roomraider
Best Topic Starter
Thought this would be an interesting topic to do as there are a few around.
A disclaimer first perhaps a better topic for this post at least would be "Coaster Mysteries I Don't Personally Know The Answer To".... Maybe these are solved and I just don't know(very possible), Certainly all of these so called mysteries have a solution and people somewhere undoubtedly know the answers somewhere but those people just aren't part of the coaster enthusiast community.
All 4 of these are mysteries I've spent quite a bit of time looking into and come up with nothing concrete over the years.
The Missing Doppel Looping
Conklin Shows were (and sort of still are as part of North American Midway Entertainment) one of the biggest travelling carnival companies in North America. Undoubtedly their jewel in the crown was the Schwarzkopf built Doppel Looping. Originally operating in Germany from 1979 to 1983 the ride moved to the USA and toured as far and wide as Toronto and Miami and took 28 trucks to move around. Transporting massive rides like this became less and less sustainable and eventually the ride was sold in 2009 to a new park in Pakistan where it promptly vanished.
As far as I can tell the ride has never been seen again and no one seems to know where it is. As the ubiquity of the internet get ever more it seems less and less likely its now hiding at some out of the way park in Pakistan (something that was possible if unlikely even in 2009). Maybe its in storage or maybe its been melted down. I want to hope its still hiding in a warehouse somewhere but I think my heart probably knows its long gone now.
Doppel Looping at Miami Dade County Fair
The Phantom Boomerang
Boomerangs are everywhere these days but in 1984 they were new and interesting. There is some confusion as to which was the first boomerang although I think its generally accepted the first to be built was at Rafaela Padilla in Mexico but the first to actually open was at Bellewaerde in Belgium. Two more also opened that year at La Ronde and Moreys Pier but a little known 5th ride was also built at Tivoli Park in Gran Canaria and possibly would have opened before Bellewaerde. Although that would have relied on it ever being finished.
The boomerang at Tivoli can be seen here in front of the Ferris Wheel.
Tivoli had a troubled history and was originally due to open 1974 but failed to open due financing problems. Several attempts were made to finish the park all he way into the 2000s until what was there was finally demolished in 2013. Source: http://www.parqueplaza.net/2013/08/las-palmas-de-gran-canaria-derriba-un.html
Now in relation to the boomerang this is where things get murky. One of those attempts was in the early 80s and the picture above shows both the Ferris Wheel and the Boomerang at the park. The Ferris Wheel is also of Vekoma origin and is in fact still operating as Grande Roue at La Ronde in Canada. There is no date on the photo above but Grande Roue opened in 1984 meaning this picture must have been taken at the latest in early 1984.
The Boomerang that was there was also dismantled at the same time as the Ferris Wheel and promptly vanished too. There are many theories as to where it went. I've read it went to Parque de Atracciones in Barcelona before it went to Six Flags New Orleans to learn to snorkel but that leaves a 6 year gap between parks which seems unlikely. My personal theory is that this went with the Ferris Wheel and is what ended up as Boomerang at La Ronde, It wouldn't be the first time a ride company has sold a New Ride which Isn't really that "New".
The problem here is that no one at Vekoma now worked at Vekoma then. And even if they had I doubt records would have been was well kept as they are now. While its not really important it is a nice little historical mystery that I like.
The Russian Spinner
in 2003 Wonder Island in St Petersburg, Russia was constructing a spinning coaster built by Maurer. The ride originally sold to Thailand (even this bit is a bit of a mystery) and apparently based on the design of Höllenblitz. The ride was fully built and then.... suddenly wasn't.
There is a clear picture of the ride on the RCDB taken in 2003 and a shot of a poster of the ride stating 2005 as the opening date. (Source: https://rcdb.com/2874.htm#p=10506 ) but by 2007 there was a shooting dark ride inside the pyramid and no sign of any Maurer spinning coaster.
Again 2005 was kind of before we really had such an idea of coasters outside the USA and Europe and again no one really seems to know what happened (and boy have i looked). In 2005 it was certainly under construction (Source: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=266569 ) and in 2007 it had gone. Did it ever open? Did it move? This one I don't think we will ever know.
The Jacksonville Beach Cyclone
This one is a bit of a personal project of mine and one that interests me a lot. But one I still haven't solved. Back in the early days of steel coasters a number of weird rides popped up that were essentially the precursors to the now ubiquitous Pinfari Cyclone rides. They were weird because they used two separate rails with a car straddling the gap between them.
Here is one in Germany taken in 1964
Source: Facebook
A number of these existed I believe at least 4. One eventually moved to Playcenter in São Paulo Brazil where it operated as Ciclone and then went travelling around South America from 1973. The ride eventually entered storage and stayed that way for decades but excitingly has just been completely refurbished and is now (or will be very soon) running again on the South American travelling circuit. (This is suddenly VERY high on my personal hit list of rides and expect a big update about this soon)
However that's all kind of incidental to this one image of a similar ride (although not direct clone) which showed up in the USA.
This postcard was purchased by a chap called Kenny Rutherford on E-Bay and shows one of these rides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida in 1974. Kenny also has a memory of seeing this ride at Jacksonville Beach when he was younger.
I have checked everywhere I can think of for info on this ride but i haven't found a single other mention or picture of this ride anywhere else. This is one I am hoping will be solved soon but just requires a bit more graft
I have a nice spreadsheet of all sightings of these rides known to me here.
Anyway does any one else have any interesting mysteries they've never been able to solve? I'm sure there are many out there. (Where exactly is Kannonen perhaps? )
A disclaimer first perhaps a better topic for this post at least would be "Coaster Mysteries I Don't Personally Know The Answer To".... Maybe these are solved and I just don't know(very possible), Certainly all of these so called mysteries have a solution and people somewhere undoubtedly know the answers somewhere but those people just aren't part of the coaster enthusiast community.
All 4 of these are mysteries I've spent quite a bit of time looking into and come up with nothing concrete over the years.
The Missing Doppel Looping
Conklin Shows were (and sort of still are as part of North American Midway Entertainment) one of the biggest travelling carnival companies in North America. Undoubtedly their jewel in the crown was the Schwarzkopf built Doppel Looping. Originally operating in Germany from 1979 to 1983 the ride moved to the USA and toured as far and wide as Toronto and Miami and took 28 trucks to move around. Transporting massive rides like this became less and less sustainable and eventually the ride was sold in 2009 to a new park in Pakistan where it promptly vanished.
As far as I can tell the ride has never been seen again and no one seems to know where it is. As the ubiquity of the internet get ever more it seems less and less likely its now hiding at some out of the way park in Pakistan (something that was possible if unlikely even in 2009). Maybe its in storage or maybe its been melted down. I want to hope its still hiding in a warehouse somewhere but I think my heart probably knows its long gone now.
Doppel Looping at Miami Dade County Fair
The Phantom Boomerang
Boomerangs are everywhere these days but in 1984 they were new and interesting. There is some confusion as to which was the first boomerang although I think its generally accepted the first to be built was at Rafaela Padilla in Mexico but the first to actually open was at Bellewaerde in Belgium. Two more also opened that year at La Ronde and Moreys Pier but a little known 5th ride was also built at Tivoli Park in Gran Canaria and possibly would have opened before Bellewaerde. Although that would have relied on it ever being finished.
The boomerang at Tivoli can be seen here in front of the Ferris Wheel.
Tivoli had a troubled history and was originally due to open 1974 but failed to open due financing problems. Several attempts were made to finish the park all he way into the 2000s until what was there was finally demolished in 2013. Source: http://www.parqueplaza.net/2013/08/las-palmas-de-gran-canaria-derriba-un.html
Now in relation to the boomerang this is where things get murky. One of those attempts was in the early 80s and the picture above shows both the Ferris Wheel and the Boomerang at the park. The Ferris Wheel is also of Vekoma origin and is in fact still operating as Grande Roue at La Ronde in Canada. There is no date on the photo above but Grande Roue opened in 1984 meaning this picture must have been taken at the latest in early 1984.
The Boomerang that was there was also dismantled at the same time as the Ferris Wheel and promptly vanished too. There are many theories as to where it went. I've read it went to Parque de Atracciones in Barcelona before it went to Six Flags New Orleans to learn to snorkel but that leaves a 6 year gap between parks which seems unlikely. My personal theory is that this went with the Ferris Wheel and is what ended up as Boomerang at La Ronde, It wouldn't be the first time a ride company has sold a New Ride which Isn't really that "New".
The problem here is that no one at Vekoma now worked at Vekoma then. And even if they had I doubt records would have been was well kept as they are now. While its not really important it is a nice little historical mystery that I like.
The Russian Spinner
in 2003 Wonder Island in St Petersburg, Russia was constructing a spinning coaster built by Maurer. The ride originally sold to Thailand (even this bit is a bit of a mystery) and apparently based on the design of Höllenblitz. The ride was fully built and then.... suddenly wasn't.
There is a clear picture of the ride on the RCDB taken in 2003 and a shot of a poster of the ride stating 2005 as the opening date. (Source: https://rcdb.com/2874.htm#p=10506 ) but by 2007 there was a shooting dark ride inside the pyramid and no sign of any Maurer spinning coaster.
Again 2005 was kind of before we really had such an idea of coasters outside the USA and Europe and again no one really seems to know what happened (and boy have i looked). In 2005 it was certainly under construction (Source: https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=266569 ) and in 2007 it had gone. Did it ever open? Did it move? This one I don't think we will ever know.
The Jacksonville Beach Cyclone
This one is a bit of a personal project of mine and one that interests me a lot. But one I still haven't solved. Back in the early days of steel coasters a number of weird rides popped up that were essentially the precursors to the now ubiquitous Pinfari Cyclone rides. They were weird because they used two separate rails with a car straddling the gap between them.
Here is one in Germany taken in 1964
Source: Facebook
A number of these existed I believe at least 4. One eventually moved to Playcenter in São Paulo Brazil where it operated as Ciclone and then went travelling around South America from 1973. The ride eventually entered storage and stayed that way for decades but excitingly has just been completely refurbished and is now (or will be very soon) running again on the South American travelling circuit. (This is suddenly VERY high on my personal hit list of rides and expect a big update about this soon)
However that's all kind of incidental to this one image of a similar ride (although not direct clone) which showed up in the USA.
This postcard was purchased by a chap called Kenny Rutherford on E-Bay and shows one of these rides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida in 1974. Kenny also has a memory of seeing this ride at Jacksonville Beach when he was younger.
I have checked everywhere I can think of for info on this ride but i haven't found a single other mention or picture of this ride anywhere else. This is one I am hoping will be solved soon but just requires a bit more graft
I have a nice spreadsheet of all sightings of these rides known to me here.
Anyway does any one else have any interesting mysteries they've never been able to solve? I'm sure there are many out there. (Where exactly is Kannonen perhaps?
)
