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Post by writhinganacondo on Jul 28, 2006 20:36:00 GMT -5
What about Clementon Lake? Isn't that small PTC woodie still there? Circa 1920. On a side note, Libertyland Amusement Park in Memphis (the one Elvis used to rent out) was recently auctioned. Anyone know what happened? Their wooden coaster was supposedly the oldest in the U.S. besides the one in Altoona. I'll give you another fact. In the late 1970's, an architect who was trying to lay out new concepts for Sportland Pier (it didn't work) wanted to move the old Dips roller coaster (built 1909) from the then recently closed Westview Park near Pittsburgh. His idea had merit, because several coasters were moved not long after that, the key ones being the Rocket from San Antonio to Knoebbel's Grove, the Giant Coaster from Paragon Park to Largo, MD, the Canandaigua NY coaster to Altoona of all places. And more have since been moved.
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Post by Rob Ascough on Jul 31, 2006 9:44:16 GMT -5
I have been a member of ACE since 1990 and am one of the founding members of a small enthusiast organization called the Wood Coaster Fan Club. Our main goal is to create awareness for wood coasters and push for the preservation of classic rides. As a small group, we have a limited voice but we do have the support of many people in the amusement industry and I'm hopeful that a wood coaster will soon be saved thanks in part to our efforts. I serve as editor for our quarterly publication, Timber Tales- something that has featured Wildwood coasters on more than one occasion.
ACE was a major player in the preservation of Leap The Dips at Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA- the last surviving example of a Figure 8 Side-Friction coaster in North America. They have also helped with numerous other wood coaster preservation efforts.
The Clementon Lake Jack Rabbit is currently standing but not operating (SBNO), as the park built a new wood coaster, claiming that necessary repairs to the Jack Rabbit were too costly to justify. The park has offered the ride to any properly insured party willing to remove the coaster from the park but so far there have been no takers. Since the park is currently for sale, I have no idea what to say about the future of the Jack Rabbit, or the park in general. An interesting note: the Jack Rabbit was designed and built by John Miller in 1919 and was considered a "transitional" coaster that did away with side friction rails but didn't have underwheels to lock the train to the track. Wildwood was home to a coaster like this, also designed and built in 1919 by John Miller and named the Jack Rabbit. The layouts were different but they were fundamentally the same ride. I think there was another 1919 John Miller Jack Rabbit built in Keansburg.
No, there are no wood coasters operating in NJ built before 1978. Coincidentally, the next three issues of Timber Tales will feature an article about the wood coasters of NJ's past. It's going to be pretty comprehensive.
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Post by Robert on Jul 31, 2006 10:45:48 GMT -5
The Hunt's Pier Flyer was a big loss, as it was the last wooden coaster in WW, and the last wooden coaster on the shore. There was no wooden coaster at WW between 1989-1995 until the Great White was built. You can thank the Morey's for bringing the wood track coaster back to WW. The other guys simply betrayed WW, tore down their rides and walked away. There are so few wooden coasters at beaches, the only ones I can think of are Coney's Cyclone, Myrtle Beach's Swamp Fox, and the newer Hurricane at the Pavilion which is closing after this year and a newer wooden coaster at Dania Beach, FL. Ocean City, MD had a wood coaster but it was torn down around 1980 I think. Rob, there are some great coaster simulators like No Limits and RCT3 where you can build your own coasters and parks and ride them in 3D. There's a website where someone built a whole bunch of defunct coasters on No Limits. I like RCT3 because you can build virtual dark rides and ride them.
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Post by Rob Ascough on Jul 31, 2006 12:56:39 GMT -5
The seaside amusement park is an endangered species and I'm thankful that Morey's Piers are alive and thriving. That said, there are a lot of parks that were thriving and still had their day with the bulldozer.
You're right about Myrtle Beach Pavilion closing after this season. I've never been there but I understand it will be a huge loss. At least there is still Family Kingdom. The Dania Beach Hurricane is a fantastic coaster but it's not really a seaside park (it's alongside I-95, a few miles from the coast) and not really a park at all, just a lot of mini golf and other pay-as-you-ride thrill attractions. Don't forget NY still has Coney Island and Rye Playland. And California still has Belmont Park in San Diego and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, both with classic Giant Dipper wood coasters.
I've messed around with No Limits and it is a greta program, especially if you can teach yourself how to design your own rides. I used to be a huge RCT fan but I don't play much anymore and when I do, I go back to the first and second games instead of the 3-D-ish RCT3. I find that RCT1 and RCT2 are good if I want to design my own park and No Limits is good if I want to ride my own roller coaster- RCT3 seemed like a bad combination of the two. But that's just my opinion.
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