Where's the love for the old-time woodies?

I hear alot of complaining about the maintenance (or lack thereof) on some of the wooden coasters that are *starting* to show their age.  S-D creations probably take the worst beating here at the buzz (and deservingly so, IMO).  The other designs of the 70's and 80's seem to have also suffered from age/wear-and-tear.  I am FULLY aware of the difference that layout and weathering can make, but WHY are the coasters from John Miller, Schmeck, and others running SO well?  The more I get to ride the coasters of KW, and the Wild One, and the Big Dipper, the more I find that the "aging issue" seems to be a non-issue for coasters built pre-50's...they ALWAYS seem to give great rides...Even the John Allen designs seem to be doing OK.  I know GCI and especially CCI make great coasters, but these older rides can kick serious butt, even if they aren't the tallest, fastest, etc...
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Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

It has to do with the amount they spend on upkeep. They spend a lot to maintain SCBB's Giant Dipper, some of which comes from taxes since it has been designated a national landmark. It uses Morgan trains, but it is the smoothest wood coaster I've been on, not counting kiddie wodden coasters. Ones that seem to be showing their age prematurely are ones built after 1970 and have no historic value yet, especially twin track ones, which need extra effort to maintain. Remember that it takes tons of work to maintain a wood coaster compared to a steel coaster.

 

-djansi

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"Eject Goose, Eject!"

SCBB was beautiful, we got pics from our trip even if the rides were closed.  (Aside: GREAT Chinese food in NoCal).  Steel IS easier to maintain, but MUCH more expensive to build.  Wood pays for its upkeep by bringing in revenue WHILE you're having to pay to maintain them.  If we could convince the gov't to allow us to clone just one human, I vote for Jeff H...
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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

I think we've just had such a great crop of new rides that, well, other than nostalgia, it's hard to get excited about the older rides. I love Thunderbolt and Jack Rabbit at Kennywood, but if I had the choice, I'd much rather be riding Raven and Legend!

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Where is the love?  Its right here!

Jeff is right, with coasters like Boulder Dash, Ghostrider, Raven and Shivering Timbers being built nowadays, the lack of excitement over older woodies is completely understandable.

Still, of all the woodies I have ridden (the only above-mentioned one I have ridden is Boulder Dash), I would prefer a ride on Knoebel's Phoenix.  To me, that is what wooden coasters are all about!

IMHO in order to appreciate our future we must appreciate our past.  Six of my Top 10 wooden coasters were built about 70-75 years ago:  #3 Phoenix, #4 CI Cyclone, #7 SCBB Giant Dipper, #8 PNE Coaster, #9 SFWoA Big Dipper, and #10 SFA Wild One.  And five more are in my Top 20.

IMHO the classic woodies prove that a coaster does not have to be big or fast to be fun and provide excellent air.  Polls such as Mitch's poll also show the same as the bigger woodies such as Herc and Mean Streak sit near the bottom of the list.

I love the old wooden coasters, as much fun as I have on steel rides, woodies are a completely different experience.  Giant Dipper is such a fun ride, and the Cyclone at Lakeside is one of my favorites just for it's weirdness.

Wooden coasters are different than steel though, so you have to look at them with a different mindset.

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-Robin
"Lighten up while you still can, don't even try to understand..."

Hey! One of my favorite jerky roller casters are old... the Giant Dipper at Belmont Park in San Diego. I go on it every time i'm there. Blue Streak is fun... um.... yeah that's all i can think of that i've been on... low caster count ;)

I love old wooden coasters. Rebel Yell, Wild One, both Giant Dippers in California, and Screamin' Eagle are just some of the many great ones built before the 80s. I think that newer ones are generally better, but that's not always the case.

*** This post was edited by saviourmachine on 12/6/2001. ***

I personally love the old wooden roller coasters.  They give more of a thrill to it.  I know what you mean though, a lot of people are afraid of them.  The Lakeside Cyclone was built in 1940, and people are afraid to ride.  But sometimes it is for the better, because shorter lines.

Does anyone think that out and backs are easier to maintain than the more modern twister, twister hybrid coasters?  It seems that most of the older coasters that run smoothly tend to be mostly out and back airtime machines.  I could be wrong because I haven't ridden many older woodies (SCCB Giant Dipper, Collosus, Big Dipper, Beast, Racer, Screamin' Eagle, CP Blues Streak).  So please feel free to shoot my theory out of the water if you want.  But with less lateral forces to cause stress in lateral directions I would think that the guage of the track would remain true over longer periods of time and easier to fix.  As for love for the older woodies, count me in.  My favorites are a mixture of old and new.  My favorites would include the Giant Dipper, Screamin' Eagle, Beast and Racer mixed in with Raven, Cornball, Boss and Villain.

Good point, Incidentalist. Less forces mean less wear. And a lot of the older out & back turn arounds tend to be gentler than a CCI's, so your primary stress is at the bottom of drops.

This is a love thread, so I'll give a little love: Rides like Screechin' Eagle, Conneaut's Blue Streak, Camden's Big Dipper, Williams Grove's Cyclone, and America's Wild One are among the most terrifying rides of my life. They really made me wake up and realize what generations of people have been used to. The way they creak and sway......their unique designs and personalities make for the most memorable park trips. My models are largely inspired by the rides I have on these time machines. I love the look and smell of them (yes, old wood has a distinct odor!). I also love tunnels, and it's hard to beat the ones on Phoenix and Conneaut's Blue Streak. I want to do anything I can to help preserve them, whether that means donating money or helping paint.
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The love is here in the NW.  I know that I,in Seattle, and Ronald Anderson in OR have a huge love for the old wood.  Heck, I have 2 monster classic rides in my backyard, as it were.  I admittedly have yet to ride Coaster at PNE, but that is coming in the spring.  My very first coaster was Coaster Thrill Ride at the Western WA Fair in Puyallup, WA.  Still, to this day, an amazing ride.  Miller did it right, as (or so I have heard) Carl Phare.  I love the CI Cyclone too (whoe doesn't?).  My personal favorites have always been wood, with Ghostrider now taking my #1 spot.  If I could get to Europe, I would imagine some of those CCIs would make me think differently.  I want to ride Megafobia soooooooo bad.  We are so fortunate to live in a time with such a plethora of coasters to pick from.  Hopefully, companies like CCI and GCI will enforce, if possible, maintenance on their creations.  It does seem, and correct me if I am wrong, that not one, not one, CCI is running less than optimum.  Perhaps the parks that are making the investments into these coasters have finally seen the light, as it were.  It does seem that most of these parks, MA and KBF not withstanding, are quite small and family owned.  Perhaps there is an understanding within these environments that even coasters 'need love?'

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I know you are wondering what this is?

Hey, i love my Screechin' Eagle, and I could ride Lake Winnie's Cannonball all day!

I love the old wooden coasters as well. Blue Streak is still one of my favorite coasters, and Big Dipper at SFWoA (I rode it when it was still Geauga Lake) will always hold a place in my heart.

Rob, even though it's a newer coaster, Shivering Timbers does NOT lack in excitement for me. I was off my seat almost the entire ride. Since ST is an out and back, I would hope it'll wear better than poor Mean Streak (which I still like anyway). CP ha keept Blue Streak running good since 1964, so could it be the twisting of MS that makes it tougher to maintain?

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dea

Mamoosh, good to see you here.  I guess when I started this thread,I was thinking about a few parks in specific that have woodies from different eras.  First, I'll go with Dorney:  GREAT old woodie, TH.  Substandard younger woodie, Herc.  On to CP:  really good older ride, Blue Streak.  MS, no comment (if you don't have anything nice to say, ...) - it still LOOKS great.  Now to SFWoA, which REALLY demonstrates the point I was trying to make:  Big Dipper, fantastic fun, older coaster, runs very well.  RWB, the "middle-aged" coaster, again, no comment.  Villain, a great new-model CCI that also really delivers a fun (and smooth) ride. 

The twister layouts with higher lateral forces are CERTAINLY harder to maintain than out-n-backs, that is not really debatable IMO.  But I do have to wonder why, twister or out-n-back, the 70's-80's coasters seems to have aged BADLY in comparison to the 20's-50's models, all other things being equal.  Is this a testament to the CRAFTSMANSHIP displayed in the construction of the older coasters (gets my vote), or is there another factor I'm not considering....

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PoTP acolyte - remove fear to reply
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

One of these old time woodies that should not be missed is the Yankee Cannonball at Canobie Lake.  I would highly recomend to anyone that loves old wooden coasters to see this classic airtime gem in a wonderful small park!

Of all the wooden coasters I have ridden,the older coasters give the best rides.The Coaster Thrill ride at the Western Washington Fair with its' Prior & Church trains(from the long defunct Happyland Giant Dipper,Vancouver,BC 1925-1947)gives a smooth ride with a few pops of air here and there.This is a good fun coaster that almost anyone can ride.I might even be able to convince my wife to ride this one with me.My #1 woodie is the PNE/Playland Coaster.

I've only ridden one woodie, Thunderhawk, and it's old!! But it rocks. Now the other more modern Hercules is supposed to suck. My friends both came off with headaches and said it was horrible!!! I conclude that more modern woodies lack some of the smoothness and charm of newer ones, even the new CCI ones probably can't compare to a good ol' PTC. :) But, of course, I do't know, 'cuz I've only ridden one :(

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Sam7008 i agree with you that canobie lake parks Yankee Canonball is great. ive been on 3 woodies and liked it the most! its a great ride and everyone should definitly ride it!
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Out of the coasters i've ridden here is wat i rank them overall:(ive been to canobie lake and SFNE)
1. S:RoS 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Riverside Cyclone 4. Canobie Corkscrew 5. Thunderbolt 6. Galaxy 7. Mind Eraser 8. Dragon coaster 9. poison ivy's tangled