Dips (Buckeye Lake)

Dips

Buckeye Lake Amusement Park Location Buckeye Lake, Ohio Status Defunct Operated 1930 to May 24, 1958 Replaced Unnamed roller coaster
Statistics
Builder	Harry C. Baker
Designer / calculations	John A. Miller
Type	Wooden
Track layout	Out and Back
Riders per train	8
Propulsion	Chain Lift
Height	75 feet
Drop	110 feet
Inversions	0
HELP

Dips was a wooden roller coaster at Buckeye Lake Amusement Park in Buckeye Lake, Ohio, USA. The roller coaster opened in 1930 and closed in 1958 following a major incident.

History

1920s

Before the construction of the Dips roller coaster, an unnamed wooden roller coaster stood over part of the area that would house Dips. At this time the attractions in the area were not a part of an overall amusement park, but were run by independent vendors. This roller coaster was destroyed by a tornado in 1922 and another coaster also met a similar fate in 1928 leaving the park without its main roller coaster. There has been some confusion as to the mentioning of a roller coaster in the park previous to 1930, however that roller coaster was not the same. One proving factor of this is the usage of a specific car and track technology patent not developed until 1929 and granted in 1931 following testing that proved successful in real word scenarios on multiple coasters including Dips at Buckeye Lake.

1930s

By the late 1920s and the beginning of 1930, the idea to begin a dedicated amusement park had taken off. The new park embarked on the multitude of repairs and new construction needed following the tornado that had destroyed much of the attractions in 1922 and a similarly strong storm in 1928. Much of the debris from the former roller coaster was removed and disposed of at this time making way for the new Dips roller coaster that would soon take this place.

Dips is Constructed

In 1930 Dips opened for the first time to rave reviews. It spanned a long stretch of dips and twists over the land and then out over the water for an added thrill before returning back to the station.

Closure

In 1958 a non-lethal accident prompted the closure of the Dips roller coaster. It would never open again, however, it stood standing but not operating until November 11, 1966, when a large wind storm swept through the park knocking it into Buckeye Lake.

Incidents

While its predecessor was also no stranger to incidents that resulted in injury and death, Dips was not immune. Ultimately it would be the results of a non fatal incident that would shutter the ride for the remainder of its days.

August 22, 1931

In the afternoon on August 22, 1931, John Landis Jr. was tossed from the front seat of the first car while descending the third hill. A fellow rider attempted to grab hold of his shirt and pull him back down into the seat but was unsuccessful. He subsequently landed on the tracks ahead of the oncoming train resulting in him being crushed by the oncoming train he had just been expelled from. This resulted in Landis then being forced through the wooden ties and structure of the coaster below the track where he finally ended up in Buckeye Lake below. New automatic safety devices engaged when it struck Landis halting the car at the top of the next hill. It remains unknown if Landis attempted to stand up or was thrown by the force of the coaster.

October 14, 1952

In the early afternoon, 7-year-old William F. Wolfe and 8-year-old Larry Hyatt were on their way home from school when they stopped by the park which had been closed for the winter season. They were able to easily climb on the wooden structure of Dips. Wolfe slipped and fell on his way down from the roller coaster supports and plunged fifteen feet through the crossbeams of the wooden roller coaster. He later succumbed to his injuries at a nearby hospital. Larry Hyatt was not injured. This incident prompted outcry about the lack of safety devices such as fencing around the park, especially during off seasons.

Newark Advocate Front Page Headline of May 26, 1958 Detailing the Accident at the Dips Roller Coaster - Buckeye Lake Amusement Park

May 24, 1958

Around 11:00 pm on May 24, 1958, the incident that would seal the fate of the Dips occurred when the coaster disengaged from the chain and anti-rollback device on the lift hill. The train subsequently flew back down the hill where it disengaged from the tack and was sent into safety barriers and fencing near the station after the anti-rollback device failed, injuring 16 total (initial count quoting 15 missed one individual pinned beneath the train). This incident was itself, a scandal within a scandal as local police and park management attempted a coverup by preventing State Police access to the scene and the press from reporting on the occurrence as the park was preparing for a large Memorial Day celebration in the coming days.

Investigation

The subsequent investigation of the incident revealed a number of details about not only the Dips roller coaster, but the park operations overall. It was revealed that the cause of the incident was dangerously insufficient maintenance and operation and improper weighting of the cars versus the amount of force the anti rollback device could handle. Because of the sheer force of the train when it disengaged from the chain at about 35 feet up the 75 foot incline, a 3/4 inch pin on the anti-rollback device was shredded to bits resulting in the coaster train plummeting back down towards the station where the cars slammed through a curve in the track leading from the station to the lift hill with such force the train fully disengaged. The force sent the train flying first into a protective wire fence and then into large wooden safety fence, flipped it over, and tossed riders out, some still with pieces of the wire safety fence on them, and trapping at least one beneath it. Among the riders was 24-year-old Robert McKay Jr., the son of park manager, Robert McKay. McKay received a number of injuries and was the last to be released from the hospital in the following days.

It was also revealed that at this point in time Ohio State law did not require annual inspection of amusement devices. The last safety inspection outside of normal daily park inspection of Dips had not occurred since 1955.

Following the investigation, it was determined that all rides at Buckeye Lake would close immediately and a full safety inspection of the entire park would be completed.

Attempted Cover Up

As reporters began to quickly arrive on scene at the incident, members of the Newark Police Department began denying access to the area and refused to answer questions while simultaneously issuing several violent threats. As more press arrived they too were barred from the area. In addition, state patrolmen were also being denied access despite their jurisdiction covering the entire state. Sheriff William McElroy was called in to diffuse the situation and restore order to the scene as they spoke up citing the first amendment right of freedom of press and right of jurisdiction. Reporters were finally permitted to report on the scene as is customary.

The following monday Sheriff McElroy held a press conference in which he addressed the public and the media about this incident, swearing to ensure it never happened again. He also revealed disciplinary action taken on an interdepartmental basis and announced new standards and protocols that guaranteed immediate transition of any amusement park incident to the arriving officers with jurisdiction as well as immediate access to the press. It was also revealed that park management and their insurance agent were the ones behind the attempted coverup of the incident and details related to it to prevent harm to their reputation and because the property was private versus public.

After the incident occurred, the Newark Advocate published a scathing response to the attempted cover up in their newspaper that sparked action in ensuring the press remained free to report on all future amusement park accidents without threats of violence or being wrongly denied access to the scene. The article carries relevance in the Amusement Industry and beyond till today and continues to be quoted in legal arguments in cases of the press still often being denied access to amusement park incidents around the world.

The Advocate Upholds Its Right to Report Lake Accident:

"If many of our readers had their own way, everything 'unpleasant' would be kept out of this newspaper. Accidents, homicides, divorces, strikes, unemployment - anything that carries with it the slightest tinge of notoriety could just as well be left out, these readers would content. Why print the bad side of the news? Our answer is simple: news is news; and it's not up to us (or our readers, for that matter) to pass moral judgement on what is good news and what is bad. What our readers are willing to read is news. It's our job to give them that news, in spite of petty, intimidating threats on the part of so-called 'authority'.

Case in point: The Saturday night roller coaster accident at Buckeye Lake Park. Had the entire matter of reporting the tragedy been left in the hands of the local police authority at the Lake, you would never have heard a thing about it. The pages of this newspaper would never have been blackened by the tinge of notoriety involved in reporting the accident as it occurred. Advocate and WCLT reporters and photographers were peremptorily told to get out; and that if anything were reported, they would have to pay the consequences.

The Deputy who so 'bravely' blandished his 'authority' is the one to pay the consequences. He was interfering in the rightful duty of the press to report what has happened, as it happened. There was no abuse of freedom of the press involved here. It was merely a rightful use of the power and authority and trust each reader places in the newspaper: to get a factual and actual accounting of the day's events without any 'covering up' of those things which may cause notoriety. We have but one mission: to keep our readers informed.

No Advocate or WCLT reporter should ever have to face violence in carrying out his job. Reporting an accident on a vehicle of public amusement at Buckeye Lake is very much a part of his job. For it is the concern of all of us who either ride on those vehicles or send our children to ride on them, to know they're safe. It was an unfortunate, if not a tragic accident, and we hope it will never happen again. But it is our job, and will remain our job, to report any such accidents in the future... despite threats, cajolings, and petty intimidations."

- The Newark Advocate (Newark Ohio, USA) May 27, 1958

Fate

Due to the lack of proper maintenance and severe structural deficiencies, the roller coaster never reopened following the May 1958 incident. Financial problems within the park were also to blame. The Dips would sit Standing but Not Operating until Noon on Thursday November 11, 1966 when heavy winds caused the structure to shift and break apart as it fell into Buckeye Lake.

Design

Trains

3 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 4 rows, for a total of 24 riders per train.

External links

• 

  Dips on the Roller Coaster DataBase.