Unsolved Coaster Mysteries

[Lori Marie Loud]

Yep, I put that in my post.

Another more personal one is where the two boomerangs (knott's one and another believed to be from pleasure island) that I saw being refurbished in the Netherlands are going. Maybe they hadn't been sold and had no buyer, who knows.

Oh, another, how much of any rides dreamland still actually has. I know some of it got deliberately (or at least suspiciously) damaged by previous land owners (king solomon's mine) but i'd be interested to see what they had. Again, not the same kind of mystery but an unsolved question that had popped into my head.

I bet there are so many rides pieces and props and things from parks that are just in random places that will never be discovered or hardly seen. Like old trains for things or iconic props/animatronics. The guy that does those dark ride videos uncovered some interesting stuff about some UK dark ride props so there must be loads of random things out there.

That park in Rotterdam bought the two boomerangs, along with Reaper: Drop ride to doom! and that Shuttle Loop from Japan. Safety requirements resulted in the removal of the Shuttle Loop from the plans and the boomerangs and Drop ride to Doom!'s future are uncertain.

 

[Gavin]

How weird.

I've just finished typing up my Mexico trip report, and then come into this topic. The last section of the report featured this:

I found it completely by accident at a travelling fair as I was walking through the park in Monterrery where it was held. I had no idea the fair was there, and the last night had been the night before. They were packing up as I was walking through, so I didn't get to ride anything. Is it one of those Cyclone things mentioned earlier?

 

[TilenB]

The Phantom Boomerang
Boomerangs are everywhere these days but in 1984 they were new and interesting. There is some confusion as to which was the first boomerang although I think its generally accepted the first to be built was at Rafaela Padilla in Mexico but the first to actually open was at Bellewaerde in Belgium. Two more also opened that year at La Ronde and Moreys Pier but a little known 5th ride was also built at Tivoli Park in Gran Canaria and possibly would have opened before Bellewaerde. Although that would have relied on it ever being finished.

The boomerang at Tivoli can be seen here in front of the Ferris Wheel.

Tivoli had a troubled history and was originally due to open 1974 but failed to open due financing problems. Several attempts were made to finish the park all he way into the 2000s until what was there was finally demolished in 2013. Source: http://www.parqueplaza.net/2013/08/las-palmas-de-gran-canaria-derriba-un.html

Now in relation to the boomerang this is where things get murky. One of those attempts was in the early 80s and the picture above shows both the Ferris Wheel and the Boomerang at the park. The Ferris Wheel is also of Vekoma origin and is in fact still operating as Grande Roue at La Ronde in Canada. There is no date on the photo above but Grande Roue opened in 1984 meaning this picture must have been taken at the latest in early 1984.

The Boomerang that was there was also dismantled at the same time as the Ferris Wheel and promptly vanished too. There are many theories as to where it went. I've read it went to Parque de Atracciones in Barcelona before it went to Six Flags New Orleans to learn to snorkel but that leaves a 6 year gap between parks which seems unlikely. My personal theory is that this went with the Ferris Wheel and is what ended up as Boomerang at La Ronde, It wouldn't be the first time a ride company has sold a New Ride which Isn't really that "New".

The problem here is that no one at Vekoma now worked at Vekoma then. And even if they had I doubt records would have been was well kept as they are now. While its not really important it is a nice little historical mystery that I like.

Hah, this is the ride that I first told you about a few years ago. I started looking into it again a few months ago, but I couldn't find anything that hasn't been found before. I'm 99% sure that the park never opened, but the ride has probably been moved elsewhere. Interestingly enough, it seems that no Boomerang coaster has ever been scrapped...

Hmm. Whatever Happened to Greezed Lightnin from Astroworld? Is it still in storage?

The track was also in pretty sorry looking state in 2016.
http://malcolmsrattlesnaketour.blogspot.com/2016/09/schwarzkopf-graveyard.html?m=1

I have a couple of these mysteries myself;

• Schwarzkopf Muenchner Bahn (can't do umlauts on my phone). Only one has ever been built and travelled Germany for a while and had a couple of short stops in a safari park in The Netherlands and Traumlandpark in Germany (MPG's predecessor), before being sold to a new park project in Thailand. The Thai park never ended up opening and there's no evidence of what has happened to the coaster afterwards. https://rcdb.com/1538.htm
• Who the hell is CAM Baby Kart? Despite having only 8 coasters listed on rcdb, it seems that the company was far more prolific than that. A lot of Italian fairground coasters were built by them (including a few single rail powered ones, I can dig up the photos for those interested) and a lot of rides that don't have a manufacturer listed on rcdb were also likely build by them. An interesting one is this powered coaster in Costa Rica that is linked to a company called Lucrezia di Cartoceto, which I found out is just the town that CAM Baby Kart actually comes from. https://rcdb.com/2455.htm

Any answers on these two, @roomraider?

 

[Pokemaniac]

I just remembered a different one, but it may be more of an urban legend than a mystery:

A few years back, rumours had it that one of the Dubailand parks would include clone of The Incredible Hulk at Islands of Adventure. Of course, that didn't happen, but some rumours claimed that track was even fabricated for it, and that a more-or-less complete Hulk coaster lay in storage somewhere.

And then in 2016, IoA's Hulk was dismantled and replaced with new track. Again, rumours were abuzz. Was it the Dubai Hulk that had been taken out of storage to replace its aging Florida cousin? I remember we talked about it (here, for instance), but I don't think we ever concluded anything. Some track was found to originate at B&M's Clemont plant, but might that just have been brake runs and other "special" track pieces that required the installation of extra hardware. Or it might have been all of it. Has it ever been made clear whether a Dubai Hulk existed at all?

 

[Gavin]

^There's concept art of a Hulk clone, but themed to Transformers, for Universal Beijing. Even though there are a few years difference, I guess there's a chance that if a second Hulk was built, it could end up there. I'm fairly sure it was added into the concept art at a later stage; I'm not sure if that's any help in verifying it's this same coaster though.

 

[Hixee]

There's one still existing named Death Train, howeer it's SBNO

I have that cred! Got it back in 2016. Didn't realise it was so unique.

 

[roomraider]

Not much of unknown mystery but more of a wonder
What was tornado at Blackgang Chine?
I saw the company has only one other coaster in the Philippines who where the company?
And why did it fail the safety inspection and what happened to the coaster/company?

parts of this one are easy enough at least Thanks to this old news article from here - http://www.joylandbooks.com/news2004_2.htm

"The new Tornado coaster at the Isle of Wight's Blackgang Chine Theme Park has been dismantled and returned to its Italian manufacturer after it failed to meet UK safety specifications. Blackgang Chine is now demanding its £200,000 back from the manufacturer, Westech Ltd, who made five failed attempts to rectify the problem and receive UK health and safety approval since the ride was constructed in spring 2003. Structural modifications to the ride have included replacement supporting columns, but the required clearance between riders and supporting stanchions was still not achieved. The removal of the ride leaves a gaping hole in the centre of the park, one that the owners promise will be filled by a new ride next year. Blackgang Chine directors are currently "scouring the world" for a new ride, and have not ruled out the possibility of ordering another ride from Italy. Chine Director, Simon Dabell, estimates that in preparing the site, buying the ride and lost takings, the roller coaster problems have cost the park £500,000."

The park subsequently won a court case against Westech Ltd and a large part of that money paid for Cliffhanger.

As for what happened to Westech. Did a little bit of detective work and it seems the Swiss side of things became part of SBF rides a while back
https://www.highwaygames.com/arcade-manufacturers/westech-ltd/500.html
the ride in the Philippines was built by another branch which at least appears to still exist as Westech over therel
http://www.westechrides.com/aboutus.html

How weird.

I've just finished typing up my Mexico trip report, and then come into this topic. The last section of the report featured this:

I found it completely by accident at a travelling fair as I was walking through the park in Monterrery where it was held. I had no idea the fair was there, and the last night had been the night before. They were packing up as I was walking through, so I didn't get to ride anything. Is it one of those Cyclone things mentioned earlier?

It's certainly not one of the original Ciclone rides but looks like it was one of the batch that followed on where track moved from the weird lattice work of the Ciclones to the more traditional track seen on the Zyclon style rides from pinfari. The weird thing about the ciclone rides is the track is literally 2 separate rails and was transported with the rails taken apart. very odd.

I genuinly thought for ages these rides were racing versions of the single rail R2000 and its sister rides from the 50s.

I have a few more replies to write but its lunch time in the office and I'm hungry. Food always wins.

 

[roomraider]

• Schwarzkopf Muenchner Bahn (can't do umlauts on my phone). Only one has ever been built and travelled Germany for a while and had a couple of short stops in a safari park in The Netherlands and Traumlandpark in Germany (MPG's predecessor), before being sold to a new park project in Thailand. The Thai park never ended up opening and there's no evidence of what has happened to the coaster afterwards. https://rcdb.com/1538.htm

This is one I've looked into myself. I even went to the site way back in 2004 but back then I wasn't aware of what I am now and wasn't really such an enthusiast. Had I known what I know now I may have had a chance of spotting it.
While I can't tell you its exact whereabouts right now I can share my research into it which you probably already know but just in case and for others.

Future World was originally planned to open in in the mid 90s but the Asian Financial Crisis hit at just the wrong time for the park. The park began construction and even had rides set up and concrete poured but every thing stalled in 97 and it all got pulled down around 1999

I have heard from various sources the coaster was at least partially set up but I've never seen anything conclusive.

Here is some concept art from the original park.


And here's the site of the park from 2004 a full 5 years after it was pulled down.

There was even a monorail that ran round to the front of the mall from to the park at the back. That was still there when I visited but seems to have been removed when they redid the front of the mall. sometime between then and 09

This post from earlier this year on a Thai Coaster page on FB (Source) Suggests at least some ride parts were placed behind the Index Mall at Future Plaza.
"That was the neighborhood when the kid saw it from the start of construction. It was almost a tad. Some tracks have been seen behind the index of index livingmall. Not sure if it's all gone now."

There was nothing outside for years but after they re-did the front of the mall for a 2nd time in 2014 some stuff appeared out the back of the index livingmall.
Its really tough to tell what this is. Its the wrong colour for the monorail but it does match the white supports of the coaster. Hardly conclusive though.

These parts stayed on site until 2017 when they were removed and the area turned into a coach park. Annoyingly the Google Street View image is taken just a couple of months after the parts were removed (DAMMIT) meaning any conclusive proof either way using that is impossible.

Sadly all that's left of the original park site now is this tiny bit of ground now used for some off road parking at the newly installed sports pitch.


Its all a little abstract I'm afraid but its the best I've got so far

 

[TilenB]

This is one I've looked into myself. I even went to the site way back in 2004 but back then I wasn't aware of what I am now and wasn't really such an enthusiast. Had I known what I know now I may have had a chance of spotting it.
While I can't tell you its exact whereabouts right now I can share my research into it which you probably already know but just in case and for others.

Future World was originally planned to open in in the mid 90s but the Asian Financial Crisis hit at just the wrong time for the park. The park began construction and even had rides set up and concrete poured but every thing stalled in 97 and it all got pulled down around 1999

I have heard from various sources the coaster was at least partially set up but I've never seen anything conclusive.

Here is some concept art from the original park.
View attachment 3725

And here's the site of the park from 2004 a full 5 years after it was pulled down.
View attachment 3726
There was even a monorail that ran round to the front of the mall from to the park at the back. That was still there when I visited but seems to have been removed when they redid the front of the mall. sometime between then and 09

This post from earlier this year on a Thai Coaster page on FB (Source) Suggests at least some ride parts were placed behind the Index Mall at Future Plaza.
"That was the neighborhood when the kid saw it from the start of construction. It was almost a tad. Some tracks have been seen behind the index of index livingmall. Not sure if it's all gone now."

There was nothing outside for years but after they re-did the front of the mall for a 2nd time in 2014 some stuff appeared out the back of the index livingmall. View attachment 3728
Its really tough to tell what this is. Its the wrong colour for the monorail but it does match the white supports of the coaster. Hardly conclusive though.

These parts stayed on site until 2017 when they were removed and the area turned into a coach park. Annoyingly the Google Street View image is taken just a couple of months after the parts were removed (DAMMIT) meaning any conclusive proof either way using that is impossible.

Sadly all that's left of the original park site now is this tiny bit of ground now used for some off road parking at the newly installed sports pitch.
View attachment 3729

Its all a little abstract I'm afraid but its the best I've got so far

Woah, thanks for that. I hope the ride still exists in a salvagable condition somewhere.

I checked out that Thai Facebook page you linked and the latest post mentioned that Thailand also used to have a single rail coaster at some point in the past. After some digging (and trying to work out Thai words from my phone), I've found this video (some photos at 19:34).

 

[Lori Marie Loud]

Woah, thanks for that. I hope the ride still exists in a salvagable condition somewhere.

I checked out that Thai Facebook page you linked and the latest post mentioned that Thailand also used to have a single rail coaster at some point in the past. After some digging (and trying to work out Thai words from my phone), I've found this video (some photos at 19:34).

Thanks for putting my quote of the year in ur.... thing!

 

[roomraider]

Woah, thanks for that. I hope the ride still exists in a salvagable condition somewhere.

I checked out that Thai Facebook page you linked and the latest post mentioned that Thailand also used to have a single rail coaster at some point in the past. After some digging (and trying to work out Thai words from my phone), I've found this video (some photos at 19:34).

That's a really really good spot. So that has to be 1986 or later (up till about 92/93 when the park closed) That only leaves 21 years between the last picture I have of that ride at Heidelberg Mess and it being in Thailand

 

[Pokemaniac]

^There's concept art of a Hulk clone, but themed to Transformers, for Universal Beijing. Even though there are a few years difference, I guess there's a chance that if a second Hulk was built, it could end up there. I'm fairly sure it was added into the concept art at a later stage; I'm not sure if that's any help in verifying it's this same coaster though.

Could it be - and I'm just conjecturing here - that Universal had this half-finished Hulk clone on their hands after the Dubailand fiasco, and considered putting it in Beijing at some point? But that it was decided to use it to refurbish the Florida Hulk instead after Universal Beijing got delayed/they lost the Marvel rights?

It may also have been the case of a binding contract with B&M to supply the track for a Hulk clone. As in, the coaster existed on paper, there was an agreement to build it, but then Universal found themselves without anywhere to put it and had to stall the contract. Either way, the Second Hulk is an intriguing little mystery.

 

[roomraider]

Posting about BPB’s missing apple before all the 12 year olds can.

I have no idea what you are talking about there haha. Im sure ive missed something.

Love the topic!
Not so much a mystery but more of a request, I remember riding a coaster on the Isle of Wight many years ago and would love to see a picture of it. I know it exists as it’s on RCDB https://rcdb.com/1812.htm I’ve searched pretty hard and am really struggling.

ATTACK HAMMER already replied here but just to say I also rode this many years back. My parents may well have some photos of us on it. I shall ask next time I am home.

Currently working on the Eurostar Issue. Have 3 of us scouring 2012/13 Russian Satellite Images using the brute force method of attack.

I'm am soon going to be an expert on 2012 Near Moscow Industrial sites..... both of these got my hopes up before dashing them in the sort of cruel way only Russia can.

We have found some German posts suggesting the ride was sold and shipped to a Polish Scrap merchant. Nothing conclusive though

 

[vaugc002]

That second Hulk theory blew my mind. Can't believe the world missed out on a Hulk clone though. Would have been awesome to see the same layout themed differently.

 

[roomraider]

That second Hulk theory blew my mind. Can't believe the world missed out on a Hulk clone though. Would have been awesome to see the same layout themed differently.

Personally I don't believe that theory in the slightest. Makes no sense to me.

However you are about to get your wish with the hulk themed differently thing as Beijing has a Transformers themed Hulk on the plans. If I remember correctly it's already been spotted at the plant

 

[TommyAlex]

I have no idea what you are talking about there haha. Im sure ive missed something.

Pleasure Beach moved a Big Apple from Morecambe (I think) in 2003 and somehow lost the giant apple, so the coaster ran without it for the brief time it was there.

I said about 12 year olds because last time I saw anyone talking about it, it was in an online conversation that came across as “look how much I know by just casually dropping that into conversation”.

 

[vaugc002]

Personally I don't believe that theory in the slightest. Makes no sense to me.

However you are about to get your wish with the hulk themed differently thing as Beijing has a Transformers themed Hulk on the plans. If I remember correctly it's already been spotted at the plant
View attachment 3733

Oh wow that's awesome. I think as a track layout it definitely deserves another iteration.

 

[roomraider]

That park in Rotterdam bought the two boomerangs, along with Reaper: Drop ride to doom! and that Shuttle Loop from Japan. Safety requirements resulted in the removal of the Shuttle Loop from the plans and the boomerangs and Drop ride to Doom!'s future are uncertain.

Just to clear this up a bit. The park in Rotterdam dont have these rides although that is a bit of a misconception.

The rides weren't bought by Attraction Rotterdam. They are at Most Amusement Rides which is a company that specializes in renovating amusement park rides. The company is owned by Hennie van der Most who has a ton of business interests one of which happens to be Attractiepark Rotterdam. While its very possible one of the Boomerangs is heading to Rotterdam the other and perhaps both will be off somewhere else.

At least this is my understanding of the situation. We have plenty of dutch members who may be able to correct me if I'm wrong.
If pushed to guess I'd say one will head to the new Wonderla park being built in India right now. They certainly have a history of aquiring up old boomerangs.

Just some shots of the Boomerangs on site at Most's warehouses which can be found here
Look at the back here and you can see the Pleasure Island Boomerang cars in the warehouse. (Source)

Pleasure Island track on site (Source)

Knotts Boomerang track on site (source)

Last I saw all 3 rides (Reaper + 2 Boomerangs) were all still on site. Some new satellite imagery there would be nice

 

[SilverArrow]

Just to clear this up a bit. The park in Rotterdam dont have these rides although that is a bit of a misconception.

The rides weren't bought by Attraction Rotterdam. They are at Most Amusement Rides which is a company that specializes in renovating amusement park rides. The company is owned by Hennie van der Most who has a ton of business interests one of which happens to be Attractiepark Rotterdam. While its very possible one of the Boomerangs is heading to Rotterdam the other and perhaps both will be off somewhere else.

At least this is my understanding of the situation. We have plenty of dutch members who may be able to correct me if I'm wrong.
If pushed to guess I'd say one will head to the new Wonderla park being built in India right now. They certainly have a history of aquiring up old boomerangs.

Just some shots of the Boomerangs on site at Most's warehouses which can be found here
Look at the back here and you can see the Pleasure Island Boomerang cars in the warehouse. (Source)

Pleasure Island track on site (Source)

Knotts Boomerang track on site (source)

Last I saw all 3 rides (Reaper + 2 Boomerangs) were all still on site. Some new satellite imagery there would be nice

Is reaper the black kiddie cred? In the spring I saw the two boomerangs and a black or dark coloured kiddie cred that was set up at the back of the site. Someone commented on the post I made on a fb group claiming it was a certain ride but I can't remember what it was.

 

[roomraider]

Reaper is indeed the black credit they have on site. Its not so much a kiddie as... a tiny tiny Mack E-motion coaster that used to be at the Amsterdam Dungeon. https://rcdb.com/3267.htm

Anyway another mystery for you all
The Abandoned Track
The Intermountain Lift steel fabrication plant does a lot of manufacturing for coaster companies. Premier, S&S and Chance have all used the site and I believe Cannibal was also made there? The site can be found here.
Looking through some satellite images you can see rides like Steel Eel and Zombie on site over the years but one thing remains constant. There has been some black and blue track on site since at least 2009.
The 2009 image is fuzzy but here the track in 2010

And here it is last year.

Whats it for? Whys it not gone anywhere.

Personally I think it was almost certainly manufactured for the ill fated F1-X park in Dubai but I've got no proof there at all. But what else would be sat around for at least 9 years?
I can pinpoint the location of every other coaster that was supposed to be at that park except that one. But... I think that's what they call Circumstantial evidence in court