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Harry Traver
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] |
Engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, regulation, safety and cost. "Science is knowledge based on our observed facts and tested truths arranged in an orderly system that can be validated and communicated to other people. Engineering is the creative application of scientific principles used to plan, build, direct, guide, manage, or work on systems to maintain and improve our daily lives." The word ''engineer'' (Latin ) is derived from the Latin words ("to contrive, devise") and ("cleverness"). The foundational qualifications of an engineer typically include a four-year bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline, or in some jurisdictions, a master's degree in an engineering discipline plus four to six years of peer-reviewed professiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystal Beach Cyclone
The Crystal Beach Cyclone was one of a 'Terrifying Triplet' of highly extreme and intense roller coasters designed and built by Harry G. Traver in the late 1920s. The Cyclone was located at the Crystal Beach Park in Ontario, Canada. History Three of these coasters (known as the 'Terrifying Triplets' of the Giant Cyclone Safety Coasters) were designed and built. The Crystal Beach 'Cyclone' and the Revere Beach 'Lightning' were both opened in 1927. The following year, the Schneck brothers, owners of Palisades Park in Fort Lee, NJ, contracted Traver to build a 'Cyclone' for the 1928 season. Of the three, the Crystal Beach version was the most famous and longest lasting, eventually being dismantled in September 1946 due to the high maintenance costs and falling revenues. Some of the wood and steel from the Cyclone was used by John Allen and Herbert Schmeck (both designers for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company) in the construction of the Crystal Beach Comet coaster in 1948. Constr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Custom Coasters International
Custom Coasters International (CCI) was one of the premier wooden roller coaster manufacturers in the world and produced 34 wooden coasters in eleven years — more than any other company in recent times. It was located in West Chester, Ohio. History Custom Coasters Incorporated opened its doors on September 1, 1991. The company was founded by Denise Dinn-Larrick, the daughter of coaster designer Charles Dinn — founder of the Dinn Corporation, her brother Jeff Dinn and her husband Randy Larrick. The original designers for the company included freelance design engineers Mike Boodley and Bill Kelley of California. Larry Bill, formerly with Curtis D. Summers & Associates joined the design team in 1992. Initially the company promoted small, affordable, family coasters but eventually progressed to larger models known for their speed and intensity. Once the company started working with international clients the name was changed in November 1994 to Custom Coasters International. CCI fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lift Hill
A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from the peak by gravity and is usually allowed to coast throughout the rest of the roller coaster ride's circuit on its own momentum, including most or all of the remaining uphill sections. The initial upward-sloping section of a roller coaster track is usually a lift hill, as the train typically begins a ride with little speed, though some coasters have raised stations that permit an initial drop without a lift hill. Although uncommon, some tracks also contain multiple lift hills. Lift hills usually propel the train to the top of the ride via one of two methods: a Roller chain, chain lift involving a long, continuous chain which trains hook on to and are carried to the top; or a drive tire system in which multiple Electric motor, motorized tire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can be un-powered, or self-propelled, single or multiple units. A connected series of railway vehicles is a train (this term applied to a locomotive is a common misnomer). In North America, Australia and other countries, the term consist ( ) is used to refer to the rolling stock in a train. In the United States, the term ''rolling stock'' has been expanded from the older broadly defined "trains" to include wheeled vehicles used by businesses on roadways. The word ''stock'' in the term is used in a sense of inventory. Rolling stock is considered to be a liquid asset, or close to it, since the value of the vehicle can be readily estimated and then shipped to the buyer without much cost or delay. The term contrasts with fixed stock (infrastru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Coasters International
Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, the company expanded beyond the United States and began building coasters in Europe and Asia. Günter Engelhardt GmbH handles the company's marketing rights in Europe. In addition to designing and building new roller coasters, GCI also refurbishes and re-tracks existing roller coasters, regardless of manufacturer. Roller coasters designed by GCI are known for their often curved drops, twisted layouts, and perception of high speed. Exciting elements such as the station fly-by and station fly-through have been incorporated in many of their layouts. History GCI was founded in 1994 by Mike Boodley and Clair Hain, Jr. Boodley was a coaster designer previously with Custom Coasters International and Hain had gained a reputation throughout the ind ... [...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] |
Oaks Amusement Park
Oaks Park is a small amusement park located south of downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The park opened in May 1905 and is one of the oldest continually operating amusement parks in the country. The park includes midway games, about two dozen rides that operate seasonally, a skating rink that is open all-year, and picnic grounds. It is also home to the Herschell–Spillman Noah's Ark Carousel, a historic wooden carousel constructed in 1912. History The park, conceived as an attraction timed to accompany the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, was built by the Oregon Water Power and Railway Company and opened on May 30, 1905, during a period when trolley parks were often constructed along streetcar lines. It attracted 300,000 visitors during its first season, and continued to attract about that many patrons throughout its first decade of existence. Describing the moral panic of working-class entertainment venues opened at the time, a city council member descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zip (roller Coaster)
Zip or Zipp was a steel-framed wooden roller coaster which operated at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Oregon. The coaster was a more compact variant of the Giant Cyclone Safety Coasters which were built by Harry Traver of the Traver Engineering Company in the mid to late 1920s. History and design One of Harry Traver's more obscure coasters, the Zip was modeled on the larger Giant Cyclone Safety Coasters (the "Terrible Triplets") but was smaller and more compact. The coaster was originally planned to be in length, but this length was reduced so as not to impinge on a nearby trolley right-of-way. The undulating jazz track characteristic of Traver Cyclones was also shortened by . The coaster was also built on a wooden deck to protect it from Willamette River flooding. The coaster was removed in 1934 as a result of high maintenance and insurance costs. The coaster was dismantled and the steel sold to Japan in that same year. Few photographs were preserved of the Zip. Robert Cartmel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palisades Amusement Park
Palisades Amusement Park was a 38-acre amusement park located in Bergen County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. It was located atop the New Jersey Palisades lying partly in Cliffside Park and partly in Fort Lee. The park operated from 1898 until 1971, remaining one of the most visited amusement parks in the country until its closure in 1971, after which a high-rise luxury apartment complex was built on its site. Trolley park era: 1898-1910 The park overlooked the Hudson River on of New Jersey riverfront land. It straddled what is now Cliffside Park and Fort Lee, and facing the northern end of Manhattan. In 1898, before common use of automobiles, the Bergen County Traction Company conceived the park as a trolley park to attract evening and weekend riders. It was originally known as "The Park on the Palisades". In 1908, the trolley company sold the park to August Neumann and Frank Knox, who hired Alven H. Dexter to manage it. Dexter imported a crude as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclone (Palisades Amusement Park)
Cyclone was the name of two wooden roller coasters which operated at Palisades Amusement Park in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The first operated from 1927 through 1934, and the second between 1945 and 1971. 1927 Coaster The first coaster was steel-framed wooden roller coaster which was designed and built by Harry Traver of the Traver Engineering Company and a member of the notorious Giant Cyclone Safety Coaster "Terrifying Triplets". History and design After hearing reports of the success of the Cyclone at Crystal Beach Park and the Lightning in Revere, Massachusetts, Nicholas and Joseph Schenck, the owners of Palisades Park, decided to buy their own Giant Cyclone Safety Coaster in 1927. Construction of the Cyclone ran into difficulty when dealing with the uneven, rocky terrain and limited space. As a result, the coaster was built quite near the cliff edge of the Palisades. The coaster opened mid-season on September 10, 1927. As with other members of the "Terrif ... [...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] |
