Alpine Bobsled

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Alpine Bobsled

Six Flags Great Escape
Location	Queensbury, New York, USA
Coordinates	43°21′03″N 73°41′17″W / 43.350968°N 73.687918°W / 43.350968; -73.687918
Status	Defunct
Operated	1998 to September 4, 2023
Rider height	42 inch minimum
Replaced by	Bobcat

Six Flags Great America
Name	Rolling Thunder
Location	Gurnee, Illinois, USA
Coordinates	42°22′00″N 87°56′10″W / 42.3667447919°N 87.936043725°W / 42.3667447919; -87.936043725
Operated	1989 to 1995
Replaced by	Raging Bull

Six Flags Great Adventure
Name	Sarajevo Bobsled
Location	Jackson, New Jersey, USA
Operated	May 9, 1984 to 1988
Replaced by	Great American Scream Machine

Statistics

Manufacturer

Intamin

Product

Swiss Bob

Type

Steel - Bobsled

Propulsion

Chain lift hill

Height

64 feet

Top speed

35 mph

Length

1490 feet

Inversions

0

Duration

1:40

Rolling stock

Manufacturer

Giovanola

Riders per train

8

Alpine Bobsled was a steel bobsled roller coaster that was located at Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, USA. It was designed by Intamin.

History

This roller coaster was first constructed at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, where it opened on May 9, 1984. It was named Sarajevo Bobsled, a nod to the Winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia and the Summer Olympics which would be held in Los Angeles, California. The roller coaster was not officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee. That same year, a very similar roller coaster also called Sarajevo Bobsled opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Sarajevo Bobsled was dismantled in 1988 and replaced by the Great American Scream Machine the year after.^[1]

In 1989, the roller coaster reopened at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois and was called Rolling Thunder. It closed in 1995 and was stored in the park's back parking lot until being sold to Premier Parks, being subsequently sent to The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom, where it opened in 1998 as Alpine Bobsled.^[2] Back at Six Flags Great America, its former site later became home to Southwest Territory and Raging Bull, which opened on May 1, 1999.

On August 4, 2023, Six Flags Great Escape announced that Alpine Bobsled would close permanently on September 4, 2023.^[3] After it closed, it was demolished for scrap metal.^[4] The ride was replaced by Bobcat the following year, which opened on June 1, 2024.

Design

Trains

6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 4 rows, for a total of 8 riders per car.

When the ride first opened at Six Flags Great Adventure, riders sat inline with a maximum of six riders per car. Prior to its assembly at Six Flags Great America, the cars were modified to increase their capacity to eight riders.^[1]

Incidents

On July 22, 1987, a 33-year old man broke two bones in his leg while boarding the Sarajevo Bobsled at Six Flags Great Adventure. A ride operator had mistakenly started the ride while he was still boarding.^[5]^[6]