Thunderbolt

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World Famous Coaster... all wooden.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo_Q6RLc-XY

Dubbed the King of the Coasters by the New York Times in 1967, the Thunderbolt remains near the top of everyone’s “top coasters” list. It’s unique in many ways… including an amazing plunge immediately upon leaving the station and its biggest drop at the end of the ride. The Thunderbolt reaches speeds in excess of 50 mph

The Thunderbolt is a wooden roller coaster located at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Originally built by John A. Miller in 1924, the ride's name was Pippin until 1967, when it changed to Thunderbolt beginning with the 1968 season, coinciding with an expansion of the track headed up by Andy Vettel. The all-wood coaster follows the surrounding terrain with a track length of 2,887 feet (880 m). Its maximum height is 70 feet (21 m), but because of the track layout the maximum drop is 95 feet (29 m). Reaching a maximum speed of 55 mph (88.5 km/h), the ride takes 90 seconds to complete its circuit.

The Thunderbolt's three trains were built by the National Amusement Device Company, and carry 24 riders in four cars.

An interesting feature of the Thunderbolt is that after departing from the station, the train does not immediately go up the lift hill as on most other coasters. Instead, the lift hill is in the middle of the ride.

In 1999 an accident on the Thunderbolt coaster a train reentering the station collided with the train being loaded -- when the ride operators failed to engage the manual brakes.