Vintage Magic Mountain Pics

I was browsing this website after someone mentioned it at KPConnection and found a link to vintage pics from Magic Mountain, when the rides still worked and there was still customer service.

http://theimaginaryworld.com/mmtn.html

Yeah, it's a shame isn't it. I've seen that website before. And everytime I come across it, I loathe Six Flags more and more. The park as of the past 10-15 years has been pretty much a dump in the making. Find me another amusement park of such magnitute and size in such a pathetic state. You probably won't. Ew. What 10-some years of "neglect" can do to a place that was once so beautiful.

They used to have the most awesome characters walking around the park! man gimme trolls and wizards over batman anyday

Awesome and very depressing at the same time. That is what the park should strive to be again. Go retro and focus on atmosphere instead of new bigger thrills.

Old theme park photos are fun to look at because you can really see how much the trees have filled in over a few decades.

Gotta love those wacky Intamin Ferris wheels!

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Acoustic Viscosity said:
Awesome and very depressing at the same time. That is what the park should strive to be again. Go retro and focus on atmosphere instead of new bigger thrills.

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I agree, and I love looking at older photos of parks. It seems like alot of parks really loose their "magic" and charm over the years, like when I saw older pictures of kings dominion and kings island with th singing mushrooms and everything. Id love to go back to when parks were like that. From pics ive seen it seems alot of european parks hold onto a little of that kind of atmosphere I see in old pictures of major american parks.

American theme parks switched from kooky "niche" characters and theming to widely-accepted and highly marketable stuff. I think that did a lot to change the theme park landscape because it stifled creativity.

Does someone (Moosh?) know if they ran these two engines at the same time or if one replaced the other? I rememer the verticle boiler engine from commercials, but never saw the "standard" one.

http://theimaginaryworld.com/mmtn17.jpg

http://theimaginaryworld.com/mmtn16.jpg

By the way, does anyone know what became of the vertical boiler engine? And was it steam or diesel?

Why did they get rid of the train? Seems to me the focus shifted from families to thrillseekers a LONG time ago.

^^ They actually had 2 train rides at one time, the Old 99 was used for the "Train to Trollywood" train ride. Go here for pix and more depressing reminders of what a magical fun park Magic Mtn used to be:

http://themepark.sitesbyrob.com/magic_mountain.htm

The vertical boiler engine was not steam. It was a diesel-hydraulic system. When SFMM removed the railroad, it went to SFAW. It never ran there as it had a blown transmission. It is presumed scrapped.

It appears to me that the "Old 99" was a Crown steamer, but a different guage, 24" I think. The Grand Centennial Railroad was 36" *** Edited 9/19/2006 5:09:44 PM UTC by customfabricators***

Those are great pics. That used to be a GREAT park. It really sucks how crappy the place hasbecome on several different levels.

Wow, two railroads? How cool is that? Bring 'em back!

Was Trollywood the kiddie land?

Two railroads, or two engines running on the same railroad? I'm pretty certain the latter is the case.

I remember going to Magic Mountain in the late 70's. It was almost as exciting for the family to go there as Disneyland. You can see how this used to be a family park.

The idea that too many roller coasters makes it impossible for a park to be family friendly again is an idiotic argument. It's just an excuse to dump the park for some short term profit.

We're not talking about reinventing the wheel here. It doesn't have to be a bunch of expensive, heavily themed dark rides that turn things around. Some bumper boats, a train, a yo-yo, some fair rides, just a few more options for other family members to ride other than extreme-thrills. Its just so sad folks have given up on this park. *** Edited 9/19/2006 5:50:32 PM UTC by rc-madness***

It's still a beautiful park. It's got lush landscaping and trees, trees, trees everywhere.

It's like an old house that's rundown and needs to be renovated. If by some small miracle the park finds a new owner with large pockets, the infrastructure for an awesome park still remains.

For me, Six Flags leaving town is *great* news, whether the park itself survives or not.

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Rob Ascough said:
Two railroads, or two engines running on the same railroad? I'm pretty certain the latter is the case.

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Nope, two different railroads. Both on seperate sides of the park from each other.

The Trollywood Railway was located kind of where Goliath is now. It ran a short course out of Kiddieland out past some troll dioramas (Trollville, Rastus' house, etc.).

The other railroad was much larger and it's main station was where Batman is now. it ran out to the western edge of the property and then turned south. This section of the railway ran past wild animals, as the park was trying for a bit of a "safari" feel here. The train then circled around past Spilliken Corners (where Psucklone and Vu are now) and there was another station in the corners. It then made it's way back to station one. You can still see some remnants of the tracks at the base of the path that runs up from Vu to the Rapids Ride.

Stupid Magic Mountain.

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Rob Ascough said:
Two railroads, or two engines running on the same railroad? I'm pretty certain the latter is the case.

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Nope. It was two separate railroad tracks completely independant from one another.

One was the Grand Centennial Excursion Railroad (1976 - 1985) and the other was simply known as Steam Train (1971 - 1981).

Untill last year the Crown (the smaller of the two, the one that ran to Trollywood) sat in a warehouse on site. It is now in the hands of a private indidvidual and is being restored