The sixties were a period of continued change for the amusement industry.  Disneyland drew amazing numbers of people and new chains, like Angus Wynne’s Six Flags, spread through the country.[1]  Technology grew with leaps and bounds that continue unabated to this day.  John Allen felt his greatest contributions to coaster design were in the way roller coasters were built and engineered.  Allen mentioned this change in coaster construction in several interviews but did not specifically say to which coasters these advances were first applied.  I felt that the beginning of the sixties, a decade which acted as a watershed for America, would be a good place to discuss a few of Allen’s contributions to the field.

One large change Allen made was in the bodies of the coaster cars themselves.  Previous P.T.C. cars were wooden and heavy, but Allen’s were constructed mostly from aluminum.[2]  The last surviving “old style” train is found on Joyland’s (Kansas) Roller Coaster.  No book stated when Allen switched train styles, but my educated guess is that the first new body style P.T.C. train ran on Roseland Park’s Skyliner.  A couple of things led me to this conclusion.  First, although the Comet at Rocky Glen ran with aluminum P.T.C. trains (as evidenced on page 204 of The Incredible Scream Machine) it utilized traditional wooden trains for several years which can be seen at Bob Hooley’s Home Town Coasters page (http://members.aol.com/ElainehVA/ihometown.html).  Roseland’s Skyliner trains are shown arriving new to the park in Tim Young’s Coaster & Park Films from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.  They feature the new style of trains with classic P.T.C. “Chevron” symbol and  single-locking lapbars.  However, as Shawn Mamros pointed out to me, the Skyliner still uses wooden floors, so the coaster train transformation obviously took several years to complete.  Solenoid-locking lapbars were another of Allen’s contributions to the world of coasters.[3]  These were lapbars that had two positions, open & closed, and ensured that patrons were “locked in” to the coaster.  Instead of utilizing a manual release the bars opened when the ride operator pressed a button on the control console.  This caused electricity to flow through a wire in each train that unlocked the lapbars.  Sadly, theme park mentality has removed many of these lapbars in favor of single-ratcheting lapbars that often fall down when pushed too hard by a theme park attendant or the coaster’s forces (one notable exception is Knoebels’ Twister where the springs are as the factory intended and do not allow the orange demon to dig into one’s nether region).  Allen understood that the cars took quite a beating and worked to ensure that the part of the ride that carried the passengers was as safe as possible.  He said, “We must remember to give a great deal of credit to the cars because, when you drop them 110 feet and pull them out on a 70-foot radius, you have quit a lot of forces on wheels and axles.”[4] 

With time Allen started using specifications instead of what he called “eyeball jobs,” the older style of design where the layout was accomplished by a simple drawing at the headquarters and modifications were made in the field when necessary.[5]  One of his unique additions to coaster design was the parabolic hill. Torrence V. Jenkins, Jr., said that Allen worked on the design specs for the Roller Coaster at Joyland.  A.C.E.’s Guide to Ride said, “It [the Roller Coaster] is one of the rare coasters to feature a parabolic first drop.”[6]  It looks like this is one area where Allen influenced Schmeck in the design process.  In addition to the actual planning of the coaster Allen also utilized the math and geometry behind the designs to create not only exciting coasters, but works of art as well.[7]  He enjoyed being the man who added a sense of serious calculation to the coaster and prided himself on planning through numbers as opposed to drawings.  If anything Allen seemed proudest of the fact that he brought new understandings to coaster design.  He changed from designing hills as part of a circle to parabolas- the way things naturally fall.[8]  He said, “The contribution that I’ve made with roller coasters is getting away from strict radii on the humps and developing them into parabolas and changing the form and construction of track and improving the cars.”[9] 

            Roseland’s Skyliner got the decade off to a good start for the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.  During 1960 Allen designed the Tornado for Oklahoma City’s short-lived Wedgewood Village.  It continued the trend of greater height with a lift hill that stood eight feet taller than the Skyliner.  It was another design new to Allen.  This coaster featured a run to the lift hill that went under some of the ride’s support structure and was a simple oval double out & back where much of the coaster ran parallel to itself.  Wedgewood Village did not succeed and during the winter of 1967-68 the coaster was moved to Panama City’s Petticoat Junction.[10]  The coaster, operating with red rails, white structure and four-car three-bench trains only survived until the end of the 1984 season.  On February 4, 1985 Norton Auctioneers sold what they could at the park and the coaster was later torn down.  Paul Churchwell, the park’s owner and manager, said that its demise occurred because there was a lack of quality help and the cost of maintenance grew too large.[11]

            Petticoat Junction was not far from another Allen coaster, 1963’s Starliner at Miracle Strip Park.  This was his first traditional “out and back” design and served as a smaller version of the mega coasters that made him famous in the 1970’s.  The coaster utilized a seventy-foot lift hill and a large-small-large hill sequence for the first three drops.  Allen must have like this sensation because he used this style of hills on several of his later coasters like the Lakeside Park Shooting Star and the Six Flags St. Louis Screamin’ Eagle.  For the first time in his design career Allen was trying more and more new things on his coasters.  At the Starliner’s turnaround he utilized a fan curve built in the style of Joe McKee, but it did not have the result he hoped for.[12]  Either consciously or subconsciously Allen let the influence of his predecessor shine through in little ways on this coaster.  The first hill after the turn around had an angled drop that seemed to be Allen’s interpretation of Schmeck.  Its flowing transition was more of the “eyeball” style of coasting and harder to calculate during the early 1960’s than today, but Allen felt confident enough in his skills to incorporate this bit of whimsy into the ride.  The rest of the return trip was bunny hops that were textbook Miller (as evidenced on the top-left picture of the Roller Coaster at Riverside Park [Winnipeg] on page 132 of Cartmell’s book).  The coaster’s dragon tunnel had a wonderful bunny hop that surprised many first-time riders.  The coaster is still a beautiful seaside ride and served as the only wooden roller coaster in Florida for several years until G.C.I.’s Gwazi was erected at Busch Gardens Tampa in 1999.  The trains (three-car three-bench) rolling stock were changed in the 1990’s and now have single-locking lapbars, no headrests and one seatbelt for every two riders.  There are few better places to spend a balmy summer evening on the panhandle than flying over the traditional curves of the Starliner.

            Two fires in the middle of the 1963 season ended the life of one amusement park and extended the life of another by two decades.  On July 19, 1963 St. Louis lost its traditional amusement park when the Forest Park Highlands burnt to the ground.  One of the rides destroyed was the Comet, Herb Schmeck’s 1941 terrain coaster.  The coaster, in my opinion one of the most overlooked P.T.C. coasters built, burned in the fire but the coaster’s trains were saved.[13]  In April of that year Paragon Park’s Giant Coaster caught fire and Torrence Jenkins, Jr., said that the, “station, trains, double helix finale and part of the lift hill” were all lost.  The park wanted Allen to rebuild the coaster as it was but his estimate proved too high for the traditional park.  Instead he left out two bunny hops and the helix finale in order to create an angled approach into the brake run.[14]  Although nowhere near as exciting as Miller’s finish, Allen gave the park an affordable option to tearing down the coaster.  The park bought the trains from the Comet because they were much cheaper than buying new ones from P.T.C.  For a few seasons the Giant Coaster’s trains ran with the name Comet emblazed across the front of the car.[15] 

            That same year he worked on Cedar Point’s Blue Streak and designed Elitch Gardens’ Mister Twister.  The Blue Streak, named after the Sandusky High School mascot, had some input by Allen, but was mostly built by his right-hand man in the field Frank Hoover.  Many people mistake this for an Allen/P.T.C. coaster.  After he was asked to build the coaster John Allen told Cedar Point that P.T.C.'s governing board had voted to stop construction of roller coasters.  He recommended Hoover, who had built coasters for the company since 1917.  Problems arose shortly after the ride opened.  Allen came to the coaster's (and Hoover's) aid and reworked the track between the first and second hills, which had previously caused damage to the train and structure.  It was an out and back layout that featured the high, flat turnaround that became commonplace on subsequent Allen coasters.  The Blue Streak is the park’s oldest operating coaster and its distinctive cupola make it recognizable as the “granddaddy” of the park.  Like Miracle Strip’s coaster the Blue Streak ran along the edge of the park.  Although the Millennium Force and Magnum XL-200 both give beautiful views of the area, this coaster showcased an unparalleled vista when it first opened.  Many people saw seemingly for miles from the crest of the 78-foot lift before being thrown into airtime heaven.[16]  Sadly, Cedar Point unnecessarily revamped trains' guts, adding unnecessary seat belts, head rests (not found on the much jerkier Magnum) and single-locking lapbars.  Although now a bit more restrictive the ride still gives a fun ride that is light years ahead of the wooden monstrosity found at the back of the park.

             Mister Twister was Allen’s first foray into the world of the twister-style coaster made famous by Frederick Church.  Woodside Park’s Wildcat coaster (P.T.C. coaster number 64), which ran from 1924 through 1956, inspired him.  This was Schmeck’s (and P.T.C.’s) second coaster that utilized two-bench trains and in 1964 Mister Twister was Allen’s first use of the shorter cars.[17]  Because of the Elitch Garden's space limitations the coaster was built around Schmeck’s 1926 Wildcat, a dogleg out-and-back coaster.  Aside from the Wildcat Allen faced design issues he had not dealt with on smaller coasters.  The helix, for which the coaster was named, brought in all kinds of new complications.  The coaster opened for the 1964 season and the new owners were not happy.  Mister Twister plunged off the 72-foot lift hill into a double helix and meandered back to the station.  The train had so little speed that it barely made it around the top of the second helix.  The crowds were not pleased and the coaster’s profits were less than the park had anticipated.[18]  After the season ended Allen returned at the park’s behest and found several problems with the layout.  The first hill had been angled at 42.5 degrees instead of Allen’s prescribed 45. 

Instead of merely correcting the problem Allen re-worked the entire ride, a piece of work that author Robert Cartmell called “wizardry.”[19]  Allen added 24 feet, 6 inches to the lift hill and installed what he referred to as “regular traditional coaster.”[20]  Instead of entering the helix directly off the lift the train navigated a swoop turn and dropped into the nest of wood via a more standard first drop.  A second swoop turn/drop combo followed this and it was from here that the ride flew into the double helix.[21]  As time wore on he reconfigured the car’s rear axles into an articulating ones so they could better manage the ride’s tight turns.  The changes cost P.T.C. a lot of money, but it was well worth it as the resulting coaster was one of, if not Allen’s most, exciting ride and showed his link to the great designers of the coaster’s first “golden era.”[22] Allen later lamented the ride’s intensity in interviews.  However, the public and coaster enthusiasts could not get enough of the coaster and many proclaimed the ride unparalleled.[23]  Enthusiast and publisher of At the Park magazine Allen Ambrosini said it best when he called the coaster simply, “a masterpiece.”[24]  Mister Twister and the Wildcat were both sadly left behind when the park moved into downtown Denver in 1995 and torn down four years later (but the park kept their Arrow shuttle loop- go figure).[25]  Luckily Mister Twister was reproduced in 1995’s lackluster Twister II and 1999’s intense Knoebel’s Twister.

            Riverview Park called on John Allen six years after he reworked the Blue Streak to build a completely new coaster for the park.  The Greyhound (also known as the Gee Whiz), the park’s 1912 John Miller junior coaster, had cost a lot in repairs and by the end of the 1964 season Riverview was ready to rid themselves of it.[26]  They first contacted P.T.C. about alterations (like the work Allen did on the Fireball), but estimates showed that building a new coaster would cost the same as renovating the aging Greyhound.[27] According to Chicago parks historian Stan Barker, William Schmidt ran into several issues that caused the Jetstream to be a costly investment.  He reported that the park’s heavy trains (similar to the Prior and Church trains found on the Rye Playland Dragon, but built in-house) required extra bracing; no one wanted Greyhound’s old wood, the custom brake system and several other factors caused the coaster’s price tag of over $300,000.  He went on to say that the Jetstream would have been a large hit most anywhere in the country.  However, since it was built in a park that featured the Bobs, Flying Turns, Fireball and other thrillers the Jetstream did not have the large cash returns to make the investment worthwhile.[28]  The Philadelphia Toboggan Company, already looking to leave the coaster field because of rising insurance costs and the sustained success of their Skee Ball systems, worked with N.A.D. who supplied many parts like the lift chain, anti-rollbacks, etc.[29]  The coaster followed a layout not unlike Rocky Glen Park’s Comet and at 55 feet high straddled the line between junior and full-sized coaster.  It featured standard flat Allen turns and drops that were enjoyable for the entire family.  The coaster was one of the few rides at Riverview that never showed a profit and only operated for three years because the park closed its gates after the 1967 season ended.[30]  One reason the coaster might not have been as profitable as its predecessor was that the Greyhound was an out and back coaster that gave visitors a nice, long ride while the Jetstream offered much less in the way of visuals and ride time.  The coaster and its classic retro sign were bought by the city of Rockford, Illinois for Sherwood Park.  Scott Rutherford said that insurance fears killed any hope of rebuilding the coaster and its trains were sold to Carowinds for their Thunder Road coaster.[31]

            Although the name Skyliner is familiar to many John Allen fans, the coaster that stood on the state fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee is not.  It was on this coaster that Allen built upon the success of his out and back style that was so evident in the design of the Starliner and Blue Streak.  According to historian Charles J. Jacques, Jr. this coaster underwent more scrutiny than most of P.T.C.’s coasters.  The local government forced the land’s owner, Fred H. Massey, to submit many calculations and specs. in order for the ride to be erected.  The coaster featured a layout similar to the Cannonball built at Lake Winnepesaukah two years later.  There were two large hills followed by two bunny hops that led into the turn around. The return trip showcased a sharp drop off the turn (modified by Allen in the fall of 1965) and a combination of medium-sized hills and bunny hops.[32]  The coaster was unique in that it only ran during the fair so it had to earn its keep in a tiny window of time [Author's note: I have talked to several people who have said the coaster ran during the fair and am currently researching this fact].[33]  Opryland opened in 1973 and it drew many patrons to the new slick stylings and attractions found at the typical seventies-era theme park.  The Skyliner was torn down in the early eighties as its profits no longer justified the maintenance costs.[34]  It is ironic that the loss of both the Skyliner and Opryland left Nashville as one of the largest U.S. cities without a roller coaster.     

            1966 marked Allen’s return to his roots and the construction of one of his more intense out & back coasters.  His second seaside coaster was the Starliner at Grand Strand (currently Family Kingdom).  On this design Allen expanded on the uses of large drop/small drop combinations.  In fact, the two hills after the second turn are reminiscent of the Thriller’s (Euclid Beach) first two airtime moments off the lift.  It also presented some unique building techniques as Allen designed the second hill & a subsequent bunny hop to fly over the brake run and another hill was built directly over the run out to the lift.  The coaster, with its red track and white structure,  stood out against the blue Atlantic Ocean, which was only a stone’s throw from the coaster.  The Atlantic winds were a problem when building the coaster and Allen later commented with his dry sense of humor that those issues were all taken care of.  He said:

We built one in Myrtle Beach [South Carolina] that would withstand hurricane winds of up to 90 m.p.h.  The city fathers recorded speeds of 144 miles per hour.  We drove piling down 90 feet and put cables on the coaster to secure it.  Of course, hurricanes are pretty gusty, and the winds can get under and lift a coaster.  It holds together pretty good while its in the air, but it’s the drop that breaks it.[35]

The coaster has seen both good and bad times on the Carolina coast.  In July, 1979 famed roller coaster marathoner Richard Rodriguez broke his own endurance record.  He endured 148 airtime-filled hours on the classic coaster.[36]  Sadly, Grant Strand experienced some economic troubles and closed in 1989.  Luckily it reopened in 1992 as Family Kingdom and the Swamp Fox got some much-needed care.  Steve Conover, who worked for Dinn Corporation during their series of mid-eighties coaster moves, oversaw the project and John Hinde, who worked on the Florida Hurricane’s move to Arkansas, was the head of the construction crew.  Over ninety percent of the coaster’s wood was replaced, today it uses one of the cars from another one Allen’s coasters, the Shooting Star, and runs better than ever.[37]  Although the new Custom Coasters International Hurricane moved in down the street, do not neglect Family Kingdom.  Both parks deserve to be visited and each coaster gives unique experiences that prove there is more than enough room in Myrtle Beach for two world-class coasters.

            The blue and the gray still duke it out in the South, only today it is on John Allen’s Cannon Ball roller coaster at Lake Winnepesaukah in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  The ride followed the layout of Allen’s Skyliner in Nashville and remains one of his best-kept coasters.  The design again combined different sized hills placed in unique positions along the track that kept riders guessing what they would experience next.  According to Lake Winnie “the structure consisted of 25 tons of steel track, 200,000 boards of specially treated yellow pine, approximately 40,000 nuts bolts and washers, approximately 600 twenty-two inch cubes of concrete and 1,000 gallons of white paint and primer.”[38]  The ride was one of the park’s largest investments and tracks like it just opened.  If you want to enjoy a unique day at an amusement park be sure to visit Lake Winnie.  With jewels like an Old Mill with a drop, a recently installed Fly-o-Plane and the venerable Cannon Ball, traditional thrills are abound at this park.

            

           The coaster business was booming, but by the end of the sixties Allen said he was looking for a slower-paced life outside of the amusement world.  During this time his next coaster was often reportedly his last, but Allen never seemed to want to leave the industry.[39]  It was in his blood, defined who he was and it seems that, while he never loved being the P.T.C.’s head businessman, Allen liked designing coasters the whole family enjoyed.  One of the coaster’s that opened in 1968 was the Shooting Star at Lakeside Park in Salem, Virginia.  The coaster served as a smaller version of Allen’s 1976 Screamin’ Eagle.  It helped Allen alter his design style from the mid-sized coasters of the 1960’s to the mega coaster concept, which was unveiled in 1972.  The ride was a dogleg layout that featured his unique high-low-high hill configuration and an interesting, tiny S-curve that led to the lift hill.  The coaster thrilled riders for only seventeen years and was dismantled after the 1985 season.[40]  The coaster’s structure was moved to Emerald Point Park in hopes of being rebuilt.  The park could not afford the insurance and the coaster sat idle.  Later Charlie Dinn, following the successes of his mid-Eighties coaster moves (the Phoenix, Wild One and Skyliner), hoped to have the coaster re-erected.  Sadly no financial backing was secured and a coaster that showcased Allen’s growth as an out & back designer reportedly still sits dissembled with weeds growing up around it.[41]

            John Allen’s other roller coaster that closed out the decade was the subject of controversy upon its announcement in 1967 and still is hated by many of its neighbors.  Bell’s Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma opened in 1948 and moved to the Tulsa State Fairgrounds three years later.[42]  The Zingo coaster, which opened in July 1968, garnered immediate hostility from those living around the park- many of whom fought to have it remain only a dream.  A local judge felt the coaster should be built but mandated that it close at 9 p.m. every evening.[43]  The noise issue did not stop in 1967.  Bell’s again unsuccessfully fought to have the coaster’s operating hours extended in 1996.  One neighbor called the coaster a “nuisance” (perhaps he simply needs a ride!).[44]  The coaster had a more thrilling start than most Allen coasters.  The first three hills were all roughly the same size and rode like large bunny hops rather than traditional coaster drops.  The first drop had a unique slight curve to the right that can only be noticed off the ride.  The park modified the third drop in 1977.  The owners added extra track and a tunnel, which closely resembles the Joker from Batman.  This made the third drop the ride’s longest at 86 feet.  After a nice turn around riders are treated to a series of airtime hops as the coaster finishes by tracking under the first turn off the lift and into the brakes.  The coaster sadly suffered a fire in the winter of 2000.  Electric sparks caused the loading station and both of the coaster’s trains to burn.  A neighbor reported he saw, “bright blue electrical arcs going through the ride itself, just before he saw smoke.”[45]  The park bought only one train to replace the two burnt ones and it was fitted with skid brakes and the dreaded orange lap bars.[46]  Zingo is still running great and if one wants to experience the joy of a fairground coaster it is one of only a few left.  Sadly, we have lost legends like Bill Davis & Joe McKee’s C.N.E. Flyer, N.A.D.’s Comet at the Texas State Fair, John Allen’s Skyliner in Nashville and so many others.  A ride on the Zingo is a frighteningly rare experience these days.

            After the sixties ended America and its coasters would never be the same.  During this decade Allen laid the groundwork for an explosion few anticipated and arguably has not stopped.

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Adam Sandy, Copyright 2001.