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18-06-2008, 08:42 AM
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#1
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Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindeal..._tentative.html
Big Dipper roller coaster attracts buyer
John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer
Geauga Lake's Big Dipper thrilled many millions over its 80-year life.
Geauga Lake's landmark wooden roller coaster, The Big Dipper, has been
sold -- tentatively.
Tom Woosnam, who works for Apex Western Machinery Movers, an Akron
company that moves amusement rides, bought the coaster Tuesday for
$5,000 for a buyer he declined to identify. He said the buyer is a
local company -- not in the amusement business -- tthat wants to keep
the coaster intact for historical purposes. He wouldn't say where it
would be moved.
Woosnam placed the only bid for the coaster built in 1925, the seventh
oldest in the country. He also placed the winning bid for the Raging
Wolf Bobs, on behalf of the same buyer.
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18-06-2008, 08:49 AM
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#2
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
>
> John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer
> Geauga Lake's Big Dipper thrilled many millions over its 80-year life.
> Geauga Lake's landmark wooden roller coaster, The Big Dipper, has been
> sold -- tentatively.
wow awesome
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18-06-2008, 09:04 AM
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#3
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
steelforce wrote:
> http://blog.cleveland.com/plaindeal..._tentative.html
>
> Big Dipper roller coaster attracts buyer
>
> John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer
> Geauga Lake's Big Dipper thrilled many millions over its 80-year life.
> Geauga Lake's landmark wooden roller coaster, The Big Dipper, has been
> sold -- tentatively.
>
> Tom Woosnam, who works for Apex Western Machinery Movers, an Akron
> company that moves amusement rides, bought the coaster Tuesday for
> $5,000 for a buyer he declined to identify. He said the buyer is a
> local company -- not in the amusement business -- tthat wants to keep
> the coaster intact for historical purposes. He wouldn't say where it
> would be moved.
>
> Woosnam placed the only bid for the coaster built in 1925, the seventh
> oldest in the country. He also placed the winning bid for the Raging
> Wolf Bobs, on behalf of the same buyer.
That's great news. Big Dipper saved, and as a bonus Raging Wolf Bobs
(which I thought was an almost guaranteed goner). Any word on
Villain?
Which steel coasters that don't have a home are still left at this
point?
-"Surf Dance" Chris,
http://members.aol.com/surfdancec
#1 Back To the Future: The Ride fan (2647 times in Florida, 44 in
California!)
BTTF The Ride R.I.P. 5/02/1991-3/30/2007 FL
BTTF The Ride R.I.P. 6/04/1993-9/03/2007 CA
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18-06-2008, 09:09 AM
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#4
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
On Jun 17, 6:49 pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"
<kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer
> > Geauga Lake's Big Dipper thrilled many millions over its 80-year life.
> > Geauga Lake's landmark wooden roller coaster, The Big Dipper, has been
> > sold -- tentatively.
>
> wow awesome
Don't get too excited yet. The $5000 bid is subject to Cedar Fair's
approval. Before the ride was put up for auction, Norton's announced
that Cedar Fair "offered the coaster to ACE and other groups but no
one accepted the offer." Carol Sanderson said that this was not true
and the auctioneer (only half in jest I think, said something to the
effect to shut that lady up and have security escort her off the
property.
The same bidder bought the Bobs and its maintenance shop for $2500. By
the way, a pile of rocks sold for $3000! The ride relocator refused to
talk about plans for the coaster.
Villain sold for $30,000 and the looper sold for $23,000, both to a
Cleveland scrap dealer. The observation tower was also sold to be
scrapped.
Rick
Knoebel's bought the Dog Pounder game, a kiddie ride, and some kitchen
equipment. Schlitterbahn bought most of the flat rides.
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18-06-2008, 08:34 PM
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#5
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
By the way, the latest news reports say that the Big Dipper will be
moved to be used as a "nostalgia piece" and will NOT be an operating
ride. I hope Cedar Fair rejects the sale. (They reserved that right.)
Rick
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19-06-2008, 12:40 AM
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#6
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
Lets not get crazy just yet..........Some saved coasters took years to
get rebuilt, Great Escapes Comet comes to mind. Other coasters sat idle
in outdoor storage only to rot away, Virginia's Shooting Star for
example. Willow Mill's Red Streaker was saved from the wrecking ball in
1994, but where is it??
This persons plan to buy the Big Dipper and re-erect it as a "Nostalgia
Piece" sounds crazy. A perfectly good ride should be set up to be
operated...........
harryface
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19-06-2008, 02:06 AM
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#7
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
On Jun 18, 10:40*am, Harryface9...@webtv.net (Harry Face) wrote:
> Lets not get crazy just yet..........Some saved coasters took years to
> get rebuilt, Great Escapes Comet comes to mind. Other coasters sat idle
> in outdoor storage only to rot away, Virginia's Shooting Star for
> example. Willow Mill's Red Streaker was saved from the wrecking ball in
> 1994, but where is it??
>
> This persons plan to buy the Big Dipper and re-erect it as a "Nostalgia
> Piece" sounds crazy. A perfectly good ride should be set up to be
> operated...........
>
> harryface
Great Escape Comet was purchased specifically by Charley Woods with
the *intention* of storing it at his other "then" park (along with
Gaslight Village and Storytown/Great Escape)- Fantasy Island (now MFI)
and eventually erecting it there. Plans changed. He sold Fantasy
Island, auctioned off the 1908 Dentzel Carousel at Storytown/Great
Escape, closed the campground there to make room, and sent The Comet
to Lake George instead. The saving grace was the ride having a steel
structure. The entire track was replaced by M&V using Douglas Fir,
and two new trains built by PTC.
Big Dipper's situation is quite different. Its one saving grace is
that the ride itself is not 80+ years old. More like 20-25, as it was
completely rebuilt (alla Swamp Fox/LC Wildcat) in the early 1980s.
One can argue that one of the key features of Big Dipper are/were its
seat divider-less NAD trains. Whether they would survive a move I
doubt. Villain was the most likely of the three woodies to see a
second life, but with a scrap company scooping it up, that looks
doomed as well.
To think just 8 years ago, this very park was rebranded with 4 new
coasters in one year.
-Mark
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19-06-2008, 04:22 PM
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#8
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
darkride00@yahoo.com wrote:
: On Jun 17, 6:49 pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"
: <kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com> wrote:
: > > John Kuntz/The Plain Dealer
: > > Geauga Lake's Big Dipper thrilled many millions over its 80-year life.
: > > Geauga Lake's landmark wooden roller coaster, The Big Dipper, has been
: > > sold -- tentatively.
: >
: > wow awesome
:
: Don't get too excited yet. The $5000 bid is subject to Cedar Fair's
: approval. Before the ride was put up for auction, Norton's announced
: that Cedar Fair "offered the coaster to ACE and other groups but no
: one accepted the offer." Carol Sanderson said that this was not true
: and the auctioneer (only half in jest I think, said something to the
: effect to shut that lady up and have security escort her off the
: property.
:
: The same bidder bought the Bobs and its maintenance shop for $2500. By
: the way, a pile of rocks sold for $3000! The ride relocator refused to
: talk about plans for the coaster.
:
: Villain sold for $30,000 and the looper sold for $23,000, both to a
: Cleveland scrap dealer. The observation tower was also sold to be
: scrapped.
If Cedar Fair were to not approve of any of the coaster sales, I'd hope
it would be Villain. That's arguably the best wood coaster in the State
of Ohio, and I find it hard to believe that they could get 30k + removal
costs out of it for scrap!
I'm not surprised at the fate of the Double Loop. That thing is a
decent ride, but dismantling it and rebuilding it would be a difficult
prospect at best. There's not a single bolted connection on that whole
ride.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
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_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
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19-06-2008, 08:41 PM
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#9
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
>
> If Cedar Fair were to not approve of any of the coaster sales, I'd hope
> it would be Villain. That's arguably the best wood coaster in the State
> of Ohio, and I find it hard to believe that they could get 30k + removal
> costs out of it for scrap!
I think the "approval" was only for the Dipper and rumor has it that
Cedar Fair did approve the sale.
Someone spoke to whoever was bidding for the scrap dealer and was told
that he was authorized to spent up to $150,000! Now THAT seems like a
lot of money to buy scrap, unless some of the structure could be
salvaged for other uses. Lenny Adams (of Flying Turns fame, who was
there with Dick Knoebel) mentioned that it would have made a lot of
nice kiddie coasters. His opinion is that steel structured wood
coasters are a not the best choice, citing a number that were built
and then scrapped or are plagued with problems today, but are great
for kiddie coasters. Of course he was hoping that all the coaster
would have been sold to be relocated so he could have gained some
business.
Rick
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20-06-2008, 09:54 AM
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#10
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
<darkride00@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:21841ecc-d711-4dac-b4d1-b1e7bf98d60b@e53g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> Lenny Adams (of Flying Turns fame, who was
> there with Dick Knoebel) mentioned that it would have made a lot of
> nice kiddie coasters. His opinion is that steel structured wood
> coasters are a not the best choice, citing a number that were built
> and then scrapped or are plagued with problems today, but are great
> for kiddie coasters.
> Rick
Really? I'd be interested in hearing what his reasoning was. Since many of
them were built by a company that was rather infamous for poor construction,
I'm not sure criticizing an entire type of woodie is merited. Especially as
one of the most famous coasters of all time, the Coney Island Cyclone, is a
steel-structured woodie!
Derek
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20-06-2008, 11:41 AM
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#11
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
Good point.
The best tracked coaster in terms of ride feel and smoothness I've
ever ridden was the GE Comet in the years when it ran with douglas fir
track. It's on a steel structure too. In a perfect world I do like the
aesthetics of an all-wood structure, but in some environments steel
makes more sense, so I'm not knocking them.
-m
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20-06-2008, 11:47 AM
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#12
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
> Really? I'd be interested in hearing what his reasoning was. Since many of
> them were built by a company that was rather infamous for poor construction,
> I'm not sure criticizing an entire type of woodie is merited. Especially as
> one of the most famous coasters of all time, the Coney Island Cyclone, is a
> steel-structured woodie!
>
> Derek
We didn't get into it other than mentioning that wood structures
"give" while steel is rigid. If I had to guess that may translate into
more stress on the track itself which of course is a big problem if
the ride owner doesn't believe in regular maintenance. Since he is the
in the coaster business, I have to assume he has good reasons for his
opinion.
Rick
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21-06-2008, 07:41 AM
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#13
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
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21-06-2008, 09:11 AM
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#14
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
On Jun 20, 4:41 pm, darkrid...@yahoo.com wrote:
> If you'd like to see and hear exactly what was said about the coaster
> being offered to ACE and other groups, here you go-http://www.storytellersmediagroup.com/BigDipperAuction/BIG_DIPPER_AUC...
Thanks for posting that...it was good to watch
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21-06-2008, 10:24 AM
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#15
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Re: Geauga Lakes Big Dipper SOLD!/SAVED
On Jun 20, 7:11*pm, "kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com"
<kirk_ritche...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Jun 20, 4:41 pm, darkrid...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > If you'd like to see and hear exactly what was said about the coaster
> > being offered to ACE and other groups, here you go-http://www.storytellersmediagroup.com/BigDipperAuction/BIG_DIPPER_AUC...
>
> Thanks for posting that...it was good to watch
While I agree ACE probalby couldn't move it, I think that was a digg
with him saying you can't move it "with car washes". I am not a ACE
member, but that wasn't really nice. If it hadn't been for that
video, I would have never believed it.
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