Steel Curtain
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| Steel Curtain's promotional image. | |||||||||||||
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| Manufacturer | S&S Sansei Technologies | ||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Joe Draves | ||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Hyper | ||||||||||||
| Product | Looping Hyper Coaster | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 24 | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Height | 220 feet | ||||||||||||
| Drop | 205 feet | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 75 mph | ||||||||||||
| Length | 4000 feet | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:00 | ||||||||||||
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Steel Curtain is a steel roller coaster at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The ride is manufactured by S&S Sansei Technologies and opened on July 13, 2019. It is part of Steeler's Country, a themed area based on the Pittsburgh Steelers American football team.
The ride replaced the former Log Jammer, which closed on September 17, 2017.
History
In 2017, the park announced that Log Jammer, a log flume attraction, would be demolished after the 2017 season. Its last day of operation was September 17. While a replacement had not yet been revealed, the park announced that "exciting new developments" were planned.[1]
On June 7, 2018, Kennywood revealed that they had broken ground on Project 412 (The phone number area code for Pittsburgh), a new attraction opening in 2019. The park published a "scratch-card" on social media, promising to reveal nine numbers relating to the new attraction.[2] On July 4, following the reveal of the last number, Kennywood published a word search challenging viewers to find nine words and match one to each number. Twelve people who match each word correctly will be offered one of the first rides on the new attraction.[3]
On July 19, 2018, Kennywood officially announced Steel Curtain. Facts that were revealed about the ride include that it would be manufactured by S&S, that it would be 220 feet tall, that it would feature the world's tallest inversion at 197 feet, that it would feature 9 inversions (the most in North America) and that the ride would be themed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a local football team.
In November 2018, vertical construction began on the coaster.
Steel Curtain took its first test run on June 22, 2019.[4]
On June 28, 2019, Kennywood confirmed that Steel Curtain would open on July 13, 2019.
Design
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Steel Curtain was manufactured by S&S and broke three records. One of these is the record for the world's tallest inversion (Drachen fire dive drop) at 197 feet. Another one is the record for the most inversions in North America, at 9. The final record is being the tallest coaster in Pennsylvania at 220 feet. Steel Curtain begins with a chain lift hill, which leads directly into the first inversion. The ride also features an unique structure featuring an airtime hill with a zero-g stall going directly underneath it.
There is some debate as to how many inversions the coaster actually has. Some people claim that the banana roll counts as just one inversion, and that the inversion count is actually eight. However, the inversion is shaped differently than normal, and riders invert proper twice, and so the ride has nine.
This is the largest coaster by S&S Sansei to date.
Ride experience
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Steel Curtain ascends the 220 foot, 50 degree lift hill. Then, it dips down into the Drachen fire dive drop at 197 feet in the air, dropping 205 feet.[5] This is followed by a left hand turn into the next inversion, a banana roll. Then, a stretched out bunny hill leads Steel Curtain into a sea serpent roll, followed by an airtime hill into a dive loop. A short section of straight track ensues, followed by a zero-g stall riding directly underneath the airtime hill track. Then, the train steps up into a corkscrew, diving to the right and entering a cutback. From there, Steel Curtain does an s-curve and hops into the brake run.
Trains
2 trains with 6 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 24 riders per train. Riders are held in by lap-bars.
A car from Steel Curtain was unveiled at IAAPA 2018.[6]
Theme
Steel Curtain is themed to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a local NFL team, and is part of Steelers Country, a new 3 acre (1.2 ha) area of Kennywood based on the team. "Steel Curtain" was the nickname given to the Steelers' defensive line during the 1970s, when the team won the Super Bowl four times in six years.
Photo Gallery
The queue line.
The dive loop.
The hill and zero-g stall.
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References
- ↑ Kennywood's Log Jammer To Take Final Drops - Kennywood
- ↑ Kennywood Begins Teaser Campaign for New-for-2019 Attraction - NewsPlusNotes
- ↑ Kennywood Announces ‘Project 412’ Contest - CBS Pittsburgh
- ↑ "Kennywood Steel Curtain Roller Coaster First Test Runs". Kennywood Amusement Park YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeqaHEU8mvI.
- ↑ "Get ready for the ride of your life on Kennywood's Steel Curtain". https://www.goerie.com/entertainmentlife/20190628/get-ready-for-ride-of-your-life-on-kennywoods-steel-curtain.
- ↑ "Kennywood Unveils New Steelers' Themed Vehicles for The Steel Curtain + New Animations". NewsPlusNotes. http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2018/11/kennywood-unveils-new-steelers-themed.html.
External links
- Steel Curtain on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
| Highest inversion on a roller coaster July 13, 2019-present | ||
| Preceded by Falcon |
Highest inversion on a roller coaster July 13, 2019-present |
Succeeded by None |
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