I was wondering if anyone knew why the Racer was the only woodie at Kennywood to have seat dividers. It seems odd to me, as it is the least likely to need any kind of extra restraint. With the double dip on the Jack Rabbit, and the extreme laterals on the Thunderbolt, it would seem that one of these rides would have gotten new trains (I'm not suggesting that by any means).
Well actually most of the Racer's drops are sideways, so that's why the seat dividers are needed (In 1927, this was an amazing feat to have track that twisted). The older trains didn't have seat dividers, and if you go to the Pittsburgh History Museum, you can still see one of the old cars on display.
The Jack Rabbit doesn't need seat dividers. For the double dip, the stationery lap bar does just fine ;).
The Thunderbolt doesn't need seat dividers because one of the best parts of the rides is squishing your partner ... unless your partner squishes you ;).
When did the seat dividers show up? I don't remember them from when I was a kid, but my memory could be bad.
After consulting one of my Kennywood books, the new PTC trains were added for the 1982 season. The trains consisted of two red and one blue train. A few years back, they painted one of the red trains green, so now there is a red, blue, and green train.
A picture of the old Racer cars:
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com/gallery/img.asp?PicID=17 -------------
Matt Lynch, before his time...
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com
Thanks guys. I knew my memory wasn't that bad. Now if they'd only bring back those cars...
