From: wjf@controls.ccd.harris.com (Bill Figie)
Subject: Re: Woodies for 1993 (Was Re No PIPELINE)
Originator: wjf@rs2
Organization: Harris Controls
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:18:40 GMT


In article <1992Sep24.133839.6811@engage.pko.dec.com>,
|> buck@cavlry.enet.dec.com writes:
|> The "Fig" writes:
|> 
|> >One final question.  It seems like many of the parks are starting 
|> >to tip their hands and announce their new coasters for 1993.  What 
|> >I have seen so far are steel coasters.  What is the scoop on
|> > woodies (especially the woodie that was planned for Worlds of Fun)?  
|> 
|> 
|> Well, as far as wood is concerned in 1993, here is what I know:
|> 
|> CONFIRMED:
|> 
|> There will be one woodie opening in 1993.  The as-yet-unnamed
|> coaster is being built at Strickler's Grove Amusment Park in
|> Hamilton, OH.  The coaster is actually a preservation effort
|> of sorts -- it's the old TORNADO woodie from Florida (remember
|> this one, Bill?).  The park bought the coaster in full from an
|> auction, but will be replacing much of the wood for the structure.
|> The park does plan to use the old rolling stock.  The ride is a 
|> double out-and-back layout, with roughly a 60' lift hill.
|> 
|> The park is building this ride "in house", but there are facts/data
|> which support the notion that the new wooden structure is being
|> pre-fabed at Charlie Dinn's warehouse!!  The warehouse was created
|> in the latter Dinn years to help coaster construction along in the
|> winter months when workers could not physically constuct bents out
|> in the elements.   For one thing, the park is just 12 miles from
|> Dinn's warehouse, and another odd thing is that the coaster going
|> up at Strickler's Grove is just "appearing".  There are no signs of
|> sawdust or any sort of construction at the park, and one day you'll
|> drive by the park and the coaster will be at one stage of construction,
|> and the next day an entire new section will be installed out of 
|> no-where!  If it runs anything like the old TORNADO in FLA, it should
|> be a great ride (and rumor has it the park may keep the old name as
|> well).

Thanks for the update.  Yea, I sure do remember the Tornado.  I only
rode it once (several times in one day).  It closed before I got a
chance to get over there again.  That area of the state is over 8 hours
from where I live (I live about 15 miles from where the space shuttle
goes off and can go out our front door and see it take off).  It really
surprised me.  It was my 3 year of riding and my wife and I thought we
had ridden about all the wild coasters in the east.  I mean, here was
this little coaster (60 or so feet).  How could it compare to the Beast
or the Idora Park Wildcat or some of the other coasters we had ridden. 
I think it was our 60th or so coaster ride.  Anyways on our first ride
I was taking pictures from the front seat and wham, I got slammed down
into my seat with my camera just barley hitting the lap bar.  Off pops
my lens cover.  Boy it scared me to think my new camera was broken.  No
damage except a lost lens cap and to some of my pride. 

Here is a rumor to chew on.  Actually it is not really a rumor but
something that was (is?) being looked at but hasn't taken shape.  A
friend of mine who has the plans for the Cyclone Racer had been
approached about a year ago about the possibility of rebuilding the
ride.  My friend would not tell me any more than that.  As you all know
there have been several interested parties in rebulding several of the
old time classics but nothing has come of it.  The Thunderbolt (CI) was
looked at, so was the Rye Aeroplane.  I just thought I would throw it
out here as food for thought.

     Bill "better get back to work" Figie 
Newsgroups: rec.roller-coaster