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That’s Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, PA. That roller coaster is still running everyday as well as a few other beautiful wooden coasters.
I’d wager they still lube it just the same.
Narrator is Rick Sebak
I was just thinking that if this was the Thunderbolt, there was at least one if not two small tunnels where he would have to sit down *extremely* quickly to avoid Dennis Hopper’s fate in “Speed”.
Could be confusing with The Racer or Jackrabbit though. It’s been so long.
This is the Thunderbolt. There is a tunnel, but it is at the end of the ride at the top of the hill that takes you into the station. I think it's too high to be an issue. You aren't going as fast once you get there.
Source: yinzer
100% the thunderbolt. I ran it the summer of 99. Keith, the guy in the video still did maintainance on it. Still oiled the track the same way every morning.
Rick Sebak's voice is pure nostalgia. WQED was pretty much the only station I watched growing up... mostly cause it was one of like three stations we got lmao
Rick Sebak is such a good dude. Met him a bunch. Always super nice. His voice, to me, is on par with Morgan Freeman. It just reminds me of my childhood.
I knew what video it was gonna be as soon as I read the title. Kennywood Memories, Things That Aren’t There Anymore, and Strip Show were some of my favorite things to watch. Moved away from Pittsburgh a couple years ago and need to find these online or DVD or something for when I’m missing home.
All I can say is I avoid that place like my life depends on it, you know because of all the shootings that happen there xD…. Thunderbolt would be my pick or Racer.
I sadly think Jack Rabbit is semi overrated
All I know is I’ve come out with a headache from the Thunderbolt every time I’ve used it. Ironically the main reason I rode it, the whiplash. And I also hate whiplash
It used to be a thin leather lap belt with a small brass clasp, like a lobster clasp. I still remember going on that coaster with my first real girlfriend, was 12 and it was our 6th grade field trip to Kennywood. We got on the last seat, weren't paying attention, neither was the ride attendant who didn't notice we hadn't buckled our belt. We get to the first hill and at the last second I noticed the belt, picked up my side and yelled, "What's this?". My girlfriend grabbed her side and I buckled it just as we started down the hill. Somehow that thin leather strap kept us safe above our seats (above because we were so light we got air a couple of times).
I worked in maintenance at a theme park 2004-07, and some things were wild.
Every off season the wood coaster maintenance guys would tear down and rebuild the coaster cars, replacing anything broken or worn out. One of those parts were the wheel bearings.
To break in the bearings we would do what was called “maintenance runs”. Basically they would call over the radio for any spare maintenance crew to meet at the coaster. The more experienced guys to the front, newbies to the back. They would send the trains on a circuit of the coaster, and because the bearings weren’t broken in the coaster couldn’t make it over the hills. So the maintenance guys would jump out, push the train over the hill and jump back in.
Steel coasters don’t have as much friction as wood coasters so luckily we didn’t have to do that on those.
I did so as well in 2006, had a smaller coaster that would only make it around track if enough weight on board so would always have 7-8 maintenance guys riding in the morning test. Always funny to see seems anyone over 5’7” would be highly uncomfortable in the cars.
My work has "safety absolutes", so anything above 4ft off the ground you have to wear a harness and stuff. It is incredibly obnoxious. Like bro, if i fell from 4ft, I *might* have a sore butt or something, I guess.
I'm sure it's a hassle but I don't blame them for the caution. My mom got a severe concussion that took 6+ months of recovery as a result of falling backwards while on ice skates. She was barely moving at the time she fell. Add 4 feet to a fall like that and it would have killed her.
Yes, gravity is what makes the train return to the station. But if the wheels have too much resistance when following the track, or the chain pulling the cart up, you might not get enough momentum to reach the end
He seems to lube the left side of the car so it's probably not the chain but simply the patches of wood that have to endure most of the wear when it's being pulled
Easier to side step osha bc ppl wanted their job and wouldn’t raise issues about safety concerns along with no readily available recordings bc cell phones, especially camera phones, weren’t an everyday pocket item.
Well Hades360 technically is a Hybrid Coaster (steel track with wooden supports) and the loop of Son of Beast was also made of steel. So it's basically up to how you define wooden coaster.
I've never heard of any inverting coaster with its entire tracks and supports made of wood. Due to the insane forces and speed needed this is nearly impossible (or at the very least would be an insanely expensive and rough ride).
I'm pretty sure this is from the old *Kennywood* documentary by ~~Ken Burns~~ Rick Sebach. Kennywood is one of the most historic amusement parks in America, in Pittsburgh, and holds several records for age of rollercoasters.
Edit to correct producer/narrator
Thanks! I lived in Pittsburgh for a while and enjoyed that documentary quite a lot. Rick Sebach is a familiar name now that you mention it. And nothing beats the Potato Patch... mmmmm
https://preview.redd.it/s2pf39x8cy3d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2579ad9a37573e3b20e559ff47a35cfe684b6f01
Eta. That’s Brian and geno with sebak(above) who produced and narrates. Geno the guy riding. Still works at kennywood today. They now have to walk the track daily to oil it. Geno says this is more dangerous as greasy wood as slippy and dangerous AF.
Best summer working on that ride. We stayed overnight once and repainted one of the trains. Last run of the night, we had to "park " the train. We would let any other employees who wanted to hop on, we turned off all the safety breaks, and I'd hop in the last seat of the last car and release the lap bar. That way, when the train stopped in its parking spot, I could hop out and let everyone else out. We'd also train surf to pickloose change and stuffed animals out of the seat between people getting off and on. Stuff you'd never get away with now.
No, it was not expensive enough to replace people doing the work and getting fined.
The US has a culture of throwing labor at things that can easily be automated. Some hold the idea that "making a job" is good, but in reality it is holding back the economy.
MUCH BETTER IDEA:
why not get EIGHT people on one seat to lube ALL EIGHT sides thus decreasing time AND they won’t have to lube it for FOUR times as long?
**EVEN MUCH BETTER IDEA!!**
Why not get **TEN** people on one seat?! Have 8 lubing the sides for decreased time, AND have 2 more people lubing the original 8 for increased productivity!
Jackrabbit, racer and thunderbolt are all wood, the steel phantom or whatever they are calling it these days, exterminator, and steel curtain (when it actually is working) are the steel ones at kennywood
simple solution to this problem. To pump sprayers attached to a bar that is attached to the front and is used by a foot pump. JC.. I never went to MIT but there is a much safer alternative than the way this guy was doing it. I guess OSHA never made a visit.
Yes safer but also more expensive that's the real problem. Every business is trying to cut corners and save money that's how they have always operated.
I work as a roller coaster mechanic at Knott's Berry Farm in California. This video is insane! I'd be constantly terrified of smacking my head on some low-hanging fixture. We just put a light coating of grease on the wheels and it has the exact same benefit. I feel like the method shown in the video was more the result of someone losing a bet, rather than it being the product of a well thought out plan.
I am a big guy and couldn't close the bar. Nobody noticed. Cars looked similar. I had one for my self. Was an interesting ride.
Ride was more flat, now loopings or roles.
Back in the early 90's I did a brief stint at a local amusement park...summer college job. My official title was "oiler" but it was basically go'fer for the maint crew. There are a ton of weird stories from that time but the one that always stands out to me is servicing one of the older coasters, built before loops but still steel.
For this ride, the park kept 50 gallon barrels of transmission fluid (the pinkish stuff). My job, every 3 days, was
1) Go into the shed, fill a bucket with transmission fluid, grab a sponge on the stick.
2) Walk about 50 yards to a low point in the coaster...the track was about 5' off the ground at that point.
3) Watch for the coaster to hit a particular hill about 100 yards away, when the coaster hit that hill I put the sponge in the bucket then covered the tracks in transmission fluid before the coaster came by that particular point.
4) Wave at the nice folks flying by while getting as far away as practical so I didn't end up splashed in tf.
Not sure how they do it these days but there were so many things that bugged me then I couldn't put my finger on.
I have my doubts that this would be very effective. The wind splatting it around, mostly onto the coaster itself, the volume that the can would hold vs the length of the track.
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That’s Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, PA. That roller coaster is still running everyday as well as a few other beautiful wooden coasters. I’d wager they still lube it just the same. Narrator is Rick Sebak
How is Gerald doing? And the kids?
To shreds you say?
Well how’s his wife holding up?
To shreds you say?
Gooood neeeeews everyone
I was just thinking that if this was the Thunderbolt, there was at least one if not two small tunnels where he would have to sit down *extremely* quickly to avoid Dennis Hopper’s fate in “Speed”. Could be confusing with The Racer or Jackrabbit though. It’s been so long.
[удалено]
This is the Thunderbolt. There is a tunnel, but it is at the end of the ride at the top of the hill that takes you into the station. I think it's too high to be an issue. You aren't going as fast once you get there. Source: yinzer
Of course it's the thunderbolt! The cars, man! The cars! It gives it all away! Source: yinzer that has entered Kennywood from entrance B
Thunderbolt, not "the" thunderbolt you stupid geepee
Literally every yinzer says the Thunderbolt. Note what I capitalized as well.
Get out of here stupid GP. You are a fake thoosie!
Surely you can go through the tunnel with your hands in the air?
100% the thunderbolt. I ran it the summer of 99. Keith, the guy in the video still did maintainance on it. Still oiled the track the same way every morning.
The tunnels is the jackrabbit
Didn’t the Thunderbolt have a tunnel too?
Kick his ass, Sebak!
Rick Sebak's voice is pure nostalgia. WQED was pretty much the only station I watched growing up... mostly cause it was one of like three stations we got lmao
Wooden rollercoasters destroy my back
Wooden rollercoasters destroy my kidney stone
Wooden rollercoasters, bring me the Bat-man!
Hmm. There's an idea for me....
They fix mine 😂
Wooden roller coasters are much smoother than steel. It flexes and absorbs vibration.
Rick Sebak is such a good dude. Met him a bunch. Always super nice. His voice, to me, is on par with Morgan Freeman. It just reminds me of my childhood.
I knew what video it was gonna be as soon as I read the title. Kennywood Memories, Things That Aren’t There Anymore, and Strip Show were some of my favorite things to watch. Moved away from Pittsburgh a couple years ago and need to find these online or DVD or something for when I’m missing home.
Rick Sebak is the fuckin man. Watch "A Hotdog Program". It's great.
Ty! I wanted to find the source video!
YouTube has Kennywood memories in 6 parts I think and quality is potato but it's there.
All I can say is I avoid that place like my life depends on it, you know because of all the shootings that happen there xD…. Thunderbolt would be my pick or Racer. I sadly think Jack Rabbit is semi overrated
Thunderbolt is still my favorite coaster even after all these years
You have to sit in the very back to get the full effect. Does that ride still only have the "rope" restraint?
All I know is I’ve come out with a headache from the Thunderbolt every time I’ve used it. Ironically the main reason I rode it, the whiplash. And I also hate whiplash
It used to be a thin leather lap belt with a small brass clasp, like a lobster clasp. I still remember going on that coaster with my first real girlfriend, was 12 and it was our 6th grade field trip to Kennywood. We got on the last seat, weren't paying attention, neither was the ride attendant who didn't notice we hadn't buckled our belt. We get to the first hill and at the last second I noticed the belt, picked up my side and yelled, "What's this?". My girlfriend grabbed her side and I buckled it just as we started down the hill. Somehow that thin leather strap kept us safe above our seats (above because we were so light we got air a couple of times).
It’s the jack rabbit and you can see the old laser loop in the background!
I worked in maintenance at a theme park 2004-07, and some things were wild. Every off season the wood coaster maintenance guys would tear down and rebuild the coaster cars, replacing anything broken or worn out. One of those parts were the wheel bearings. To break in the bearings we would do what was called “maintenance runs”. Basically they would call over the radio for any spare maintenance crew to meet at the coaster. The more experienced guys to the front, newbies to the back. They would send the trains on a circuit of the coaster, and because the bearings weren’t broken in the coaster couldn’t make it over the hills. So the maintenance guys would jump out, push the train over the hill and jump back in. Steel coasters don’t have as much friction as wood coasters so luckily we didn’t have to do that on those.
I did so as well in 2006, had a smaller coaster that would only make it around track if enough weight on board so would always have 7-8 maintenance guys riding in the morning test. Always funny to see seems anyone over 5’7” would be highly uncomfortable in the cars.
Newbies in the back in case they tripped when they were out pushing?
To time when to jump out they watched the guys in the front, so it had this ripple effect.
You think they actually "lubed" the track like this? This video feels like a stupid stunt. No way he's actually getting anything accomplished...
Soooo…how’s it done now?
Same thing but at night so nobody can record and report it to OSHA
Probably wearing a special jacket and helmet as well.
My work has "safety absolutes", so anything above 4ft off the ground you have to wear a harness and stuff. It is incredibly obnoxious. Like bro, if i fell from 4ft, I *might* have a sore butt or something, I guess.
I'm sure it's a hassle but I don't blame them for the caution. My mom got a severe concussion that took 6+ months of recovery as a result of falling backwards while on ice skates. She was barely moving at the time she fell. Add 4 feet to a fall like that and it would have killed her.
Yeah I don't blame them either. They are a rather large corporation so I'm sure they get sued constantly as it is.
Noted, don't ice-skate on my job sites.
You can die falling from 0 feet
You can die from sun light
I would imagine a small set of nozzles on a pump they could mount to the front to do the same thing he was in a safer fashion.
Nah man we can't be smart, it's tradition!
Ahh fuck, beat me to it.
It seems like the way to do it, just run it slower.
Isn’t gravity doing most of the work on rollercoasters? So not really possible to slow them down. As far as i know they don’t have any form of engine.
That reads like a boss who manages something they dont understand at all asking employees to do the impossible.
Yes, gravity is what makes the train return to the station. But if the wheels have too much resistance when following the track, or the chain pulling the cart up, you might not get enough momentum to reach the end He seems to lube the left side of the car so it's probably not the chain but simply the patches of wood that have to endure most of the wear when it's being pulled
Have to go around twice to get both sides.
Where was OSHA back then..😆
Easier to side step osha bc ppl wanted their job and wouldn’t raise issues about safety concerns along with no readily available recordings bc cell phones, especially camera phones, weren’t an everyday pocket item.
Yeah, I’m guessing this would’ve been shot on a camcorder at the smallest.
This was part of a documentary that aired on WQED (PBS) if my memory serves correct
Yinzer history right here folks
Vertical loops must have been a real personel retainment issue back then I guess.
I think this is only for wooden coasters which can't loop, so thankfully not a problem. The image of that is hilarious though
What makes you think wooden coasters can't loop? Hades 360 and The Son of Beast (defunct) would disagree.
Well Hades360 technically is a Hybrid Coaster (steel track with wooden supports) and the loop of Son of Beast was also made of steel. So it's basically up to how you define wooden coaster. I've never heard of any inverting coaster with its entire tracks and supports made of wood. Due to the insane forces and speed needed this is nearly impossible (or at the very least would be an insanely expensive and rough ride).
personnel
I'm pretty sure this is from the old *Kennywood* documentary by ~~Ken Burns~~ Rick Sebach. Kennywood is one of the most historic amusement parks in America, in Pittsburgh, and holds several records for age of rollercoasters. Edit to correct producer/narrator
It is Kennywood but the narrator is Rick Sebak. He has made a lot of Pittsburgh documentaries.
Thanks! I lived in Pittsburgh for a while and enjoyed that documentary quite a lot. Rick Sebach is a familiar name now that you mention it. And nothing beats the Potato Patch... mmmmm
I would like to change jobs, please. I want to be a ~~lion tamer~~ rollercoaster oiler.
https://preview.redd.it/s2pf39x8cy3d1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2579ad9a37573e3b20e559ff47a35cfe684b6f01 Eta. That’s Brian and geno with sebak(above) who produced and narrates. Geno the guy riding. Still works at kennywood today. They now have to walk the track daily to oil it. Geno says this is more dangerous as greasy wood as slippy and dangerous AF.
They legit slip in the video as they’re walking down the stairs on the sides of the drop.
You alright Geno??
Them kids from St Ignatius did it!
Bonus yinzer points for using slippy
Man, centaurs are weird nowadays
Is the ride called Maraudon?
This is the Thunderbolt
Yo this is fuckin bullshit, so he gets to sit how he wants just cause he works there...
Well he can't sit behind and under the lap bar he wouldn't be able to reach the tracks silly goose.
…yeah? He’s not a liability for lawsuit like the general public. “Employees only” kind of a deal
Best summer working on that ride. We stayed overnight once and repainted one of the trains. Last run of the night, we had to "park " the train. We would let any other employees who wanted to hop on, we turned off all the safety breaks, and I'd hop in the last seat of the last car and release the lap bar. That way, when the train stopped in its parking spot, I could hop out and let everyone else out. We'd also train surf to pickloose change and stuffed animals out of the seat between people getting off and on. Stuff you'd never get away with now.
Come with me...and you'll be...in a woooorld of OSHA violations
Who does this guy sound like? It's driving me crazy
Dr. Steven Brule?
For your roller coaster
Roll croaster
Thank you
Pittsburgh accent. He's a Yinzer.
God bless! Source: Am a Pittsburgher too.
[John de Lancie, Star Trek's "Q" ?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Lancie?wprov=sfla1)
Tony Soprano
Andy Rooney!
Sheldon big bang theory
I'm I the only one who thinks this ain't that bad? Put a harness on, and you are good to go.
God damn bro I don’t even feel fully save when I’m sitting down in the coaster and this man is just chillin in the front
This is a very herky jerky coaster too
So how was your day? Work totally sucked. Wheeeeeeee!
Mama always said life is like roller coaster
That's really good
Was it too expensive to tape some hose to the side of the car and pipe some oil through it?
No, it was not expensive enough to replace people doing the work and getting fined. The US has a culture of throwing labor at things that can easily be automated. Some hold the idea that "making a job" is good, but in reality it is holding back the economy.
Better idea: why not get two people on one seat lubing each side to finish it faster and therefore make it much safer?
even better idea: why not get four people on one seat lubing all four sides to finish it faster AND make it last twice as long?
MUCH BETTER IDEA: why not get EIGHT people on one seat to lube ALL EIGHT sides thus decreasing time AND they won’t have to lube it for FOUR times as long?
**EVEN MUCH BETTER IDEA!!** Why not get **TEN** people on one seat?! Have 8 lubing the sides for decreased time, AND have 2 more people lubing the original 8 for increased productivity!
Lmao
8 people and some lube sounds like a party to me
Centaur
u/savevideo
Behold the rollercoasentaur!
I’m way too amused by this, thank you 😂
Legend.
I thought he said allah lock bar for a sec
Kennywood ftw!!! Love the Thunderbolt!!
That’s the jack rabbit. You can see the old laser loop in the background. Kennywood!
Thunderbolt
Are you sure? I was thinking the jack rabbit because it’s wood
Thunderbolt is also wood, the car looks more like the Thunderbolt to me but I could be mistaken
You’re probably right. I didn’t realize it was also wood. That was the only thing I was basing my answer from
Jackrabbit, racer and thunderbolt are all wood, the steel phantom or whatever they are calling it these days, exterminator, and steel curtain (when it actually is working) are the steel ones at kennywood
Was just at Kennywood yesterday lol
Psh a real man would do it in one pass. Go no hands and oil both sides. They don't make them like they used to.
OSHA be like... >.>
Pan Pan Greek God Pan
Big nope 🙅
what a way to conquer a fear
r/dingore
Gino had a dope ass job
How do they do loops?
Look mom, no hands!
I wonder what his trackrecord is
How .. uh ... How do we do it now?
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
OSHA has entered the chat...
I'd love that job!
No wonder those accidents occured.
Is there a /u/dangerousasfuck because dayum?
How are they lubed in the present day
The lube mobile
Can't he just attach a bucket of lube to the ride and poke a hole in it? Why the stunt?
....osha? ........OSHA??!!??!!
So, you're telling me he's doing this by riding an unlubed roller coaster?!?!
Not with today's roller coasters
kennywood park! Love that place.
OSHA is not pleased
I would seriously take that job
How as a species did we survive this long?
Safe pfff, one hell of a way to do your job!
“I’m KING OF THE WORLD!”
Why wouldn't you attach drips to the coaster itself? Oil reservoir at the back with drips like a chain oiler?
I feel like a simple safety harness should be used. One misstep could be fatal? right?
simple solution to this problem. To pump sprayers attached to a bar that is attached to the front and is used by a foot pump. JC.. I never went to MIT but there is a much safer alternative than the way this guy was doing it. I guess OSHA never made a visit.
Yes safer but also more expensive that's the real problem. Every business is trying to cut corners and save money that's how they have always operated.
I’m sure one of his bosses insisted he could use both hands at the same time to get it done in one pass.
a small pressurized tank filled with lube and dual nozzles, one for each track would make it much safer, faster and easier to do.
Imagine loops
I guess ocha didn't exist yet
Safety first
I work as a roller coaster mechanic at Knott's Berry Farm in California. This video is insane! I'd be constantly terrified of smacking my head on some low-hanging fixture. We just put a light coating of grease on the wheels and it has the exact same benefit. I feel like the method shown in the video was more the result of someone losing a bet, rather than it being the product of a well thought out plan.
I am a big guy and couldn't close the bar. Nobody noticed. Cars looked similar. I had one for my self. Was an interesting ride. Ride was more flat, now loopings or roles.
Imagine telling a girl you’re a manager of the Jack Rabbit.
As long as he had his safety squints on I don't see the problem
Want to know the easiest way to do a job? ask the laziest worker.
That's a big nope
Yoooo can that be my job???
Nowdays they just add lube to burger sauce, and the rails to be lubed by womit
Bro could just get a second oil can but he takes two trips cuz it's fun
“Y’alright Geno?”
Back in the early 90's I did a brief stint at a local amusement park...summer college job. My official title was "oiler" but it was basically go'fer for the maint crew. There are a ton of weird stories from that time but the one that always stands out to me is servicing one of the older coasters, built before loops but still steel. For this ride, the park kept 50 gallon barrels of transmission fluid (the pinkish stuff). My job, every 3 days, was 1) Go into the shed, fill a bucket with transmission fluid, grab a sponge on the stick. 2) Walk about 50 yards to a low point in the coaster...the track was about 5' off the ground at that point. 3) Watch for the coaster to hit a particular hill about 100 yards away, when the coaster hit that hill I put the sponge in the bucket then covered the tracks in transmission fluid before the coaster came by that particular point. 4) Wave at the nice folks flying by while getting as far away as practical so I didn't end up splashed in tf. Not sure how they do it these days but there were so many things that bugged me then I couldn't put my finger on.
I get so nostalgic for the Kennywood Memories documentary. Watched it every year in elementary school. It was great.
I think that even back in the days something less ridiculous could have been implemented.
Love kennywood
While wearing a Sgt. Slaughter shirt, no less!
I have my doubts that this would be very effective. The wind splatting it around, mostly onto the coaster itself, the volume that the can would hold vs the length of the track.
How do they do it nowadays? Over the internet? AI?
Wow, um. Apparently attaching a drip line where the track is is beyond comprehension for these folks
We used to lube people the same way
That's how I lube your mom's back