Add travelling coasters to the database?

As far as I know, there is no place on the web that lists all of the travelling coasters that tour the country's fairs and carnivals. With the help of Coasterbuzz members, perhaps it would be feasible to compile a list of all the known travelling coasters and their operators (such as Amusements Of America, Conklin Shows, etc.) and add them to the Coasterbuzz database? I would be more than willing to compile all of the information that is collected, provided that members are willing to submit the coasters and operators that they are familiar with?

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I'm all for it. How would you suggest categorizing them? I mean, there's that relational thing where there are coasters that belong to parks and parks that have locations, you know?

What Would Jeffy Do?

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

I thought of catagorizing them by operator, such as Amusements of America. That way, if you know which company provided the rides for a certain event, such as the Meadowlands Fair, you could look up the company and see which of their coasters could have been there. I wouldn't list the coasters by fair or carnival, as there are probably too many to enter into the database. Besides, if you rode the Crazy Mouse at one location, you probably wouldn't count it a second time at a second location... unless you wanted to inflate your coaster count, of course.

The problem I see is gathering this information. I have no problem collecting the information and putting it into some sort of spreadsheet so that it could easily be entered into the CBuzz database when completed, but I'm not sure how to go about making people aware that this information is in demand. Would you create a news item so that people know to contribute what they know? Post it in the general forums?

I wouldn't mind information being sent to my e-mail address (unless it comes from ThrillNetwork!)

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002
*** This post was edited by Rob Ascough 7/2/2003 5:07:35 PM ***

I know Murphy Bros amusements has a Zyklon and a Dragon Wagon that they tour. The Zyklon is not called the Zyklon though because of a local law prohibiting the use of that name (it is the name of the gas used to kill Jewish people during WWII)

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Wow... I didn't know that about the word Zyklon.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

Thought that was Phosgene or something like that (if I remember my history class correctly).

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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"

Zyklon-B is the name I always knew it as.

(the gas, not the coaster)

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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 11

Call me naive, but I always thought that Zyklon was just a twist on the word "Cyclone."

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I believe you may also be right Rob, however, it was, as Lord Gonchar correctly pointed out, the name of the gas used in the Holocaust.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Another thing to be considered is that the majority of traveling coasters are owned by independent operators.Which means that you might see it on one show this year, and another one next year, or even next week. One of the big operators of touring rides is the VanderVorsts out of New Braunfels,TX. They own several Pinfari rides, and own the Reverchon spinning mouse currently at the San Diego County Fair.

Well, it's certainly a great idea, but would take a very active approach to keep current. Not like the permanent installations. Going by owner seems like the easiest approach, but to be honest as much as I'm into parks and rides, I couldn't tell you who's supplying rides to whatever fair I'm at. Even if you told me that "so & so company" owns a "insert ride here" - I probably wouldn't know if I had been on it or not.

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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 11

I realize that there are a lot of independent operators out there, but that also means that there is a great number of roller coasters out there that are virtually "unknown" to most. I never used to pay attention to fairs and carnivals- even the ones that had a Zyklon or mouse of some sort- but now I see that there is a big portion of the country's coaster population that is ignored. Even rcdb.com, which lists pretty much every permanent coaster that ever existed, doesn't include travelling coasters. For example... rcdb.com lists two Schwarzkopf portable double loop coasters in the world- Fire Dragon @ Lagoon and Lazer @ Dorney Park- but "ignores" the fact that Conklin Shows operates a third double loop. That is a big oversight, as far as I'm concerned... I know that rcdb.com is not to blame because keeping track of all these travelling coasters is tough... but these coasters deserve to be recognized, too. There are quite a few coasters that I could add to my track record but can't, because they lack a real "home."

Considering how inclusive Coasterbuzz is when it comes to everything park- and coaster-related, I figured that it would serve as a good home to a database of travelling coasters. Certainly, with all of the Buzzers out there, there are enough people that could help me make a fairly complete list that would be available to anyone who wishes to see it, thanks to Coasterbuzz's vast number of users.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I'm all for home-grown efforts. That's why we'll have a dictionary at some point!

I do agree though is that the biggest hurdle is that even among enthusiasts, knowing who owns a ride isn't easy. I never know, and I try to stay in the loop.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

I understand that many people don't really pay attention to what company runs what fair- I was guilty of that for a very long time- but with thousands of people who contribute to this site, there must be a way to compile a list that is reasonably complete. And its not like changes/additions can't be made later on, as the list becomes even more accurate.

Just as important as finding the information is finding a way to take it known that information is needed! Anyone have any ideas on how to gather that from the people who know?

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002
*** This post was edited by Rob Ascough 7/3/2003 2:32:26 PM ***

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea. I just think (like most things) that if you're going to do it, do it right. It's entirely feasible, but it's sounds like quite an undertaking. I hope someone is able to pull it off.

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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 11

If I remember correctly (and I might not), when CoasterCount.com was around, they had a "portable list" similar to what you are suggesting. If you know who was in charge of that site, it may still exist.

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Goccvp1

No, that kid faded away. Of course, he claimed to have the first online track record many months after we had it here, but that's not important right now.

Just curious... how do you know where a ride is from or who owns it? For example, the one in San Diego?

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Yes, you did have a list first. I know his site is gone, what I meant was, if anyone knows him, and is friendly with him, he might still have the list on a database, and be willing to share (probably not, since he didn't want anyone to take over the site, but worth a try).

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Goccvp1

Try contacting the manufacturers. They may share with you a list of the coasters they have sold. They might also have information about the current owners of some of them, especially if those owners still contact them for parts and troubleshooting.
*** This post was edited by Railshark 7/3/2003 3:47:55 PM ***

Lord Gonchar- I know that this is quite an undertaking, and my goal of bringing this up here was to gauge whether or not there are people out there willing to help me compile such a list. It's a lot of work for one person, but if a dozen or two people were willing to contribute information that they know or are willing to seek out, then it would be a lot easier. I'm with you- if you're going to do something, then do it right!

Jeff- which one in San Diego are you referring to?

I remember, perhaps about a year ago, someone posted a list of travelling coasters to rec.roller-coaster. I printed the list but lost it, and I never bothered to save a copy of it to my hard drive. Big mistake on my part. Perhaps someone out there who also frequents rec.roller-coaster might have that list? It was quite large, and would serve as an excellent starting point.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002