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| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Ed Vettel | ||||||||||||
| Type | Wooden | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Height | 78 feet | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 50 mph | ||||||||||||
| Length | 2900 feet | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:20 | ||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Ed Vettel (1938-1960s) National Amusement Devices (1960s-2002) Ed Vettel (2002-2009) Ed Vettel & National Amusement Devices (2010-2019) | ||||||||||||
Blue Streak was a wooden roller coaster previously located at Conneaut Lake Park in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, USA. In its last year of operation, it was the 17th oldest roller coaster in the United States, and an ACE Coaster Classic and ACE Coaster Landmark. It was also one of only two shallow coasters designed by Ed Vettel still in operation (the other being Cyclone at Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver, Colorado, USA).
The ride caught fire on January 4, 2022, and burned to the ground. Prior to the fire, it had been in the process of being demolished after being deemed beyond repair.
History
Blue Streak opened on May 23, 1938. It was built in the location of the former Scenic Railway coaster, which closed the year prior. Given the location, it is likely that parts of Scenic Railway's supports were used in Blue Streak's construction.
The ride was closed from 1995 to 1996. It reopened on May 17, 1997. Conneaut Lake Park closed after the 2006 season and did not reopen until 2010. Blue Streak wouldn't reopen until September 2, 2010, following a large refurbishment.[1][2] The coaster operated every year after that until 2019, its last year in operation.
Blue Streak and Conneaut Lake Park did not operate in 2020 or 2021. After being purchased by a new owner, the ride was announced to be structurally unsafe and unsalvageable. On January 4, 2022, midway through the process of the coaster's demolition, the coaster was partially destroyed by fire after a controlled burn became out-of-hand.[3] Firefighters safely extinguished the fire, and the rest of the coaster was demolished.
Ride experience
After dispatch from the station, the train entered an S-shaped tunnel before beginning the ascent up the 78-foot lift hill. Upon cresting the lift hill, the train descended the first drop, reaching speeds of up to 50 mph, and entered a section of straight track. This is followed by two airtime hills, and a righthand turnaround section near a road that directs the train back towards the park. The train descends a drop out of the turnaround, and goes through four small camelback airtime hills. Finally, it enters the brake run before making a lefthand turn back into the station.
Design
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Trains
Single train with 3 cars. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows, for a total of 18 riders per train.
Awards
| Year | 1998 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 |
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| Ranking | 25 | 46 | 44 | 33 | 30 | 35 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 40 | 35 |
Images
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ACE Coaster Landmark plaque -
The ride's turnaround
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References
- ↑ "Historic Blue Streak coaster reopens at Conneaut Lake".
- ↑ "Conneaut's Blue Streak Updates". News Plus Notes. 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
- ↑ "Conneaut Lake Park's Blue Streak Catches Fire".
External links
- Blue Streak on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
