Thunder Road (roller coaster)

Thunder Road
Thunder Road from the parking lot
Carowinds
Park section	County Fair
Coordinates	35.1004°N 80.9426°E / 35.1004; 80.9426
Status	Operating
Opening date	1976 (1976)
Closing date	July 26, 2015 (2015-07-26)
Cost	$1,600,000
General Statistics
Type	Wood – Racing
Manufacturer	Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters
Designer	Curtis D. Summers
Track layout	Out and back
Lift/launch system	Chain
	North Carolina (Blue)	South Carolina (Grey)
Height	93 ft (28.3 m)	93 ft (28.3 m)
Drop	88 ft (26.8 m)	88 ft (26.8 m)
Length	3,819 ft (1,164.0 m)	3,819 ft (1,164.0 m)
Speed	58 mph (93.3 km/h)	58 mph (93.3 km/h)
Inversions	0	0
Duration	2:10	2:10
G-force	3.4	3.4
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Thunder Road at RCDB Pictures of Thunder Road at RCDB

Thunder Road is a wooden roller coaster located at Carowinds amusement park. It is a racing roller coaster model featuring two individual tracks that parallel each other. The design of the ride was based on Rebel Yell, a wooden racing coaster at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Carowinds announced in May 2015 that Thunder Road would be closing on July 26, 2015.

History

The ride was named and originally themed after the 1958 movie, Thunder Road. NASCAR celebrities, Bobby Allison and David Pearson, along with major newspapers from around the country were at Carowinds for the grand opening..

Thunder Road was originally painted red, white, and blue. Two moonshine stills were originally placed at the entrance but have since been removed.

The ride originally featured trains from the Jetstream, a roller coaster at Chicago's defunct Riverview Park. Upon arriving at Carowinds the trains were themed to resemble a Sheriff's car and an Outlaw's car, in accordance with the coaster's original theme. The Riverview trains were retired in 1980 and replaced with new, higher capacity Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains.

Thunder Road's trains all faced forward until one side was reversed in 1995 to run backwards. This was mainly due to the fact that at one time in the mid-1990s it was said that Thunder Road would be no longer. During the 1995-96 off season, the air conditioners in the waiting area were removed, the decorative memorabilia from years ago was removed, and over time the coaster would become a ghost of its former self as it diminished in grandeur. At the time Paramounts Carowinds was moving forward with bigger, better built roller-coasters and during that time Thunder Road started to look like a liability of sorts with its aging wood frame that required constant maintenance. Ride attendance plummeted as the new roller coasters in the park took attention away from Thunder Road. At one point in the late 1990s a rider could easily stay on the ride in the same seat as no one would be waiting in line to occupy the car. The current ownership has taken steps to renovate the coaster to its previous fame. In 2008, all trains were turned to face forward once again.

In 2008, Thunder Road faced about two months of downtime during the summer, due to track maintenance and testing. During testing in late June-early July, it was run with test dummies in the seats. It is now open and running much more smoothly. In 2009, Carowinds rebuilt more sections of Thunder Road with the majority of the work spent rebuilding the two large turn-arounds at back end of the ride and a portion of the return track halfway back. Now they have completely removed the old track in between the rebuilt sections which will make a nice long new smooth section.

In May 2015, Carowinds announced that they would be closing Thunder Road permanently on July 26, 2015.

Ride Layout

The brakes release the trains and the riders are taken on a gentle downward turn. The turn goes back under the brake run and meets with the backward- or forward-facing train. The chain soon latches on and the trains are carried up 93 feet (28 m). As riders are lifted up the hill, there are four signs that make the sentence "Grit your teeth, bear the load, enjoy your ride on Thunder Road." The drop of 88 feet (27 m) is followed by several small to medium-sized "bumps" giving riders the feeling of air-time. Following the small bumps, a large hill with a turn begins the train's journey back to the station. The tracks diverge and cross more small and medium-sized bumps. A tunnel covers the last drop and hill, which is immediately followed by a long brake run where the tracks meet up again.

Incidents

Main article: Incidents at Cedar Fair parks

On April 5, 1999, a train collided with another, leaving seven people injured. Sensors on the ride were then replaced, opening the ride again.

Construction data

• 500,000 board feet (1200 m³) of treated wood
• 60-70 tons of nails, bolts, and track
• 5,500 US gallons (21 m³) of paint (most parts with paint have been replaced)

External links

• Official site
• POV Video
• Final days counting down for Carowinds’ Thunder Road @ The State (July 19, 2015)