pretty. ... it ran with its original Fred Church rolling stock. The Dragon died the day those Morgans showed up. Rye Playland's Dragon coaster in 1981 when ... Sexy curves Part 3 -- This is the finale on West View's incomparable Racing Whippet. At this point, the racing trains are completing an S-turn and swooping up out of the ravine and into the brakes. Sexy curves Part 2 Sexy curves part 1 Back turn Dips' first drop. Just think --- these trains had fixed lap bars. Hang on .......!!!! I found a few new (old) shots of the magnificent Dips at West View Park. A train filled with excited riders will never plow down Coaster's brake run. I find these leaf-strewn shots rather sad ... These big 4-bench trains were roomy, airtime machines. Back turn Lost in the forest ... Chippewa Lake's 'Coaster' had been silenced long before I wandered around it with my trusty 110 Instamatic. Top shot is the first drop and long approach tunnel, while below is the quiet station.

The Coney Island Thunderbolt, the Cyclone's older, meaner cousin, was a real challenge to ride during the last years of its long life. I was fortunate to snag a few turbulent circuits during its final season in 1982. Sorry for the quality of the earlier pics, but I was shooting with my Kodak 110 Instamatic Goodbye T'bolt. R.I.P The last time I saw T'bolt was during a cold New York winter in 2000. No rides today. T'bolt's run to the lift is submerged. Steel-tracked Wild Mouse (left) shared T'bolt's lot in the final years. Grrrrrrrrrrrr... Like every plunge on T'bolt, this steep power dive (the second drop) was vicious. With a very thin lap bar that could wiggle loose at any moment, this was one ride where holding on tightly was a very good idea. My skinny butt was nearly wrenched out of the train when we were yanked over the crest. Onboard shot from the back seat. The Parachute tower is dead ahead. Looking up the brake run. That hill on the left is the upside of the double dip. If you look closely, there was a secondary chain lift to assist trains up and over. Train on the uncovered loading platform. This rolling stock was in tragic shape at the end. There were springs and straw leaking from the upholstery and you could see daylight through the floorboards! Train climbing the T'Bolt's lift.