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Thunderbolt (Savin Rock)
Thunderbolt was a wooden roller coaster which operated at Savin Rock Amusement Park in West Haven, Connecticut, from 1925 until 1938 when it was destroyed by a hurricane. It was rebuilt in modified form in 1939 and it continued to operate until 1956. When it was first built, it was purported to be the fastest roller coaster in the world. History Originally named "The Bobs", the coaster was best known by its later name of Thunderbolt. It was designed by noted roller coaster engineers Frank Prior and Frederick Church and built by the Traver Engineering Company. The coaster was built approximately out onto Liberty Pier in Long Island Sound and could be easily seen from up and down the beach and from several nearby piers. It was quite popular, financially successful, and is thought to have driven at least one other nearby coaster out of business. In 1936, the Thunderbolt was struck by lightning which caused damage to its mechanical operation. The coaster was closed the remainder o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Prior
Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Currency * Liechtenstein franc or frank, the currency of Liechtenstein since 1920 * Swiss franc or frank, the currency of Switzerland since 1850 * Westphalian frank, currency of the Kingdom of Westphalia between 1808 and 1813 * The currencies of the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland (1803–1814): ** Appenzell frank ** Aargau frank, Argovia frank ** Basel frank ** Berne frank ** Fribourg frank ** Glarus frank ** Graubünden frank ** Luzern frank ** Schaffhausen frank ** Schwyz frank ** Solothurn frank ** St. Gallen frank ** Thurgau frank ** Unterwalden frank ** Uri frank ** Zürich frank Places * Frank, Alberta, Canada, an urban community, formerly a village * Franks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Franks, Missouri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Church (engineer)
Frederick A. Church (1878–1936) was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer. He is most famous for his "Bobs" series of roller coasters that featured severe banking, steep drops, and nonstop action. History Fred Church was often associated with Tom Prior and his business partners, after Tom's death, Frank Prior. Church had met Tom Prior in Chicago when Prior was publicity director at White City and Riverview Park, Chicago's two great amusement parks. Church was born in Ontario Canada, studied mechanical engineering at Tufts University, and landed a job at Webster Manufacturing and Engineering near Chicago. The company designed and fabricated replacement parts for amusement park rides. Church was working on side-friction roller coaster car designs and began developing an interest in inventing new rides. Later coasters by Prior and Church would be built by Harry Traver, a legendary coaster builder and designer. Throughout the 1920s, Prior and Church coasters were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wooden Roller Coaster
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss, which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in the construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine, which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment. Early wooden roller coaster design of the 19th century featured a single set of wheels running on top of the track, which was common in scenic railway rides. John A. Miller introduced side friction coasters and later underfriction coasters in the early 20th century, which added additional sets of wheels running along multiple sides of the track to allow for more intense ride design with sharper turns and steeper d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roller Coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are often found in amusement parks and theme parks around the world. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, related to the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. The track in a coaster design does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters demonstrate. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably Wild Mouse roller coasters, run with single cars. History The Russian mountain and the Aerial Promenades The oldest roller coasters are believed to have originated from the so-called "Russian Mountains", speciall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savin Rock Amusement Park
Savin Rock was an American amusement park in West Haven, Connecticut. It was previously called The White City and was established in the 1870s . The park included a number of roller coasters, other rides and numerous funhouses. The park has been mentioned several novels such as Eleanor Estes's ''Rufus M''., Stephen King's ''Low Men in Yellow Coats'' and ''The Boogeyman''. History The amusement park was established in the 1870s after entrepreneur George Kelsey extended the trolley lines and built a 1,500-foot pier at the end of Beach Street to accommodate a ferry service. Kelsey built the nearby Seaview Hotel, with rooms for up to 150 guests. A beachside resort grew around the hotel and pier, including a bandstand, a fountain, an observatory, a wooded area for picnics, and a carousel which was revolved first by manpower and later by a horse on a treadmill. Amusements were built by other businessmen, and soon the park had a zoo, a museum and a dance hall. Promoters organized coc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Haven, Connecticut
West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the coast of Long Island Sound. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584. History Settled in 1648, West Haven (then known as West Farms) was a part of the original New Haven Colony. In 1719, it became the separate parish of West Haven, but was still officially a part of New Haven until 1822. During the American Revolution, West Haven was the frequent launch and arrival point for raiding parties on both sides of the war. On July 5, 1779, the British invaded New Haven Harbor and came ashore in West Haven and East Haven, Connecticut, East Haven. Thomas Painter, a teenaged militiaman watching for the approaching British ships while standing atop Savin Rock, is depicted on the city seal. The main commercial street, Campbell Avenue, is named for British Adjutant William Campbell, at the time an ensign in the Third Guards, who rescued the Reverend Noah Williston, the local Congre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traver Engineering Company
Harry Guy Traver (November 25, 1877 – September 27, 1961) was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer. As the founder of the Traver Engineering Company, Traver was responsible for the production of gentle amusement rides like the Tumble Bug and Auto Ride. His roller coasters became legendary for their unique twisted layouts and thrilling, swooped turns. At a time when most coasters were built from wood, Traver was the first coaster builder to utilize steel for the primary structural material. He also built the first motorized fire engine in New York City. Biography Traver was born in Gardner, Illinois on November 25, 1877, and graduated from Davenport High School in Davenport, Nebraska in 1894. After teaching for three years in the western part of the United States, he took a job with General Electric in 1898, working for the company at the Omaha Exhibition that year. Subsequently employed by the Harris Safety Co. in New York City as a superintendent, he bega ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the East River in New York City, along the North Shore of Long Island, to Block Island Sound. A mix of freshwater from tributaries and saltwater from the ocean, Long Island Sound is at its widest point and varies in depth from . Shoreline Major Connecticut cities on the Sound include Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, New Haven, and New London. Cities on the New York side of the Sound include Rye, Glen Cove, New Rochelle, Larchmont and portions of Queens and the Bronx in New York City. Climate and geography The climate of Long Island Sound is warm temperate or Cfa in the Köppen climate classification. Summers are hot and humid often with convective showers and strong sunshine, while the cooler months feature cold temperatures and a mix o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1938 New England Hurricane
The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm formed near the coast of Africa on September 9, becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale, before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Long Island on Wednesday, September 21. It is estimated that the hurricane killed 682 people, damaged or destroyed more than 57,000 homes, and caused property losses estimated at $306 million ($4.7 billion in 2017). Multiple other sources, however, mention that the 1938 hurricane might have really been a more powerful Category 4, having winds similar to Hurricanes Hugo, Harvey, Frederic and Gracie when it ran through Long Island and New England. Also, numerous others estimate the real damage between $347 million and almost $410 million. Damaged trees and buildings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant Flyer
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the ''Gigantes'' ( grc-gre, Γίγαντες) of Greek mythology. Fairy tales such as ''Jack the Giant Killer'' have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted ogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat the livestock. The antagonist in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of Jonathan Swift and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly. Literary and cultural analysis Giants appear in the folklore of cultures worldwide as they represent a relatively simple concept. Representing the human body enlarged to the point of being monstrous, giants evoke terror and remind humans of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savin Rock Museum
Savin may refer to: * Savin (name) * ''Juniperus sabina'', or savin, a shrubby juniper plant * Savin (photocopiers), a photocopier company acquired by Ricoh * Savin, Bulgaria, a village in Kubrat Municipality, Razgrad Province * SAVIN, Statewide Automated Victim Information & Notification See also * Savin Hill Savin Hill is a section of Dorchester, the largest neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Named after the geographic feature it covers and surrounds, Savin Hill is about one square mile in area, and has a population of about 1 ..., a neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA * ''Savin Hill'' (album) by the Street Dogs * Savin Rock, a section of West Haven, Connecticut, USA * Saint-Savin (other), one of four communes of France {{disambiguation, plant, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Revere Beach
Revere Beach is a public beach in Revere, Massachusetts, located about north of downtown Boston. The beach is over long. In 1875, a rail link was constructed to the beach, leading to its increasing popularity as a summer recreation area, and in 1896, it became the first public beach in the United States. It is still easily accessible by the MBTA Blue Line from Boston, and can accommodate as many as one million visitors in a weekend during its annual sand sculpture competition. History Colonial to early development In the 1620s, the area was first traversed by Europeans settlers. Within the decade, the area thrived as a farming community and after being annexed to Chelsea, Massachusetts from Boston, Massachusetts, the area became known as Chelsea Beach. In 1875, the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad, known as the "Narrow Gauge", came to Chelsea Beach, making it easily accessible to visitors from Boston and elsewhere. Various beach-related and recreational buildings spran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
