New Dorney Park Thunderhawk Train Construction Photos + Original Coaster Contract

© Dorney Park

Just recently Dorney Park announced some major changes to Thunderhawk, their wooden roller coaster that dates back to 1924, for the 2016 season.  One of the largest changes to the coaster, aside from a sparkling white coat of paint, are a pair of brand new trains fabricated by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC).

Dorney Park sent some great photos, included in this post, of those new trains being fabricated at PTC.  Above are some of the front panels, complete with hold bars already installed.

© Dorney Park

PTC is building 8 three-seat articulating cars for Thunderhawk, with each of the two trains using four cars (a total of 24 riders per train).  The new trains are featuring a classic-inspired paint scheme, alternating in color pattern to differentiate the two trains.  One will predominantly feature a deep red color and be accented by a golden yellow, the other train will swap the two.  This photo shows off both of those schemes at play in the finished side panels for the cars.

© Dorney Park

Here is a closer view of the completed side panels, giving a really nice look at the new train colors.  These will really pop against the newly painted white structure of the coaster.

© Dorney Park

In this photo at left is Jim Schneck, Dorney Park's Graphic Services Manager and PTC's President Tom Rebbie inspecting the progress of one of the train's front car panels.  The park chose to go with a somewhat open design for the front of the trains, which is a throwback to classic wood coaster trains of the past.  The front will also feature the Thunderhawk logo, as shown in the park's concept art for the trains.

© Dorney Park

Moving on from the front and side panels of the trains, the true "guts" of the cars are also quite far along.  Here is a photo of the base components of the trains laid out in PTC's shop, already painted in a jet black colors.  I'm not a expert on the mechanics of wood coaster trains, but you can see that some of the wheel assemblies have been applied to the bases.

© Dorney Park

Here is one more final close up look at one of the train bases.  It's so wonderful to see Dorney Park put such effort into keeping one of their legacy rides in great shape.  I can't wait to try these out when the park opens this Spring.

© Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters

The park also sent to us this original contract document that PTC shared with them, from when Thunderhawk (then known just as The Coaster) was going to be built.  You'll have to click for the larger image to read it, but this is a wonderful find for those who appreciate roller coaster history!

The contract is between PTC and Richard Rusk and R. L. Plarr of Dorney Park for "all the cars, machinery, plans, specifications, etc." needed for the instillation of the coaster.  The total for the ride's train, machinery and chain and the ride's plans came to a cool $9,673.  In addition, the contract covers the services of ride designer Herbert Schmeck at $17 a day plus expenses.  Such a neat document to be able to read!

Many thanks to Dorney Park and Mike Fehnel for these items, and you can keep up to date on the new trains' progress via the official PTC website.

Scott And Carol Present - Great Things from PTC

As the makers of the most popular style of train for wooden roller coasters worldwide, Philadelphia Toboggan Company has stepped up and created a new system to make it easier for people with physical challenges to ride wooden roller coasters, at least ones with PTC trains.

The access device is shown in position next to the train in the station. The platform rotates down and rests on top of teh seat divider. Although it is presently designed only for PTC trains, with some modification it can also be used for other rides. It is stored in the station for use when required.

Here's a short video showing how the device is used.

Drew, and anyone else utilizing the five-point harness is securely held in riding position, and this unique device allows for missing limbs to not be a disqualifying issue for riders.

Here you can see where the locking carabiners hook to the train, and they are easily adjusted for a snug fit. Only one seat needs to be modified per train.This will be our nomination for the Industry Impact Award, because this is an issue facing park operators everywhere. Big kudos for everyone on the PTC team. Their efforts will make lots challenged coaster lovers very happy.

The Amusing Ads Archive - PTC 1994

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc, has long been the premier wooden roller coaster train manufacturer. As the ad states, the company started back in 1902, making it the oldest currently operating coaster company in the world.

Known originally for creating both wild rides and tranquil carousels, today they focus on supplying and maintaining wooden coaster trains. Both the wooden rides the company has made and their carousels are regarded as some of the finest attractions the industry has had to offer.

Now facing stiff competition in the wooden train market from both Great Coasters and the Gravity Group, it seems it may be time to see PTC surprise us all with a new generation of trains as well. As the ad says - "tradition created not followed" - looks like a perfect time to create a new tradition.

Scott And Carol Present - IAAPA 2008 Final Report

When Jim Seay , President of Premier Rides, hears people say that rides and attractions aren’t rocket science he laughs, because as a project engineer for Hughes Aircraft he is one of few able to make a valid comparison.

Constant expansion of the amusement ride envelope is the hallmark of company. A recent breakthrough is the revolver coaster which opened at Hard Rock Park.

Some other areas include maintenance and technology improvements by offering new types of chains and wheels for existing rides.

Sartori has some of the cutest coaster cars being produced today

But their real news is the introduction of their compact inverted coaster called Cobra. With a small footprint of 100 feet wide and nearly 200 feet long, it’s hard to imagine that this coaster actually has an inversion. And at one point it pulls over 4.5 gs.

The fact that it is built on a platform means there are many options for installation. We need one of these in the US for us to go and check out.

Great Coasters International's 2008 Installation, Evil Knievel was the star of this year's booth, wonder which of their woodies will have that honor in 2009?

GCII' is going to be piling up airline miles before next year is done. Being based near the east coast and building coasters in Missouri, California, and Germany, they will be road warriors for the winter of 2008.

It appears that some travelling plans need to be made for wood coaster fans next year.

Philadelphia Toboggan Company was showing one of the cars for the new coaster in China being designed by Gravity Group.

Here also is a shot of the one bench car and the open front modification available for their current and past trains.

This is just one more option for customers in the competitive wooden coaster rolling stock market.

If you would like to have a coaster built in your back yard you should contact Amusement Rides by Bailey.

They will design, fabricate, and install a steel coaster for only $350.00 a linear foot.

Here is a photo of their first coaster built in Peterborough, ON. When you look at the condition of the track you can see how well designed their products are because this neglected ride is still in operation.

Vekoma has projects for next year on every continent except Antarctica. A lot of excitement surrounds their second generation Flying Dutchmen coach.

A more comfortable train and a new reclining feature that uses an electric motor instead of hydraulics should ensure more consistent reliability for future customers. The new Stingray layout features a vertical chain lift and is only one third the size of the original Flying Dutchman.

Maurer Sohne is hanging their hat on the new coaster for Universal Escape in Florida. Due to limitations from the customer, no photos of the ride layout were permitted but it looks to be a positively special roller coaster. Hopefully the veil will be lifted soon on this upcoming attraction.

Rides 4U sells both new and used rides. We mentioned them because they have listed all the rides from Cypress Gardens.

They even said two of the rides are already sold, but not the wooden roller coasters at this time. Well, there’s still hope for tomorrow.

So, here's the show floor. All 8.3 miles of entertainment.

When you look out through these overhead windows at the show floor, almost everyone in the room supports GKTW through gifts-in-kind, monetary, or supporting the various fundraisers.

Give Kids The World is a special place where terminally ill children get the trip of a lifetime to Orlando and hopefully enjoy the present while forgetting the future for a little while. For more information, and possibly make a contribution, check out their website at http://www.gktw.org/

Give Kids The World has a special relationship with IAAPA and its members. They are building a new splash pad for their guests supplied by Vortex

So that is the last of our onsite reports for IAAPA EXPO 08. We hope you enjoyed them.