Nitro is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in

Jackson Township, New Jersey Jackson Township is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township population was 58,544. A portion of the township is located within the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Roughly equidistant b ...

. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the

Hyper Coaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet Or, more narrowly: *Any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet ...

model opened to the public on April 7, 2001. Since its debut, Nitro has consistently ranked high among steel coasters in the annual

Golden Ticket Awards ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...

from ''Amusement Today'', peaking in third place during its tenure.

History

In August 2000, land preparation of a new attraction began right behind some maintenance buildings. Several concrete footers were being poured in September. The construction was visible from the patio of the Captain Jack's restaurant. Workers continued to work in the forest and the shores of Prospertown Lake. Vertical construction began in December 2000 and the new attraction would cover of land. On February 1, 2001, Six Flags Great Adventure confirmed that the new attraction would be named Nitro and be a

hypercoaster A hypercoaster can mean one of two things: *Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet Or, more narrowly: *Any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet ...

. The ride would be the third Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster at the park, with the other two being Batman: The Ride and

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

. Billed as the most explosive coaster on the planet, it would be the largest single investment in 27 years. Nitro was completed on time, opening to the general public at the start of the 2001 season on April 7. Four days later on April 11, the park hosted a special event. Former

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

wrestler

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

slid down the handle of a detonator as fireworks exploded above the queue line and one of the trains exited the station.

Ride experience

Layout

After leaving the station, the

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

makes a left U-turn and ascends a lift hill. After cresting the top, the train drops at a 68-degree angle, reaching a maximum speed of . The train then ascends a hill and dives down to the left, coasting over another large airtime hill. Afterwards, Nitro enters an element known as a hammerhead turn, a tight U-turn, which veers to the right. Traveling over another

camelback hill This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...

, Nitro enters its S-curve and into the 540-degree helix. After the mid course brake run, Nitro travels over three camelback hills, followed by a final brake run before returning to the station.

Trains

Nitro operates with three open-air steel and fiberglass

trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

with individual lap bar restraints. Each train has nine cars with riders arranged four across in a single row for a total of 36 riders per train.

Track

The steel track is in length and the height of the lift is approximately . It was manufactured by

Clermont Steel Fabricators Clermont Steel Fabricators (abbreviated as CSF) is a private steel products manufacturing company known for making Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters. The plant is located in Batavia, Ohio. CSF was founded in 2004 after the closing of Southern O ...

located in Batavia, Ohio.

Rankings

Notes

References

External links

Official Nitro page
{{Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure Roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Roller coasters in New Jersey Roller coasters introduced in 2001 Hypercoasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard 2001 establishments in New Jersey