verticalzero Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 Never been on this coaster and judging by the reviews it gave 1 hell of a ride. Link: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/05/28/loc_story_of_the.html The Screechin' Eagle, a survivor of an early golden age for American roller coasters built by John Miller, has been renovated with new wood and soon will be repainted white. It was built in 1927 for another Ohio park, but was moved to LeSourdsville in 1938 and named the Cyclone. In the early 1960s, its name was changed to the Space Rocket, and, in 1978, the Screechin' Eagle. During the early 1900s, Mr. Miller was a top coaster engineer, well known for designing challenging dips and bends, and for inventing the underfriction wheel that held cars to the tracks. His and other engineers' efforts triggered a coaster boom. By 1919, 1,500 coasters operated in North America. The Screechin' Eagle “provides riders a walloping ride with stomach-floating plunges,” said Mike Schafer, a contributor to the book American Roller Coaster. He said the coaster was a contemporary of two other Tristate legends — The Wildcat (1926) and The Clipper (1937) — both at Coney Island near Cincinnati. The Eagle, the 13th-oldest in the nation and second-oldest in Ohio, is a favorite of coaster enthusiasts from across the country, said park spokesman Mike Mefford. If anyone has any pic's of it since it was closed can they post them. It has been SBNO for some years and i'm sure it would be cheaper to relocate to Kings Island and replace most of the wood than to keep SOB running. Can I have a Poll set up to say: If Kings Island bought this ride, Who would want to see SOB be replaced by Screeching Eagle.
FlyingScooter Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 http://www.forgottenoh.com/Americana/amcoasters.html http://illicitohio.com/SBNO/americana/page_0001.html hope these help.
ginzo Posted March 10, 2007 Posted March 10, 2007 I'd say there's a probability of 0 that KI will move this ride over, and I wouldn't want them to personally. They haven't been taking great care of their woodies recently. The Racer needs a ton of rehab work. I'm sadly missing this credit, and I have heard good things about that ride. A non-enthusiast friend of mine recently described it as "one of those scary coasters that tries to throw you out of your seat". Awesome.
disneygurlz2s Posted March 10, 2007 Posted March 10, 2007 My first "big coaster" ride was on this back-breaker and let me tell you, everything you have ever heard is true. Now, to truly appreciate it, you have to know that from the early 80's through the park's closure, Americana was going downhill fast, completely void of any kind of quality. The employees were typically young and sleazy looking and frequently had a cigarette hanging out of their mouths. There were few safety measures taken, and you were just lucky if the ride op knew how to properly stop the train when it reached the station. After my initial ride, I rode it many times over the years, especially when our Catholic grade school would take the kids who participated in choir or church service for our summer picnic. They would let you ride three to a seat and you DID NOT want to get stuck sitting with Kathy Shoaf, because the girl was a walking skeleton, I'll tell you, and you would suffer stabbing pains from her elbows and arms!!! This was on rough ride, and more than a few people we dragged on it over the years came off in pain! I miss Americana, really. It was one of those places you would complain all day about how terrible it was, and yet it was fun. My last visit there was in July of 1998, when Sammi was a newborn. I didn't ride much that day, having just given birth the month before, but I am glad I can say Sammi got to go there once, even though her only ride was the train!! Shari
jamesdillaman Posted March 10, 2007 Posted March 10, 2007 Great airtime, classic out and back layout, and good trains all made for one of my favorite woodies of all time. This ride will never move to Kings Island, especially as Jim Couch doesn't is under pressure to keep the ride from being taken out. It's going to be the centerpiece of his new RV park where LeSourdsville Lake once stood. -James Dillaman
robbalvey Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 This is one of those older woodies that even I admit is a bummer to see closed. Normally I'm of the opinion that most old wood coasters that have closed have closed for good reason, but this one was actually very good! It was one of the better Out & Back's I have been on. Very much like Timber Terror at Silverwood where it didn't look like much, but it gave a GREAT ride. I highly doubt we'll ever see this ride operate again, IMO. --Robb
haux Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 The last hill was the best. And the hop entering the turnaround was excellent. Boy, I'm glad I got to visit it in that short span the park was open in 2002. The ride's still standing there. The park's still there. A member of a forum I visit recently took a trip there and got some snapshots. I'll see if I can find the thread. Edit: Here ya go. It's sad to see it like that.
robbalvey Posted March 11, 2007 Posted March 11, 2007 If these were taken recently it looks like it's still in good shape:
verticalzero Posted March 12, 2007 Author Posted March 12, 2007 I emailed "Cedar Fair", asked them if they could purchase this ride. I know they will not take any notice of me, worth a go It's a World Class ride (rated 40th in the World in 2003), not bad for a coaster which is so old. When is Jim Couch' new "RV Park" due to open...? Cedar Fair should make Jim an offer he can't refuse. I did not know about this ride when I went to Kings Island in 2000, othewise I would of visited the Park. Such a shame most of the decent old woodies have to be SBNO when their park closes, yes it is nice to have an excellent "Balder" in the world, but sometimes the old ones (esp built by John Miller) can hold their own.
jamesdillaman Posted March 12, 2007 Posted March 12, 2007 ^ If you like this ride, you would definitely NOT want Cedar Fair to purchase it, as they cannot take care of newer woodies, let alone a classic woodie. Plus they'd put seatbelts and, if they could, OTSR's on it. Leave it be and hope Couch reopens it sometime in the future. That's the best you can hope for. -James Dillaman
haux Posted March 13, 2007 Posted March 13, 2007 I emailed "Cedar Fair", asked them if they could purchase this ride. I know they will not take any notice of me, worth a go Why do people do this?
snuggles Posted March 13, 2007 Posted March 13, 2007 ^ If you like this ride, you would definitely NOT want Cedar Fair to purchase it, as they cannot take care of newer woodies, let alone a classic woodie. Plus they'd put seatbelts and, if they could, OTSR's on it. Leave it be and hope Couch reopens it sometime in the future. That's the best you can hope for. -James Dillaman WTF? Ok, CF would not put OTSR's on a woodie. Nobody in the right mind would. How do hypers still have lapbars, and TTD with lapbars?
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