DAY 769 [ Kennywood Amusement Park ]

Kennywood Amusement Park

4800 Kennywood Boulevard
West Mifflin, Pennsylvania

Photos © Kyle Yates Photography, 2014
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Thunderbolt.  A wooden roller coaster, it was a renovation of the Pippin. It was ranked the Ultimate Roller Coaster and King of Coasters by the New York Times in 1974. The coaster is unusual in that the lift hill isn't immediately out of the station. Instead, the lift hill is in the middle of the ride.

A Carousel Horse on the Grand Carousel in Kennywood. 
Although it is referred to as the Merry-Go-Round, "Grand Carousel" remains its official name. The ride is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and is Kennywood's third and largest carousel. It is also the last carousel that was ever built by William Dentzel, and much like many other of Kennywood's vintage rides, has an immense history.
The two notable non-horse animals featured on the ride are the tiger and the lion. It is one of three rides at Kennywood with a ride start/stop bell that dates back to the origin of the ride.
Music is provided by a 1916 Wurlitzer Style #153 Military Band Organ, which is the oldest of its kind in existence, and possibly the first of more than 140 style #153 organs built between 1916 and 1936.

Another Carousel Horse on the Grand Carousel in Kennywood.

A wooden racing roller coaster with a track that is looped over on itself to create the appearance of two separate, parallel tracks; the ride in fact consists of one track referred to as a moebius track. The winning side is the one that passes the black and white checkered-flag finish line above the brake run just before the station, and is signaled by one of two red lights on either side of the operators' booth. This is one of 3 rides that uses a bell to signal its start and stop.