SeaWhippet
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Rumor has it Fred Church haunts that tower next to Tornado (Bobs)
Who knows....??
EDIT: I actually found that out from one of my books I own... Was that yours? I saw the above comment saying that someone saw the pics from you book... LOL whoops.
There WAS a legend that LaMarcus Thompson haunted that ornate tower, despite having died six years before it was built.
The two pics from my books are the OV Rocket and COP Flying Turns shot.
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Thanks, everyone. I'm just glad there's still some appreciation for history of this industry!
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Great photos Scott! It is good to see the closet back, I thought you had gone away like a bad sitcom. Thanks for sharing.
Now lets spark some healthy discussion about those great pictures of the flying turns, I sure wish I was old enough to have ridden one, they look like they would be nothing like todays versions. I hope that the Knoebel's creating captures the ride and feel of those older versions.
Yeah, Shane, The Closet has been down for winter retracking/profile tweaking and such, but it's back online.
Those are great FT pics. I'd like to dig up more on the Euro Turns in Denmark, Paris and Berlin. There's another thread on here about a FT mag NAAPHA recently produced. I have it and it IS quite excellent with info and pics we haven't seen before. I just wish some of the rarer shots could've been printed a wee bit larger. Still, check it out if you're a FT fan.
If any Euro members can research the Turns that operated over there, I'd LOVE to see some images. These were VERY popular rides. Additional photographic evidence MUST exist somewhere.
As for Knoebels Turns, I believe we'll finally be able to experience the new version within a few months. From what I've been told, it'll be worth the wait. The restructured team currently working on it has the expertise to make it work.
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The single headlite mystery NAD trains are from the Comet at Forest Park.
No, the FPH trains were from PTC and far more sophisticated and classy than these hammered aluminum. This ride remains a mystery until someone IDs it.
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Welcome back to Scott's Coaster Closet!
Though we've been in winter-mode for the past few months, the weather is warming and it's time to fire up the Wayback Machine (aka WABAC) for a glimpse at what our adventurous ancestors did for a good time.
To kick off this edition, I scooped up a handful of vintage B&Ws from my collection and tossed them onto the scanner. There are several recognizable woodies here as well as a few mystery rides.
Enjoy!
-S
The San Diego Giant Dipper using the proper trains. I can only imagine how much better this classic would be if these were still in opeation.
A more detailed Tornado (Bobs) angle. Fred Church was an absolute genius.
Coney's Tornado (Bobs). I missed riding this beauty by two years.
Rye Playland. Check out that packed car park! Of course, that shot of the Airplane is the best.
Another mystery ride. All I know is that it used early NAD rolling stock.
Any idea where this one was? I'm guessing it's a typical John Miller ride. At first I thought it was Libertyland's Zippin Pippin (before the park was called that), but ...
Train 3 on the Riverview Bobs.
The Ocean View Rocket's early NAD trains.
Riverview's Fireball. Park staff built these sweet trains. They are very similar to the Jetstream trains that operated on Carowinds' Thunder Road for the ride's initial seasons.
Another, very similar Bartlett Flying Turns at Chicago's 1933 Century of Progress. This one went to Riverview and served as inspiration for Knoebels' FT, which will finally open in a few months.
This is the Flying Turns when it was at the 1933-34 NY Worlds Fair. It was later moved to Coney Island as Bobsled.
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We are going to have a little break from the daily updates of 1980 brochures. My computer crashed and it had to go into the shop (Vista SUCKS). Hopefully we will continue on Monday.
-Shane
Shane, sorry to hear of your recent computer woes. That's an awful feeling.
I have the perfect solution for you: Apple MacBook Pro.
I've been swamped lately, but I'll try to drag some material out of The Closet to pick up the slack while you await the resurrection of your PeeCee.
-Scott
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Cliffhanger or no, I am determined to get over to GTiTS this year.
That's probably a very good idea. If they don't get that ride approved and/or add new rides to attract people with $$, I fear this unique park is history.
A bit of trivia here: before the addition of the Red Devil/Cliff Hanger, which was supposed to be an Arrow coaster but the price was to steep for the former owner, GT was home to the short-lived Silver Bullet coaster. Sponsored by Coors Light, the Silver Bullet was a monorail/Alpine slide gravity ride that followed much the same path as the later Red Devil. In fact, much of the pipe track/support structure/footers can still be found on the site. According to a former employee and guests who saw the ride operate, it was wayyyy too fast and -- despite water braking -- tore itself apart and never opened to the public.
I would LOVE to find shots of the actual ride before it was demolished to make way for the Hopkins coaster.
-S
Ok, I just located the pics I shot of the remains of the Silver Bullet coaster (referenced in my earlier post). If anyone has any more info on this, I'm sure we'd all be very interested ...
More track
Silver Bullet support (sans track)
Finned pipe track
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Cliffhanger or no, I am determined to get over to GTiTS this year.
That's probably a very good idea. If they don't get that ride approved and/or add new rides to attract people with $$, I fear this unique park is history.
A bit of trivia here: before the addition of the Red Devil/Cliff Hanger, which was supposed to be an Arrow coaster but the price was to steep for the former owner, GT was home to the short-lived Silver Bullet coaster. Sponsored by Coors Light, the Silver Bullet was a monorail/Alpine slide gravity ride that followed much the same path as the later Red Devil. In fact, much of the pipe track/support structure/footers can still be found on the site. According to a former employee and guests who saw the ride operate, it was wayyyy too fast and -- despite water braking -- tore itself apart and never opened to the public.
I would LOVE to find shots of the actual ride before it was demolished to make way for the Hopkins coaster.
-S
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I just received this info from the park's marketing director: b:roll:
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As a direct result of the national credit crisis and economic decline, North Carolina's Ghost Town in the Sky announced today that, in order to address the financial and operational challenges associated re-opening and running a theme park that sat dormant five years prior to the company purchasing Ghost Town in August of 2006, they have filed for bankruptcy protection and reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Federal Code on March 10, 2009.
Ghost Town has not been able to secure the capital financing needed as they had projected previously, which would have been used to pay off their outstanding debt restructure short-term debt, complete rides that will help broaden Ghost Town’s guest appeal and make the park run more efficiently, and prepare for all costs associated with operating and marketing a regional theme park.
“The economic uncertainty, coupled with the banking and credit crisis that has engulfed the nation, has made obtaining a lender very difficult,” states Steve Shiver, president and CEO of Ghost Town.
“It is with this economic impact, preserving our relationships with vendors and protecting all of our creditors in mind that we now find no alternative but to file for bankruptcy protection,” continues Shiver. “However, we feel that a reorganizational plan will allow us to open on schedule and over time, keep all creditor groups whole or as best as reasonably possible.”
During the reorganizational process, Ghost Town will take steps to improve its financial status by securing the funding needed for Ghost Town to complete all of its rides and transportation methods.
Once The Cliffhanger roller coaster is open, Ghost Town will appeal to a broader audience, including thrill-seekers, teenagers and pre-teens.
By completing the Incline Railway, Ghost Town will save a significant amount of money on bus transportation and will attract more school groups who, in the 2007 and 2008 season, had to be bussed to the top of the mountain where the Theme Park is located.
Ghost Town employs over 200 local residents during its season with payroll in excess of $2 million annually. They have continued to pay salaried employees during the winter months when the park is closed for the season to maintain the grounds and prepare for the upcoming season.
Since re-opening in May of 2007, Ghost Town also has paid over $125,000 in sales and amusement tax to the state of North Carolina and Haywood County. In addition, Haywood County has experienced hotel and motel occupancy growth and more revenue has been generated from the Occupancy Tax collected. “Ghost Town is part of the history of Western North Carolina,” states Lynn Sylvester, one of Ghost Town’s five managing partners, CPA and Controller. “We are committed to preserving our theme park through this re-organizational process. Given the mission of the Rural Development program to create and retain jobs, the USDA who has a 70% guarantee on the primary loan facility held by BB&T, has signified a willingness to participate in a restructured debt arrangement.”
Over $20 million has already been invested in the park since Ghost Town’s re-opening in 2007. The immensity of the project coupled with the 2008 season’s rising gas prices and shortages in the area, in addition to economic downturn, are all factors that have contributed to the current situation.
“This has been a very hard decision, and we’ve exhausted all other alternative actions. This is the only chance we truly have to pay people back the money we owe,” said Shiver. “We at least have a fighting chance to reopen and our decision to file is in the best interest of all parties involved.”
Ghost Town plans to re-open for the 2009 season on May 15 and is currently selling 2009 Season Passes and Daily Admission Tickets through its website.
More information on Ghost Town can be found online: http://www.ghosttowninthesky.com.
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Great Kennywood brochure. I feel lucky to have ridden those big 4-bench cars on the Racer. Those things were soooooo heavy, and with no lap bar or seat divider, you could ride alone and slide all over the place.
And the Dipper. What a bad decision the park made in removing this special custom design. It was a real gem. I miss it.
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Wow, Restoca, what a nice card! That's one I've never seen. I wish the ride had been redesigned in Maryland to run as it did when this before The Big Fire. Still, I agree; it's underrated despite the questionable alterations it's had to endure at the hands of SF. I was based at BWI when the Giant first moved south and I spend many, many summer afternoons in a near-vacant Wild World as the only rider for countless circuits. Although the rebuilt helix was always somewhat jarring, the Giant was still a very good coaster back then. I miss that ride.
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Carowinds 1977
Well while we are on the subject of Carowinds, my favorite park, I thought I would stray a bit from the 1980 format and jump back in time to 1977 (I feel like I am on Lost with these time skips)
Well this is one of my favorite brochures in all of my collection. The trains of Thunder Road look so cool and If I didn't know any better I would swear that White Lightnin was the Revolution!!!!
This is pure Carowinds goodness. Oh Closed Mondays!
I have that same brochure and it's also one of my favs. Those Riverview trains look sweet though I prefer the big 'Vs' to those auto fronts.
Oh, were you serious about that ride being Revolution? It looks like the Rev because it IS! Carowinds' train was orange and it never had tracers on the loop structure. If you look at the base of the pilot car, you can see where they blacked out 'Magic Mountain.'
If you were joking, then, well ... nevermind.
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I was looking around The Closet this evening and found more photos and material relating to several other lost wooden coasters that I thought I would share. The featured rides include the CNE Flyer, Americana/LeSourdsville Screechin' Eagle, Fairyland Wildcat and Myrtle Beach boneyard shots.
There's a little bonus at the bottom of this post. I'm curious if anyone can shed light on those images.
-Scott
Scott, what does CNE stand for? It looks like it was a great park.
CNE = Canadian National Exhibition.
It's counterpart is the PNE – Pacific National Exhibition, which makes its home at Vancouver's Playland Park.
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The Orbit looks absolutely terrifying...and painful.
I totally agree. Though I've sworn off most spinning flat rides, I can endure the Zipper for some reason. A Zipper can be great fun if operated properly, but I think the Orbit would be beyond horrific.
I'd love to hear from someone who rode it ...
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I can't believe I missed this great post that including the Screechin' Eagle. Glad I caught up with this one. I do miss that coaster and I wonder what will ever become of it, or if it's even too late.
It's one of the coasters I'm looking for footage of if anyone has a POV!
--Robb
Robb-
The Eagle really was a great coaster. I wish someone would relocate this one. I have quite a few still shots of the ride in action. I'll look through The Closet to see what I have video-wise. Looking forward to your defunct coaster production.
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This is a great card, but I was wondering if anyone noticed that the actual pic is from the days when the ride was at Paragon ... an early cut-and-paste.
BTW, for the history geeks like myself, I believe the graphic artist who created this card blacked out the word "Comet" on the lead car. For years after the fire that destroyed the helix, the Paragon Giant used trains from the Salisbury Beach Comet (aka Wildcat). These trains did not come from the Forest Park Highlands Comet as several web sites claim. (The FPH Comet had three sets of those funky streamlined four-bench cars with the headlight). Somewhere in The Closet I have a good shot of the Salisbury Comet trains running on the Paragon ride.
I'm just sayin'
-S
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Those are definitely not Morgans, so I agree about it now being CGA Grizzly. And the lack of trees rules out KD's.
I'm convinced it's either CW Wilde Beast or possibly the defunct Bush Beast at Australia's Wonderland.
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This is ride definitely NOT SOB.
It does look like a pic used in an old Wonderland brochure. If it IS Wilde Beast, the pic has been flipped since the train is going in the wrong direction on the first turn.
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New this fall on Sci-Fi!
Stargate Myrtle Beach
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Great post, Shane! I miss the old KD.
Hey, did anyone notice on of those Rebel Yell shots (near the bottom) how the blue side had only four-car trains and the red side had the more common five-cars? I wonder what was up with that ... ?
Profile-wise, Carowinds' Thunder Road is identical to Rebel Yell except for the current five-car train configuration. I always thought TR could be as good as RY if they'd just add a 5th car to each train. The station is already long enough because TR was designed to operate with the the extra-long Riverview Jetstream trains.
(Of course, RY tracks better than TR, but that may change this year's work).
I'm just sayin ...
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This coaster debuted with IAD trains, right? Way back in 1978?
edit: are these the original IAD trains, not PTC?
Great Colossus cards, guys! I regret never riding those original IAD trains. The lap bars look a LOT like what Schwarzkopf used on his loopers.
And of course, there was that wicked speed bump after the second drop ...
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I've been hoping we'd get approval to release this info. This is the perfect ride for Quassy's demographic.
Now if they can just get the 'council of elders' to approve it ...
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Golden Nugget – Substantial Portions Saved For Reuse
Trains and Tracks go to Undisclosed Person
Wildwood, NJ, December 18, 2008 – The Morey Organization announced today that substantial portions of the historic Golden Nugget mine ride would be saved for reuse prior to the removal of the exterior structure from the former Hunt’s Pier. An individual, who has asked not to be identified as of yet, will take ownership of the tracks and trains and remove them for reuse prior to the public pre-demolition ceremony slated for Saturday, January 31, at noon (more details to follow).
Jack Morey, Executive Vice President of The Morey Organization, said, “As we realized that the Golden Nugget was not viable for Morey’s Piers, we began looking for an appropriate person within our industry who might be capable of reusing the tracks and trains. Now, I am very thrilled to say that this ride will be placed in the most capable of hands. However, this person requests that we not divulge their identity as of yet, and we will honor that request.”
The Golden Nugget Mine Ride originally opened in July of 1960 on the newly constructed ocean side section of Hunt’s Pier. The Golden Nugget was built three stories high with the top floor giving riders a mine car ride through the “desert.” The classic coaster ride was specially constructed for Hunt’s Pier by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and was engineered by John Allen. Bill Tracy designed the ride’s theme through Amusement Displays.
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Scott's Coaster Closet
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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Thanks, Thriller. I've got a stack of postcards to add to your stellar thread, I just need to go through all yours so as not to post a dupe card.