Winter’s Side of Summer Fun!

WOW what a HOT summer it has been. Our good friend Mike G. sent us this picture of a very cold Jumbo Jet: Mike G writes; Here is a picture (you probably haven’t seen!) of the Jumbo Jet just prior to the 1978 season. Snow, snow, snow. By the way, this picture was from the 1978 May 12-26 issue of Behind the Lines (the CP employee newsletter). Just a reminder that snow is coming soon… Let’s Ride… while we still can!

Morey’s Piers Jumbo Jet!

Morey’s Piers had a Jumbo Jet from 1976 to 1987 (Yellow with a Green track) and it is now listed as “Defunct”. I came across this old B&W photo and just had to post it!Wonder what happened to this Jumbo Jet?Now that’s a very “70ish” looking Jumbo Jet. I can now understand why Cedar Point never got the deluxe model it was just plain gaudy, but none less I would ride it, if it was still standing. Let’s RIde!

Dreamland’s Jumbo Jet in Action!

So I was a little disappointed in Cedar Point’s announcement today of there new ride for 2011. I was expecting an new roller coaster, but no we get a “Swing Thing”. Earlier this year we reported that Cedar Point’s Jumbo Jet had landed in Minsk Belarus and posted a picture from the Dreamland’s website. I was out surfing the interweb and came across this great picture of Dreamland’s Jumbo Jet in action:WOW that is cool to see the Jumbo Jet in action. Almost makes you want to pack your bags for Dreamland in Minsk Belarus or bust to ride the Jumbo Jet! Let’s Ride!

Spiral Lift Hill with a Hotrail!

One of the most interesting features of the Jumbo Jet is how it ascends the spiral lift hill. Each train has a motor that attaches to electricity via the “Hotrail” that propels that train up the hill. For a better understand we go to Schwarzkopf Coaster Net, Michael Pantenburg writes; “Self driven cars can be found on “Jet Star 2”, “Jumbo Jet”, “City Jet” and “Speedracer”. A contact rail, which is mounted in the middle of the track, gives current to the collector of each vehicle. That powers a motor which is connected by cardan shafts with two wheels (one on each axle of the vehicle). These wheels are running right hand side on the contact rails top side. This moves the vehicle forward.” See the section Self driven cars on Schwarzkopf Coaster Net Drive Types

1978 Jumbo Jet crew

Mike G writes; This a photo of the 1978 Jumbo Jet crew that was taken for use in the rides department yearbook that year. What a GREAT picture of the Jumbo Jet and the proud Jumbo Jet Crew. How Cool… Special thanks out to Mike G. for allowing thelostcoaster blog to post. Let’s Ride!
Note… Mike G is the 3rd person from the right. Just to the right of the guy with the “You must be this high to ride” stick!

WildCat in Jumbo Jet’s spot!

In 1979 Cedar Point replaced the Jumbo Jet with a new roller coaster called the WildCat. Mike G took some pictures from the “Needle” and sent me this:
The next few pictures were taken in 1979 and they are of the “new” Wildcat, which was installed where the Jumbo Jet was from 1972 – 1978. If you look real close, you can identify some of the tell tale signs that the Jumbo Jet was there. Things like where the old ride queue was, oil stains from various parts of the ride, oil stains from the old maintenance area. It is interesting to note that the WildCat in 1979 had the same colors as the Jumbo Jet. The only difference today is a change in the WildCat’s color and location and the Jumbo Jet is at DreamLand in Minsk Belarus. Let’s Ride!

Jumbo Jet’s Last Season 1978

We all know that the Jumbo Jet’s final year at Cedar Point was 1978 and Mike G. worked at Cedar Point. When I found out he had “some” pictures of the Jumbo Jet, I asked him if he would allow me to post some of them. Since the pictures were not in a digital format, Mike G would need to scan them in. I just got word yesterday that he had completed and he sent me “some”. WOW is all I can say when I saw these pictures from Mike G’s collection of my favorite ride Cedar Point’s Jumbo Jet. Lets relive the Jumbo Jet with Mike G’s pictures and comments:
Ya, that’s me at 19 in my “Coastermania” t shirt. Picture taken from the Space Spiral deck.The Jumbo Jet with a train on the main hill. BTW, I have no idea who the couple apparently posing is, I assume someone else was taking a picture at the same time I was!Here is the loading station being worked by Bill Downer and Mike Wilkin.Bill Downer at the dispatch position of the loading station.A view from the front of the train on the way up the power spiral (hotrail).Dropping off of the hotrail onto the main hill. YeeHaw!A view from the unload station of a train coming down the main hill. Yep, they passed close enough to just about be able to reach out and touch them! I loved that view!Second turn of the Jumbo Jet. About seventy degrees of bank.A train in the section of track we called the “loop”. Taken from the power spiral.
Entering the “loop” section. On the picture I noted that it may be Jody Saum on Super Himalaya.The control panel fror the Jumbo Jet inside the air conditioned booth! Here are the various labels:

Control labels (left to right)
EMERGANCY STOP
CONTROL
DRIVE IN
“TO BRIDGE OVER THE BRAKE”
BRAKE 1
BRAKE 2
BRAKE 3
BRAKE 4
“TO BRIDGE OVER SAFE DISTANCES”
FEEDING 3
FEEDING 2
*FEEDING 1
“STATION BRAKE HAND DISSOLUTION”

*broken off

Meters:
left meter: AC Volts
right meter: Air pressure

* = label missing on the panel

By the way, the track was broken up into segments. The top portion of the control panel shows these segments. The track had limit switches so when a train crossed a switch the computer would know where it was. Right now, there is a train at the top of the power spiral getting ready to drop off the hotrail, and another in the loop section. If any two adjacent sections lit up, the safety system would shut down the ride by “blowing” the saftey brakes, and shutting off the hotrail.

BTW, someone had a dymo label (I think the remnant is just below the image of the ride) which read “WAS IST LOS MIT DAS JUMBO JET”, roughly translated: What is wrong with the Jumbo Jet. (Google Translation “Was ist los mit dem Jumbo Jet”)
Enterering the station brakes. Randy Staley in booth.A view of a train coming into the unload station with the booth (and Mike Snyder in the booth) in the background.This is the view if a train needed to go to auxilary unload (around the corner). The Super Himalaya is in the background.
We still have more, coming in a couple days see the brand new WildCat taking the Jumbo Jet’s place. Let’s Ride!

CP or Bust in JD’s Gold Duster!

As you know by now that my 1st trip to Cedar Point was in 1974 and I would not return to Cedar Point until the mid 80’s. By that time the Jumbo Jet was long gone and in it’s place the WildCat and then later Avalanche Run / Disaster Transport. I would guess that the year was 1984 when we started making our yearly trips to Cedar Point in JD’s 1972 Gold Duster. It was the best with a sun roof, the latest greatest stereo from Radio Shack with killer 6×9’s in the rear deck. We thought we were bad! I can still hear Fleetwood Mac, Quarterflash and Heart pumping out of those 6×9’s!Our yearly trip to Cedar Point went down this way; I would stay over night at JD’s house and then we would get up at 4am and leave Fort Wayne Indiana on Route 24. We would get breakfast shortly after 6:00am at McDonald’s in Napoleon Ohio, head up route 6 to Cedar Point’s Causeway and get to the point shortly before 9:00am. We would ride all day long till we were dead on our feet. We never had the money to stay overnight, hell we could barely afford the tickets to Cedar Point.Then came the drive back to Fort Wayne, we would take turns driving while the other one slept. We always made it back safe to Fort Wayne, but we were never sure how we made it. The drive always seemed a blur. The next day we would begin planning the next years trip as if something would change in our yearly mecca to Cedar Point. WOW that 1972 Gold Duster brings back some great memories. Let’s Ride!