NEWS: Chippewa Park 'Roller Coaster' forced to retire

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2012/04/03/tby-cheppewa-roller-coaster.html

 

A ride that's provided thrills and chills to thousands of Thunder Bay children for about 45 years is shutting down.

 

The city has decided to decommission the roller coaster at Chippewa Park.

 

Parks manager Paul Fayrick said it's because of safety concerns.

 

“We had had some testing done after the failure of one of the cars last year,” Fayrick said. “And it confirmed the … cars on the track are not repairable to a safe condition anymore.”

 

Fayrick said the ride was bought from an amusement park in Manitoba in 1967.

 

“There are all sorts of issues recently with legislation around amusement rides that makes it actually very difficult to have rides of any kind,” he said.

 

According to the web site of the Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada, the ride at Chippewa is the longest-running steel rollercoaster at the same location, anywhere in the country.

 

The city said it will look at replacing roller coaster with another kind of attraction.

Edited April 5, 2012 by jedimaster1227

[simon8899]

There are all sorts of issues recently with legislation around amusement rides that makes it actually very difficult to have rides of any kind

 

I find this statement quite weird from someone whose first priority should be the safety of his guests....

 

As seen on Teststrecke and SooperDooperLooper the rolling stock needs replacement after about 30-35 years so this fact shouldn't be a surprise for someone running an amusement park.

[beatle11]

Thunder Bay is way out in no man's land. It's just one less annoying credit to have to pick up in my opinion. I'm sure some in the city will be disappointed, but hopefully whatever they put in it's place makes up for it.

[niiicolaaah]

This definitely reads "We're cheap!" LOL. The cars are not fixable? Get new ones. Replace the track.

[GigaG]

http://rcdb.com/368.htm

 

This was the only coaster built by the company, so replacement of the cars may be hard.

 

 

The coaster looks like it is not very well-maintained, but it should still be preserved. Even if it is difficult, how bad can the trains be damaged?

[DirkFunk]

Steel coasters wear out in a different fashion than wood ones - Disney will spend the money to refurb/retrack their's because of their marquee value, but for parks like this or even Knoebels with small steel kiddie coasters, that may not be realistic or rational to do every year from now till forever. Why spend money to fix this when you can buy a used Python Pit or Wacky Worm/Big Apple for cheap?

[beatle11]

^Ontario place just shut down all their rides, including a basically new Wacky Worm. That would be a decent replacement.

[DirkFunk]

That's assuming they owned the Wacky Worm to begin with - may have been rented from a carnival company too. But it isn't like there aren't a bunch of portable coasters out there for sale. You can pull up a bunch of used Schiff and Herschells for less than $25K on any ride website that will do basically the same job this coaster did.

[robbalvey]

I realize I'm not the biggest "preservationist" when it comes to roller coasters, but humour me here, I'm just curious as to why this one should be "saved?" Was it really an amazing ride? Will replacing this coaster with another steel kiddie coaster have a significant financial impact on the park?

 

I'm more in favor of rides that are GOOD getting saved, like the Dania Beach Hurricane or Rampage, but looking at the pictures of this ride, it just looks like an old and busted version of a Miler or Hershell kiddie coaster.

 

Would it be really that big of a deal if it got replaced?

 

I mean, people got all bent when even Knoebels replaced their High Speed Thrill Coaster, but after seeing the new kiddie in operation there, I don't think any of their average guests really noticed the difference.

Edited April 6, 2012 by robbalvey

[XYZ]

I realize I'm not the biggest "preservationist" when it comes to roller coasters, but humour me here, I'm just curious as to why this one should be "saved?" Was it really an amazing ride? Will replacing this coaster with another steel kiddie coaster have a significant financial impact on the park?

 

I'm more in favor of rides that are GOOD getting saved, like the Dania Beach Hurricane or Rampage, but looking at the pictures of this ride, it just looks like an old and busted version of a Miler or Hershell kiddie coaster.

 

Would it be really that big of a deal if it got replaced?

 

I mean, people got all bent when even Knoebels replaced their High Speed Thrill Coaster, but after seeing the new kiddie in operation there, I don't think any of their average guests really noticed the difference.

 

At first, I thought this was a decent coaster, though, as you said, those pictures don't show it as a good coaster. I think that the coaster should be replaced with an E&F Miler kiddy coaster.

 

If it was something like this, then it should be saved:

http://rcdb.com/293.htm?p=2322

[Philrad71]

Save teh roller coaster, eh?

 

 

And who didn't see that one coming?