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Cliff's Amusement Park to receive Greezed Lightnin'


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I didn't see a forum thread for this, but to me (and to others) I'm sure it is good news:

 

 

Amusement Today reports that Cliff's Amusement Park, Albuquerque NM, has entered a ride-swap agreement with Joyland Park, Amarillo, TX to exchange rides, allowing for the rebirth of the 1978 Schwarzkopf classic Greezed Lightnin'. No timeline for the reassembly has been set, but the rides' key parts have been in storage since 2005, when Astroworld closed it's doors and was removed.

 

Read the story here!

 

I can say this made my morning- as we are losing one Schwarzkopf, we are gaining another back.

 

R.D.

(Praise be to Anton, Amen.)

 

 

Historic Greezed Lightnin’ moving to Cliff’s Amusement Park

By Amusement Today | May 4, 2012

 

The historic 1978-built Schwarzkopf shuttle loop Greezed Lightnin’ is about to cross state lines for the first time in its history.

 

Joyland Park, Lubbock, Texas, acquired the ride when AstroWorld in Houston closed in 2005. The ride has been in storage in Lubbock ever since. A high water table under the family-owned park made the ride cost prohibitive to re-erect. When the park found no one interested in purchasing the ride, family-owned Cliff’s Amusement Park in Albuquerque, N.M. stepped up to help out a fellow park owner.

 

After realizing a coaster was not in their future, Joyland turned their focus on finding another water ride for their park.

 

Cliff’s had an SCS waterplay unit that could no longer keep up with the demand in their park, so the two starting talking. A handshake deal was done, and the two parks agreed to trade rides, with no money exchanging hands.

 

Cliff’s is currently underway on finishing the installation of a new larger waterplay unit from WhiteWater West. Greezed Lightnin’ is in their future, but a date for its re-launch has not been set.

 

Joyland has moved the SCS waterplay unit from Cliff’s to Texas and will begin construction as soon as their summer season ends.

 

Gary Hays of Cliff’s, told Amusement Today he plans to move Greezed Lightnin’ from Lubbock to Plainview in the coming months, where it will be stored at the Larson International factory. When the time comes to install the ride, it will then go through the Larson shop for minor rehab and will be given a new coat of paint. The ride’s flywheel launch and train have been stored indoors at Larson since leaving Houston.

 

For more on this story, see the Amusement Today May issue, page 2 editorial column.

 

On a side note, the 2008-built Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster from Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is being relocated to Six Flags Mexico. It is also currently in storage at Larson International.

Edited by robbalvey
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I FREAKING KNEW IT.

 

Same trains or new ones? I would think that the old trains would still be okay if they were kept in storage.

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...What?

 

This is so, so awesome, and will definitely be the final straw in somehow getting me to the park in a reasonable timeframe (as if New Mexico Rattler wasn't enough). I know we all wish them the best!

 

Plus now I can go back in time and feel better about viewing the parts. That was surreal.

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Im honestly not sure how i feel about this one honestly. I think its great that one of these shuttle loops is being refurbished, but at the same time I wonder whats going to happen with Bluegrass Boardwalk. I know the park is supposed to open in 2013 and I was definitely hoping Greezed Lightnin would open with the park.

 

-Kafka-

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R.D., This may be the best news I've heard today. Thanks!

 

Im honestly not sure how i feel about this one honestly. I think its great that one of these shuttle loops is being refurbished, but at the same time I wonder whats going to happen with Bluegrass Boardwalk. I know the park is supposed to open in 2013 and I was definitely hoping Greezed Lightnin would open with the park.

 

-Kafka-

 

Seems that there are two rides with the same name.

 

Bluegrass Boardwalk contains this one: http://rcdb.com/2216.htm which is a weight-drop model, while Cliff's will be getting this one: http://rcdb.com/55.htm which is a flywheel launch model (like Montezooma's Revenge at KBF). Cheer up!

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I feel kinda stupid, I didnt check RCDB before i posted. I really should have since no one said anything in the SFKK thread. Its great that there could potentially be two more of these shuttle loops open.

 

-"I feel stupid now" Kafka-

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I thought this one was done for after hearing about the obstacles that stood in the way of construction and nary a peep afterwards. This is good news, hopefully the Kentucky Kingdom shuttle loop has a future of it's own.

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America going back to having, what, 3 Schwarzkopf shuttle loops again? (Assuming the other Greezed Lightnin' at Bluegrass Boardwalk reopens.) Maybe I'll finally get to ride one sometime. Been meaning to visit New Mexico. Sounds like another good reason to go. Always great to have another Schwarzkopf around too.

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Although I have no chance to visit this park in a near future, I would also say this is EXCELLENT news. Is 2013 the year of the shuttle loops ? This and Turbine making its grand comeback @ Walibi belgium... yummy. Although very basic, they are among my best coaster memories. I can't have enough of them either !!!

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As someone who's home park was Six Flags Astroworld (RIP) I loved Greezed Lightnin, I can still remember riding multiple times where we did not have to get off. Just a great ride, fun ride. I was glad when they sold it but now that they are finally rebuilding it. That is just super awesome. I will have to go make trip just to ride this old coaster a few more times.

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This is great news indeed!

 

America going back to having, what, 3 Schwarzkopf shuttle loops again? (Assuming the other Greezed Lightnin' at Bluegrass Boardwalk reopens.)

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the launch system for the Bluegrass Boardwalk's Greezed Lightnin' is beyond repair and the spare parts were sold to the park in Brazil. Seems I remember R.D. or someone else mentioning that. With only two other weight drop launch shuttle coasters still operating, I can only imagine how difficult/expensive it will be to get the launch system up and running again.

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^this combined to the fact that a lot of Schwarzkopf ex engineers and workers are now working for Gerstlauer, who seem to be responsible for a lot of former Anton projects (Sooperdooperlooper, Turbine... maybe Revolution ? , and then, why not the one at ex Kentucky Kingdom) Maybe they can rebuild an older type launch system or modify it and upgrade it with a more modern one. But I agree with Eric that it might not be easy and be a lil' costly for a ride that could only run further for a couple of years...

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This is great news indeed!

 

America going back to having, what, 3 Schwarzkopf shuttle loops again? (Assuming the other Greezed Lightnin' at Bluegrass Boardwalk reopens.)

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the launch system for the Bluegrass Boardwalk's Greezed Lightnin' is beyond repair and the spare parts were sold to the park in Brazil. Seems I remember R.D. or someone else mentioning that. With only two other weight drop launch shuttle coasters still operating, I can only imagine how difficult/expensive it will be to get the launch system up and running again.

 

It is good news.

 

Honestly, I don't think it'd be that hard to do. Schwarzkopf designs were fairly simple mechanically. If there's the will there's the way.

 

^this combined to the fact that a lot of Schwarzkopf ex engineers and workers are now working for Gerstlauer, who seem to be responsible for a lot of former Anton projects (Sooperdooperlooper, Turbine... maybe Revolution ? , and then, why not the one at ex Kentucky Kingdom) Maybe they can rebuild an older type launch system or modify it and upgrade it with a more modern one. But I agree with Eric that it might not be easy and be a lil' costly for a ride that could only run further for a couple of years...

 

In all reality, Gerstlauer IS Schwarzkopf's fourth edition- complete with using the same buildings in Munsterhausen, DE. Gerstlauer himself trained under The Master Himself, and learned quite a bit from Him.

 

As for Bluegrass Boardwalks' Greezed Lightning: There is some serious doubt towards the usability of the existing hardware for the ride- particularly the drop-weight mechanism, as well as the actual clutch assembly- both of which are the second set. The ride itself is actually two Drop-weight shuttle loops merged into one- ironically, the twin sister Tidal Waves from the Great America parks. Spares for this ride are not only rare- but not built by anybody. There were only a handful of the drop-weight models made in the first run.

 

One of the issues that I've been seeing pop up about it is this: Couldn't they replace the drop-weight with a flywheel version: The simple, non-complex answer is 'No' as Schwarzkopf refined the design greatly when the flywheel version was created. While the 'pusher foot' mechanism is the same, everything else, from the cable pullpoints and return mechanism are completely different, meaning they (BB that is) would have to replace the entire launch system- at a staggering cost.

 

Could Gerstlauer repair/renovate it? Possibly- but with a very high price tag. A new drop-weight mechanism would be the pricey part- as they would have to build one completely from scratch off of the blueprints, as well as building a new clutch-drive mechanism for the cable and mount. Or they could turn the ride into a LSM system- also expensive. The train, as we now know, could easily be replaced with a new model. However, the ride would need some -hefty- restoration to the track, supports and other facets as well.

 

Honestly, I don't want to 'lose' another Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop- but looking at BB's model, it would require considerable expense to get it to a fully working, reliable state first.

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Great news. Astroworld (RIP) was my home park. It's nice to see good old Greezed Lightnin' coming back to life. It's one of the few flywheel driven shuttle loops and was one of my favorite rides.

 

Another plus is that it will in a state next door. Granted it may be a bit of a drive from Houston (about 885 miles away, Texas is just a really big state). This will definitely give me an excuse to visit Cliff's.

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