Thunderbolt
E14 · Wooden Wonders
E14 · № 70/150
Thunderbolt
Kennywood · US · Andy Vettel / Kennywood in-house (1968 rebuild of the 1924 Miller Pippin) Terrain wooden coaster
“Kennywood sends the old Pippin thundering down the ravine.”
UNOFFICIAL · NOT PARK-ENDORSED
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Fast facts
- Wooden terrain roller coaster at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. coasterpedia.net
- Opened as Thunderbolt in 1968 after Andy Vettel expanded and renamed the Pippin. historicpittsburgh.org
- Maximum height: 21.3 metres (70 feet). coasterpedia.net
- Maximum speed: 89 km/h (55 mph). coasterpedia.net
- Inversions: 0. coasterpedia.net
- Listed capacity: 850 riders per hour. amusable.com
- Listed build cost: US$0.5 million. en.wikipedia.org
The story of Thunderbolt
Before the traveller knew the name Thunderbolt, Kennywood had the Pippin. It opened in 1924, designed by John A. Miller, in the same great decade that gave the park its surviving Jack Rabbit and Racer. kennywood.com· coasterpedia.net
The decisive work came in 1968, when Andy Vettel altered and enlarged the old ride. The Pippin’s ravine section and Century Flyer trains were kept, while the middle of the course was remade into a new, turning passage of wooden track. kennywood.com· historicpittsburgh.org· historicpittsburgh.org
Thunderbolt’s landscape is its proud device. Leaving the station, the train goes down into Kennywood’s ravine rather than climbing at once, and the park’s own guide notes that the largest drops are saved for later, with a top speed of 89 km/h. kennywood.com· en.wikipedia.org
Its fame travelled well beyond West Mifflin. Kennywood records that The New York Times dubbed Thunderbolt “King of the Coasters” in 1974, and Historic Pittsburgh preserves a photograph from about 1970–1980 showing a long summer line waiting for the ride. kennywood.com· historicpittsburgh.org
Sources
- coasterpedia.net Preferred source
- historicpittsburgh.org Acceptable source
- amusable.com Acceptable source
- en.wikipedia.org Acceptable source
- kennywood.com Acceptable source
- historicpittsburgh.org Acceptable source
- kennywood.com Acceptable source