Thunderbolt (Kennywood)

Thunderbolt
Kennywood's Thunderbolt
Kennywood
Location	Kennywood
Coordinates	40°23′20″N 79°51′54″W
Status	Operating
Opening date	1924
General statistics
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	Andy Vettel & John A. Miller
Designer	Joseph E. Drambour
Track layout	Out and Back
Height	70 ft (21 m)
Drop	95 ft (29 m)
Length	2,887 ft (880 m)
Speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Inversions	0
Duration	1:48
Height restriction	52 in (132 cm)
Thunderbolt at RCDB

The Thunderbolt is a wooden roller coaster located at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Originally built by John A. Miller in 1924, the ride's name was Pippin until 1967, when it changed to Thunderbolt beginning with the 1968 season, coinciding with an expansion of the track headed up by Andy Vettel. The all-wood coaster follows the surrounding terrain with a track length of 2,887 feet (880 m). Its maximum height is 70 feet (21 m), but because of the track layout and the natural ravines on which the ride is set, the maximum drop is 95 feet (29 m). Reaching a maximum speed of 55 mph (88.5 km/h), the ride takes 108 seconds to complete its circuit.

An interesting feature of the Thunderbolt is that after departing from the station, the train does not immediately go up the lift hill as on most other coasters. Instead, the lift hill is in the middle of the ride.

Most of the ride was left intact except for the double dip, station, and station turn-around to the first hill which were removed in 1968 for the addition of the new front helix hills necessary for the transformation of The Pippin into the new Thunderbolt roller coaster. The four drops down a ravine were incorporated in the Andy Vettel-designed Thunderbolt coaster. The Thunderbolt was rated the #1 roller coaster by the New York Times in 1974, and it still is the most popular ride at Kennywood. The Thunderbolt still uses the 1958 Pippin trains manufactured by the National Amusement Device Company, known as "Century Flyers."

Timeline

In 1924, the Pippin roller coaster was built.

In 1958, the Pippin's open-front trains were replaced with Century Flyer trains made by the National Amusement Device company. These are the trains used on the Thunderbolt today.

In 1968, the Pippin roller coaster was rebuilt and the Thunderbolt was born

In 1969, a small hill was removed from the inner helix of the front of the coaster near the loading station.

In 1991, the tunnel located at the end of the first dip was removed, and allowed the Phantom's Revenge to go through Thunderbolt.

In 1998, for Kennywood's 100th anniversary, the headlights on the front of the trains were restored when the trains themselves were refurbished.

In 1999, there was an accident on the Thunderbolt when the operators failed to brake the train coming into the station and it collided with the train being loaded. Thirty people were injured in the crash. [1] After the accident the headlights on the cars were removed partially because the electrical system did not hold up well to the vibration of the cars.

In 2001, installation of Phantom's Revenge resulted in the ride being closed for a few weeks so that the new ride could be built through the structure near the Turtle's Ride. Phantom's Revenge still however retains Steel Phantom's drop through the Thunderbolt. The ride was still being rebuilt even a few weeks after the new ride opened.

In 2006, the trains could be seen sporting the famous T-bolt logo on the fronts of the cars where the center headlights formerly were.

In 2008, Thunderbolt celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Awards and rankings

lift hill

Thunderbolt is an ACE Coaster Classic.

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Wooden Roller Coasters
Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Ranking	11	14	14	15	19	18	22	19	21	19	23	14	14

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ranking	34	40	50	42	48	44	48	49	45	48	48

NAPHA Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster
Year	2005	2006	2007
Ranking	4	-	-

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  Thunderbolt helix with Phantom's Revenge in background
• 
  Thunderbolt cresting hill in front of Phantom and Pitt Fall
• 
  A view of the signature drop on Phantom's Revenge, which passes over two and under two Thunderbolt tracks