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Scott's Coaster Closet


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WOW that UFO thing is a crazy contraption. I have seen drawings and models of such a ride at the IAAPA convention but never knew that there was a actual ride built. You can see here the concept advertised by IAD as the Rainbow. I have no idea who the mfg is of the UFO.

 

Hello!

 

Sorry for my late answer. As for the UFO ride, the manufacturer is a spanish company named Robles Bouso (i guess that´s the name of the owner). i haven´t managed to find out more facts than he/them/they´ve built a couple of paratrooper rides, octopus rides and so this UFO thing. They might have manufactured other rides also but these are the only one i could came up with right now. We actually had a RB Ufo travelling here in Sweden in the late 70´s. The ride came directly from the factory up to the north of Sweden. I´ll attach 2 pictures of it when it was brand new and 2 pictures from it´s new home, in Poland, taken 2007.

 

Hope i didn´t got oo offtopic now.

 

/ Robert

ufo1.jpg.0e52b3f914c7459afe2d49be5719f93a.jpg

During the late 70´s

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As it looks "today" (2007)

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As it looks "today" (2007)

ufo2.jpg.b02679507d8ec3026ccd23a7d9e132a8.jpg

During the late 70´s

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I recall seeing a "half" version of this ride somewhere many years ago. I can't remember the fair, but it was basically the same thing but the little mini-enterprise went from horizontal to vertical and then back down again. It was called UFO and though interesting to watch, it was not my cup 'o tea.

 

-S

 

 

 

 

WOW that UFO thing is a crazy contraption. I have seen drawings and models of such a ride at the IAAPA convention but never knew that there was a actual ride built. You can see here the concept advertised by IAD as the Rainbow. I have no idea who the mfg is of the UFO.

 

Hello!

 

Sorry for my late answer. As for the UFO ride, the manufacturer is a spanish company named Robles Bouso (i guess that´s the name of the owner). i haven´t managed to find out more facts than he/them/they´ve built a couple of paratrooper rides, octopus rides and so this UFO thing. They might have manufactured other rides also but these are the only one i could came up with right now. We actually had a RB Ufo travelling here in Sweden in the late 70´s. The ride came directly from the factory up to the north of Sweden. I´ll attach 2 pictures of it when it was brand new and 2 pictures from it´s new home, in Poland, taken 2007.

 

Hope i didn´t got oo offtopic now.

 

/ Robert

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  • 2 weeks later...

For anyone whos interested...

 

i used to operate the Cyclone at Southport Pleasureland in England, from 2004 right up to closing day!

 

While the ride was hit and miss with regards to excitement, i loved using the manual brakes, and have since come to love all coasters that still have them even if some of them disagree with my spine

 

It was very exciting, and yes, in training, several trains went right through the station, sometimes fully Loaded. Of course i could do that on purpose if i wanted

 

If anyone here was on the UK trip a few years ago, i was running the ride for the ERT

 

Refering to the original post, as with the Big Dipper at Camden, Cyclone also used manual levers but connected to Squeeze brakes. But instead of century flyers i had to deal with heavily modified PTC cars.

 

Im glad this topic was brought up, i toothought that i was alone on this one!

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For anyone whos interested...

 

i used to operate the Cyclone at Southport Pleasureland in England, from 2004 right up to closing day!

 

While the ride was hit and miss with regards to excitement, i loved using the manual brakes, and have since come to love all coasters that still have them even if some of them disagree with my spine

 

It was very exciting, and yes, in training, several trains went right through the station, sometimes fully Loaded. Of course i could do that on purpose if i wanted

 

If anyone here was on the UK trip a few years ago, i was running the ride for the ERT

 

Refering to the original post, as with the Big Dipper at Camden, Cyclone also used manual levers but connected to Squeeze brakes. But instead of century flyers i had to deal with heavily modified PTC cars.

 

Im glad this topic was brought up, i toothought that i was alone on this one!

 

Hey Cyclone37!

 

No, you're not alone in your manual brake fascination. As you can see, there are plenty of us!

 

Wow, I envy your gig as a Cyclone operator. Cherish those memories and feel free to post a few pics of the Cyclone's station/brake area (and any other part of the ride for that matter!).

 

Sadly, despite all my time in the UK, the Cyclone is the one that I missed. It looked like a great ride.

 

-S

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There are some good pics on this site from the day of the trip, i was operating but am not in any of these, i have seen a video someone has put together from this day that i am actually in, pulling my Levers :

 

http://www.themeparkreview.com/uk2006/southport/southport2.htm

 

 

I will remember it all my life!, its a shame i dont have much proof of it though The picture right below is taken from the front end of the station, im in the Brakeman's box on the far end, cant really see me though, but it is me! This pic was actually taken 3 days before the park closed, at this point, nobody was to know! Very Riverviewesque!!

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Me in the box!

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well this is the cyclone station at least :p here it looks like its been in a cyclone!

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Fireworks in town, at this point, Pleasureland and the Cyclone had been closed for 2 weeks.

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Exit Platform

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  • 4 weeks later...
SeaWippet, When will the new season be starting?

 

Hey Kalvin,

 

Thanks for asking. I'm actually assembling the first 'episode' right now. I hope to have it up by this weekend but a trip down to SFOG for a dose of Mindbender and pumpkins might delay it by a day or so. I'll get things rolling soon. Gotta keep up with Shane in The Attic!

 

-S

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Yes Seawhippet...when is the new season going to start???? It's like waiting for the new season of Lost.

 

 

Unlike Lost, The Closet will not feature any wonky flash-forwards, flash-sideways or quick-cut edits to any Dharma-related installation.

 

It's all about funky retro wonderfulness. Yeah, baby, yeah!

 

-S

 

 

Locke: Is he talking about what I think he was talking about?

Ben: If you mean time traveling bunnies, then yes.

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Though many think the infamous Bat at Kings Island was the first modern suspended coaster, that wonderfully violent machine was preceded by the equally bizarre and short-lived Alpen-Flug.

 

Designed by German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmidt with calculations supplied by Werner Stengel, Alpen-Flug premiered at the 1975 Oktoberfest in Munich.

 

Utilizing five 6-car trains, Alpen-Flug was an incredibly thrilling ride experience, performing far better than anyone expected. But at the end of the fair, it was found that the ride suffered from severe structural damage, especially in the area around the turns. This design flaw was a direct result of the deliberate under-banking of the track on the turns – a cost-saving measure chosen by Messerschmidt and vehemently condemned by Werner Stengel. So upset by Messerschmidt’s decision to ignore his very specific advice to bank the track per his calculations, Stengel left the project.

 

During my interview with Stengel, when he supplied these images from his personal collection, he described the ride as very, very thrilling and intense … particularly in the lateral swinging in the transitions. Still, he knew the ride couldn’t survive since Messerschmidt ignored his instructions on track banking.

 

Alpen-Flug, along with a duplicate that was already under construction, is another strange ride lost to history. I wish someone would come forward with film of this intriguing ride in operation. It must exist somewhere … Until then, enjoy these beautiful images of one of the oddest roller coasters ever created.

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Train #2 struts its stuff!

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Train #2 showing wheel assemblies and connectors. How minimalist is this? Did IKEA build these trains?

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Train #2 with headlights blazing plows into an unbanked turn. Hang on!!!!!!!!

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Train #2 ascends lift. Note lower fin guide rain has been added.

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Train enters unload platform.

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Test train (sans roofs) heads toward lift. Note fins beneath cars that will be propelled by friction tires (bottom left) onto lift.

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Train # 2 awaiting more sandbags ... err ... passengers.

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From the construction crane, unload platform is on the left ... main station is dead ahead.

alpenflug1.jpg.87444a665a9a3687a94950bb7b8285ea.jpg

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I've known of this for a long, long time. And of course, most die-hard fans know that Schwarzkopf was the original manufacturer of Big Bad Wolf at BGE before Arrow took over the project. I wonder if it would have ended up something like this had it been finished by Schwarzkopf?

 

Eric

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Wow, this is one of the most interesting coasters you've posted so far! I loved the suspended coaster idea... I wish it would become popular again...

 

Also what I found to be intriguing about this coaster is the lack of (much) restraint. Flying along the course, swinging up at high angles would scare me to death in those trains!

 

Very cool, nonetheless.

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Scott-

 

Just Plain Awesome! Way to start out the second season. This is such an interesting post. I had no knowledge of this ride and I am now completely fascinated with it.

 

The track is very similar to the track used on Mindbender and Shockwave, two of the most beautiful Schwarzkopf coasters, yet this is not a Shwarzkopf ride. It also bares much resemblance to Intamin track. Those trains look pretty pathetic almost like something the Eyerly Aircraft Companywould make.

 

I love these kind of posts where you are able to show rare pictures and enhance those pictures with the stories you get from those involved with the ride.

 

Can't wait for more.

 

PS- I see the name has been changed from "amusement" to "coaster"

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What a rarity! Kind of like the unicorn of modern coasters. If I recall correctly, there was a photo or two of this ride in a travelling exhibit (Smithsonian?) about rollercoasters in the late 70s. I may be thinking of another odd suspended one I've seen from much earlier (20s or 30s?) that was sort of like a really large Toboggan with a standard lift. After the lift it was just a long continuous spiral.

 

Either way, WOW! I never considered that eliminating the banking could be such a big money saver.

 

Thanks for sharing the photos and facts!

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I'll try to address a few of the questions instead of a bunch of individual posts:

 

Schwarzkopf had nothing to do with Alpen-Flug. In fact he had only disdain for it, saying that Messerschmidt building this ride would be like his company trying to design airplanes and helicopters.

 

The BBW project, that Arrow eventually completed, would have looked a lot different if Schwarzkopf had finished it. This is mainly in the track design and vehicles. Anton's FlugBahn featured a finned pipe track with larger 7-seat cars (see photo below).

 

If Messerschmidt had spent the Marks and used Stengel's original calculations to properly bank the track, this ride (and the duplicate under construction) could've lasted much longer.

 

Arrow's Bat, built several years after the Alpen-Flug debacle, suffered from many of the same problems. ... specifically, little to no banking on the turns. They MUST have been aware of the fate of the German ride but chose to ignore history's lessons. Thankfully, they got it right on BBW.

 

Oh, and someone said something about Alpen-Flug's braking system. Believe it or not, those fins on the bottom of the cars (unlike the Bat) were only used for moving the trains around via tire friction drives. The braking was moved up to the long steel bars located between the wheels above the seats. There were several block brakes located on the course, but were situated up on the track itself.

 

Yes, Shane, I agree that the Alpen-Flug track looks a lot like what Schwarzkopf used on the Mindbender and Shockwave. Since AF predated those rides, I would guess that Werner Stengel is responsible for this. It's a very strong but expensive track to build and I doubt that Messerschmidt had the good sense to come up with such a design on its own. I'm just sayin ...

 

Did I miss anything?

 

-S

 

flugbahn.jpg.9608fd7012a8f8ac920bc8b4c86fad6c.jpg

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PS- I see the name has been changed from "amusement" to "coaster"

 

 

Well ... I thought that since you had the park angle pretty much all cinched up, I should concentrate on what I know best ---> Coasters!

 

Though Like I said, I'll toss in a random ride here and there ... something that snares my wandering attention. There are plenty of those out there ...

 

-S

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Scott-

 

We will miss you on our Schwarzkopf trek to Mexico City next weekend. I am so excited to ride the Laser Loop at its new home as well as Dreier Looping. I don't think we will get to Thriller.

 

Do you happen to know its operating schedule????

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