Kennywood Racer: A Gem or a Bust?

Of course I didn't try to hit on you...I prefer masculine men! ;)

Got Bear?

No Bear. Big foot.

So what did they do to the Racer's trains? Anyone got pictures?

PTC did a total rehab on the trains. They *look* brand new (and according to some, refurb means very little left of the old ones). They look straight off the production line. B-E-A-Utiful.

"Catch the gay"...that's a gem! :)

Actually, I think *insanity* is somewhat contagious....gay, probably not so much... ;)

Oh, Racer's trains, June '05...
http://www.pbase.com/rollergator/image/44764369

Just for fun (and also to kill time here at work), I looked down over my track record that I keep on Excel (yes, I am anal about that sort of thing) and did my best to rate the coasters by the "GoncharScale" of A,B,C,D,E (also added an I in there for coasters ridden YEARS ago that would not be fair to rate because of the time that has passed).

Results: 12 A's, 46 B's, 100 C's, 28 D's, 6 E's, 12 I's.

Easy thing was the A's and E's. There is no question of those. However, some of the favorable coasters... were they B's or C's... and some of the more unfavorable coasters... were they C's or D's. Bottom line... when you get too precise, it's like splitting hairs. Besides, ask me next week, and I am sure those middle numbers will change.

SLFAKE - I keep my track record on an excel spreadsheet, too. But that's not what make me an--nah, nevermind...too easy ;)

Geez and I thought I was going a little overboard in the zipper thread =)

Sorry to exclude ya Moosh, next time you'll be there!

LOL...no worries, Brett. No harm, no foul ;)

Yes, well, getting back to the Racer...

I line up with the "Gem" crowd. I love the Racer. I luckily get to 12 parks or so a year, so I ride a lot of coasters, and I take student groups, so I get to hear all of their reactions. My students always love The Racer and reride it several times. Were it not for lines, I would happily ride it several times in a row.

I love its elegant design. I love how the KW mechanics keep it running so smoothly after 80 years. I think it's very photogenic. And I feel the ghosts of great designers and engineers and maintenance men hovering in the timbers.

If Kennywood will market a Racer t shirt, I'll gladly wear it.

I'm still trying to figure out how there can be no "F"s in Mifflinburg. Wouldn't that make it Milinburg?

As far as Racer goes, it seems there are few who call it either a gem or a bust. Most are in between. Maybe that makes it a rhinestone, or a cubic zirconium, or whatever was popular in 1927.

Pyrite.

You fool *da dum CHA!*