Alpine Bobsled

Alpine Bobsled
Previously known as Sarajevo Bobsled at Great Adventure, Rolling Thunder at Great America
Great Escape
Park section	Fest Area
Coordinates	43.3511°N 73.6877°W / 43.3511; -73.6877
Status	Operating
Opening date	1998
Alpine Bobsled at Great Escape at RCDB
Six Flags Great America
Coordinates	42.3658°N 87.937°W / 42.3658; -87.937
Status	Removed
Opening date	1989
Closing date	1995
Replaced by	Raging Bull
Alpine Bobsled at Six Flags Great America at RCDB
Six Flags Great Adventure
Coordinates	40.139°N 74.4381°W / 40.139; -74.4381
Status	Removed
Opening date	1984
Closing date	1988
Replaced by	Great American Scream Machine
Alpine Bobsled at Six Flags Great Adventure at RCDB
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Intamin
Model	Bobsled roller coaster
Height	64 ft (20 m)
Length	1,490 ft (450 m)
Speed	35 mph (56 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	1 min. 40 sec.
Height restriction	42 in (107 cm)
Trains	6 trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 2 across in 4 rows for a total of 8 riders per train.

Alpine Bobsled is a steel bobsled roller coaster, made by Intamin. It has been at three parks, Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Great America and Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, where it stands.

Theming

The alpine theme of the coaster was partly inspired by the park's proximity to Lake Placid New York where the 1980 and 1932 Winter Olympics, both of which included bobsled races, were held. The ride has six cars, all themed from different countries: the United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Jamaica, Canada and Switzerland. The ride regularly runs three sleds with the fourth being stored on the transfer track next to the load station. The four sleds are regularly rotated in and out over the course of the year, with the ride occasionally running all four at the same time. The two sleds not being used during a season are rehabbed and rotated out on a yearly basis. A large archway is the entrance to the long queue area leading up to the loading station. The arch itself is decorated with an old Olympic-style bobsled and the path up to the loading area is scattered with old broken sleds as well. The loading station is built to resemble a 19th-century alpine ski lodge. The outside of the bobsled's trough is purple and white, with the inside also being white.

History

The coaster was built in 1984 and was located at Six Flags Great Adventure as the Sarajevo Bobsled. The ride was quite popular. Its purpose was to commemorate the 1984 Olympics. The area of the park was becoming dull and needed an overhaul.

In the spring of 1988, it was determined that this area would have an Airplane/Space/Boardwalk theme, and that the park needed a larger roller coaster, and that the coaster would occupy the land that Sarajevo Bobsleds was occupying. The Bobsled was then closed mid season and dismantled. The coaster was replaced with a multiple steel looping roller coaster that was then state of the art and would for a month be the tallest coaster in the world. Great American Scream Machine was built in its place and it stood there until it was dismantled in July of the 2010 season to make room for a new stand-up roller coaster named Green Lantern.

After the ride was dismantled and removed, it was relocated to Six Flags Great America in 1989 and opened as Rolling Thunder. It was replaced by Raging Bull, a state of the art steel hyper twister non-looping coaster. Rolling Thunder was then sold to Premier Parks and then moved to Great Escape in 1997.

It reopened in 1998 as the Alpine Bobsled. Premier Parks bought Six Flags in 1998 bringing Great Escape into and this coaster back to the Six Flags family.

Trains

Riders are arranged two across in four rows per car with the cars made by Giovanola. As of 2015, there are 4 cars in use and 2 in storage and the back rows are closed off due to whiplash.

External links

• Alpine Bobsled at the Roller Coaster DataBase