A
Little Deuce Coupe-The Beach Boys
updated
****All credit goes to SecretAgentBob****
Song- Beautiful Day by U2
Recorded using the Full Version of Fraps.
In September 2000 'coasterglobe.com interviewed Ed Mills, who described his experience of riding the Cyclone in 1945
"My most memorable ride in an amusement park occurred in July 1945, when I was on military leave in St. Catharines, Ontario. I had just turned 18 and had been in the Canadian Army for about 8 months. My two buddies and I spent a part of our leave in Crystal Beach, Ontario, which at that time was considered to be one of the greatest places for servicemen to have a good time. Besides, Crystal Beach was famous for having the most thrilling roller coaster ride in the Western Hemisphere. Being soldiers of course, and having been trained for all kinds of warfare, we had "no fear" of anything, except perhaps Military Police, and since we were on a legal pass, there was "nothing to fear". As soon as we entered the park one evening, we headed straight for the roller coaster, which was identified with a huge sign announcing "The Cyclone--Thrill of a Lifetime". After listening to the loud screams coming from the roller coaster, we decided that we must go on it right away, and promptly bought our tickets, which were I think about 15 cents or maybe 20 cents. We then stood in the line-up near the entrance gate, which happened to be very close to where the previous passengers got off. It was then that I first noticed the distinctive smell of vomit which was stronger as we got closer to the loading point. It was a bit disconcerting, but I was then immediately distracted by getting a whack in the face from something kind of leathery. It turned out to be a wallet which had fallen from the ride, and we opened it and it had a US Navy ID Card in it. As soon as the ride stopped, we saw the US sailor getting off the ride and called to him. He looked a bit dazed, and did not realize what had happened to his wallet.
It was then our turn to ride, and we ran to the coaster cars. Up the steep ramp we went, up, up and then up some more until we could see the entire amusement park. Just as I was enjoying the view, the car lurched forward and I looked in front of me down a steep incline that looked to me to be about an 89 degree slope. The cars then headed down the incline at warp speed, and all I could see in front of us was Lake Erie. I was sure there must have been a part of the tracks missing, and I then uttered my only two words during the entire ride... "Jesus Christ!" ...as we plunged down towards the Lake, I then saw a steep bank to the right of the incline and we changed directions in a split second, turning violently on our side as the car careened around a hairpin turn. I looked sideways and saw the earth spinning by, and from that point on, most of the ride was pretty much of a blur. The only other memorable part was as we reached a high horizontal point again, we were racing around a curve at such speed that it seemed certain that we would fly off into thin air. Very frankly, I was quite relieved to see the cars finally slowing down...even then, they approached the unloading platform at such a speed that one would think they would overshoot and go right into the spectators.
When I walked off the unloading platform, I couldn't help but smell the vomit again, and in fact, walked away from the area fairly promptly in order to resettle my own stomach."
Mean Streak Information...
Design
Capacity Approximately 1,600 riders per hour
Features Banked curves, high speeds and moments of negative gravity accent a course that crisscrosses the structure nine times and includes 12 hills and valleys
Model Oblong path traced three times
Ride Time Approximately 2 minutes, 45 seconds
Speed Approximately 65 mph
Structure 1.7 million board feet of treated Southern yellow pine
Manufacturing
Investment $7.5 million
Manufacturer Designer: Curtis D. Summers, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; Builder: Dinn Corp., Cincinnati, Ohio
Physical Dimensions
Dimensions 890 feet long, 445 feet wide, on 5 1/2 acres
Lift Height 161 feet
Track Length 5,427 feet
Vertical Drop 155 feet
Angle of Descent 52 degrees
Vehicles
Coaches Seven, four-passenger vehicles on each train, three, 28-passenger trains
Number of Trains 3
Vehicle Design Steel-framed vehicles with wooden sides, L-shaped individual lap bars, a seat belt, padded seat divider and high-back seats
Train Colors Red, Gold, Green
Ridership
2008 849,746
2007 821,983
2006 814,750
2005 888,188
2004 946,947
2003 993,422
2002 1,054,392
2001 1,085,154
2000 1,137,143
1999 1,150,784
1998 1,314,090
1997 1,262,351
1996 1,269,618
Top Thrill Dragster Information...
Manufacturing
Investment $25 million
Manufacturer Intamin AG of Wollerau, Switzerland
Physical Dimensions
Angle of Descent 90 degrees
Lift Height 420 feet
Track Length 2,800 feet
Vertical Drop 400 feet
Angle of Twist on Descent 270 degrees
Angle of Lift Hill 90 degrees
Design
Capacity Approximately 1,500 riders per hour
Features Hydraulic launch system Magnetic braking system Tiered seating on the coasters cars for better viewing (similar to stadium seating) 270-degree spiral on descent
Model Launched out-and-back coaster
Speed Approximately 120 mph
Structure Steel tubular track
Color Scheme Red and white alternating colored track on launch
Vehicles
Coaches Six 18-passenger trains Five cars on each train; three four-passenger and two two-passenger cars
Number of Trains 6
Train Colors Black cherry; Indy green; fluorescent purple; cobalt blue; sunshine yellow; and sunset red
Vehicle Design Fiberglass and steel coaches with individual lap bars, interlocking seat belts and padded head restraint systems. May not accommodate Guests of Exceptional Size.
Ridership
2008 1,210,327
2007 1,082,218
2006 994,531
2005 953,945
2004 943,313
2003 562,438


