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Coney Island Cyclone

January 20, 2023

"Cyclone (roller coaster)" redirects here. For other roller coasters named "Cyclone", see Cyclone (disambiguation) § Roller coasters.

The Cyclone, also the Coney Island Cyclone, is a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Vernon Keenan, it opened to the public on June 26, 1927. The roller coaster is on a plot of land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street. The Cyclone reaches a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and has a total track length of 2,640 feet (800 m), with a maximum height of 85 feet (26 m).

Coney Island Cyclone
Seen from Surf Avenue in 2013
Luna Park, Coney Island
LocationLuna Park, Coney Island
Coordinates40°34′27″N 73°58′40″W / 40.57417°N 73.97778°W / 40.57417; -73.97778Coordinates: 40°34′27″N 73°58′40″W / 40.57417°N 73.97778°W / 40.57417; -73.97778
StatusOperating
Opening dateJune 26, 1927[1]
Cost$175,000
ReplacedGiant Racer
DesignatedJune 25, 1991[2]
Reference no.91000907
DesignatedJune 12, 1988[3]
Reference no.1636
General statistics
DesignerVernon Keenan
Track layoutCompact Twister
Lift/launch systemChain-lift
Height85 ft (26 m)
Length2,640 ft (800 m)
Speed60 mph (97 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration2:30
Max vertical angle58.1°
Capacity1440 riders per hour
G-force3.75
Height restriction54 in (137 cm)
Coney Island Cyclone at RCDB

The roller coaster operated for more than four decades before it began to deteriorate, and by the early 1970s the city planned to scrap the ride. On June 18, 1975, Dewey and Jerome Albert, owners of the adjacent Astroland amusement park, entered an agreement with New York City to operate the ride. The roller coaster was refurbished in the 1974 off-season and reopened on July 3, 1975. Astroland Park continued to invest millions of dollars in the Cyclone's upkeep. The roller coaster was declared a New York City designated landmark in 1988 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. After Astroland closed in 2008, Cyclone Coasters president Carol Hill Albert continued to operate it under a lease agreement with the city. In 2011, Luna Park took over the Cyclone.

History

Early history

 
South wall of the New York Aquarium, commemorating the Cyclone's 1927 opening

Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States from about 1880 to World War II, attracting several million visitors per year. At its height, it contained three amusement parks (Luna Park, Dreamland, and Steeplechase Park) and many independent amusements.[4]: 147–150 [5]: 11 [3]: 3  The Cyclone site was occupied by the Giant Racer from 1911 to 1926.[6][7] The success of 1925's Thunderbolt coaster and 1926's Tornado led Irving and Jack Rosenthal to acquire land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street for a coaster of their own.[3]: 5 [8] The Rosenthal brothers leased a land lot for 19 years from the Coast Holding Company, a syndicate composed of "many prominent business and amusement men of Coney".[9]

With a $100,000 investment, they hired leading coaster designer Vernon Keenan to design a new ride.[3]: 5 [8][9] Harry C. Baker supervised the construction, while local companies provided the material, including steel contractor National Bridge Company and lumber contractor Cross, Austin, & Ireland.[3]: 5 [8] Its final cost was reportedly $146,000 to $175,000. When the Cyclone opened on June 26, 1927, a ride cost 25 cents (equivalent to $3.9 in 2021[10]), except on Sundays and holidays, when the Rosenthals charged 35 cents.[9] With the success of the Cyclone, the Rosenthals installed a similar ride at Golden City Park in Canarsie, Brooklyn, in 1928.[11]

In 1935, the Rosenthals took over the management of New Jersey's Palisades Park.[12] The Cyclone was placed under the supervision of Christopher Feucht, a Coney Island entrepreneur who had built Drop the Dip in 1907. Feucht performed minor retracking work on the Cyclone[3]: 6  The ride's first drop was reduced by 5 feet (1.5 m) in 1939.[13]: 2  By that time, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses planned to clear a 100-foot-wide (30 m) area inland of the Riegelmann Boardwalk, which would have required the relocation or closure of the Cyclone.[14][15] These plans were subsequently modified to preserve the amusement area there.[16] The ride remained extremely popular.[3]: 6  A person with dwarfism would originally zap disembarking riders with an electric paddle, a practice which ended during the 1950s.[17]

Decline

Sylvio and Al Pinto acquired the Cyclone in March 1959.[18] By the 1960s, attendance at Coney Island was declining.[17][19] Increased crime, insufficient parking, poor weather, and the post-World War II automotive boom were all cited as contributing factors in the decline.[20] Coney Island's last remaining large theme park, Steeplechase Park, was closed in 1964 and subsequently demolished.[21][22]: 172 [23] The Cyclone was sold to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) in 1965.[17] Around that time, the New York City government wanted to construct an expansion to the New York Aquarium,[24] which had been constructed east of the Cyclone in 1954.[25] The city began planning to acquire the Cyclone via eminent domain in 1967. Its owners, East Coaster Corporation, unsuccessfully fought the city; they did minimal long-term maintenance, enough to keep the ride operating safely.[24] The city bought the Cyclone for $1.2 million in 1969.[23]

The Cyclone was then operated under contract by East Coaster Corporation while the city worked with the New York Aquarium on plans to redevelop the site. There was a lack of long-term maintenance by the city, and the coaster soon received 101 safety violations.[24] In 1972, aquarium officials announced that they would replace the Cyclone with a swamp display. Opponents of the plan organized a "Save the Cyclone" campaign to contest the proposed demolition of the coaster.[26] This created a conflict between the aquarium, which supported the Cyclone's demolition, and the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce, which opposed it.[27] The owners of the AstroWorld theme park in Houston were considering buying the Coney Island Cyclone and moving it to Houston. This was eventually rejected as being too expensive, and AstroWorld's owners instead built a replica, which they branded as the Texas Cyclone.[28][29]

By 1974, city officials doubted their decision to purchase the Cyclone and considered leasing the coaster to a private operator.[30][31] The proposed demolition of the Cyclone was seen as potentially disastrous to Coney Island's economy.[23] The city changed its plans to dismantle the coaster and, in April 1975, invited sealed bids to lease operation of the ride.[24] The owners of the Astroland amusement park won the lease, with a bid of $57,000 per year.[32] After Astroland spent $60,000 to refurbish the Cyclone, the coaster reopened on July 3, 1975.[24][3]: 6–7 

Preservation

 
The Cyclone in 2010

During the 1986 season, insurance disputes forced the Cyclone to stay closed until July.[33] The Cyclone remained in operation as a separate enterprise following the 2008 closure of Astroland[34][35] and during the single operating season of Dreamland in 2009.[36]

The adjacent Luna Park took over management of the Cyclone in 2011[37][38] and began a major refurbishment of the coaster during the off-season.[39] The ride had not been refurbished since the 1970s, and various planks and other elements of the structure had come loose. Although Luna Park officials said the Cyclone's maximum speed and layout would remain unchanged, roller coaster enthusiasts expressed concern that the refurbishment would make the ride experience smoother, saying that the Cyclone's roughness was a major characteristic of the ride.[40][41] Luna Park hired Great Coasters International (GCI) to refurbish the roller coaster.[42][43] The roller coaster remained largely intact after the surrounding area was flooded during Hurricane Sandy in late 2012.[44][45] GCI completed its refurbishment of the Cyclone in 2016.[46][47] The Coney Island Cyclone did not open for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City;[48][49] it ultimately reopened during the 2021 season.[50][51]

Characteristics

The wooden roller coaster[a] covers 75 feet (23 m) at 834 Surf Avenue and 500 feet (150 m) on West 10th Street,[3]: 12  which is owned by NYC Parks.[23] The former concession stands (built into the coaster's structure) was home to the Coney Island History Project,[53] which was moved to a space near the Wonder Wheel.[54] A souvenir stand selling Cyclone-based shirts, hats, and on-ride photos remains.[53] The Cyclone is considered an "irreplaceable" structure, since timber-supported coasters can no longer be built under modern New York City building codes.[55]

The track is 2,640 feet (800 m) long, including six fan turns and twelve drops. The ride's top speed is 60 miles per hour (97 km/h), and each ride takes about one minute and fifty seconds. The brown wooden track has red wood fencing alongside it and has a white structural framework, giving it a distinctive appearance.[56][57][52] The steel framework is composed of vertical I-beams, horizontal tie bars, and diagonal cross-bracing beams, connected by riveted steel plates.[13]: 2  "Cyclone" appears in large, red, incandescent letters on the east and west sides of the lift hill;[13]: 3 [3]: 6  the letters on this sign were originally 10 feet (3.0 m) high.[9] The coaster is surrounded by a fence.[13]: 3  Before 2000, the Cyclone's 58.1-degree initial drop was the third-steepest drop of any wooden coaster in the world. As of 2014, it has the ninth-steepest drop of any wood coaster worldwide.[58]

The Cyclone has three trains, each with three cars; one train can run at a time. Riders are arranged two across in four rows, for a total of 24 riders per train. The trains have bench seating (rather than individual seats for each passenger), and a single-position lap-bar restraint system which drops across the entire row. The seats do not have headrests.[56][52][3]: 6 

Each ride in Luna Park charges a number of credits for admission, with each credit typically costing $1.[59] As of July 2019, each ride on the Cyclone costs 10 credits ($10); free and reduced-price re-rides have been eliminated. Ride admission is also included in Luna Park's fixed-date and any-date passes.[60] "Bonus credits" accumulated by the purchase of ride credits cannot be used for the coaster.[59] The station is accessed from the ticket booth on West 10th Street. It consists of two wooden platforms, one on each side of the track; the outer (western) platform is for riders who are boarding, and the inner (eastern) platform is for exiting riders. The station is under a gable roof canopy supported by a steel arch frame, which has segmented arcades along its sides. A mechanical room is partly underneath, and next to, the platform.[8][13]: 3  Outside the station is a vertical sign with incandescent letters spelling "CYCLONE",[8][13]: 3  which measures 45 feet (14 m) high.[9]

Ride experience

 
Seen from the west

The train leaves the station heading north and immediately turns right at an almost 180-degree angle, which leads to an 85-foot (26 m) lift hill. It then moves over the first 58.1-degree drop; as the train reaches the bottom of the drop, it comes close to the track above for a headchopper effect. The train then ascends into the first high-speed U-turn to the left, descending again beneath the lift hill and rising to the second 70-foot-tall (21 m) U-turn to the right. It descends parallel to the lift hill, enters a camelback hill and rises to a smaller banked right U-turn, where it dives under the first high-speed curve. After the third U-turn, the train enters a second camelback hill with a fan turn and a smaller airtime section as it approaches a fourth U-turn to the right. The train hops several times more, paralleling the second drop, before entering a final right curve. It drops slightly, ascends into a tunnel with a small left fan turn, and enters a brake run just before re-entering the station.[56][57]

Incidents

Deaths

 
As seen from West 10th Street

At least three people have died after riding the Cyclone. On May 26, 1985, a 29-year-old man was killed when he stood up and hit his head on a crossbeam.[61]

On August 23, 1988, a 26-year-old maintenance worker was killed after falling from the coaster. The man was the only passenger and was riding in the back seat during his lunch break. Apparently avoiding the safety bar, he was seen standing up as the train began its descent down the first hill. He fell 30 feet (9.1 m), landed on a crossbeam of a lower section of track and died instantly. The ride was closed after the incident, but was reopened a day later after safety inspectors concluded that it was safe.[62]

Keith Shirasawa, a 53-year-old man suffered several crushed vertebrae in his neck while riding the Cyclone on July 31, 2007. He died four days later due to complications during surgery.[63][64]

Other incidents

On June 12, 2008, a woman rode the Cyclone and later claimed that she had been seriously injured due to the ride. She was awarded $1.5 million in damages in 2015, despite being found partly at fault.[65] In March 2018, a man claimed to have been struck by a metal bolt while waiting in the ride queue.[66]

The Cyclone has been evacuated several times due to mechanical problems. On March 28, 2015, a mechanical failure caused a train to be stuck at the top of the lift hill; no one was injured.[67][68] On June 13 of that year, a mechanical issue caused the ride to stop completely.[69] The Cyclone stalled again on July 28, 2018, after it lost power.[70]

Notable riders and records

Aviator Charles Lindbergh was said to have ridden the Cyclone two years after it opened,[71] and reportedly called the experience "greater than flying an airplane at top speed".[72][55] Emilio Franco, a mute coal miner with aphonia, visited Coney Island in 1948 and reportedly screamed while going down the Cyclone's first drop. Franco also reportedly said, "I feel sick" as his train returned to the station. According to multiple accounts, he fainted after realizing that he had spoken.[3]: 6 [17][73] Although one version of the story reported that Franco had been mute since birth,[72] a contemporary New York Times story said that he had been mute for five years.[73]

Michael Boodley set a record in 1975 for the most consecutive trips on the Cyclone, riding it 1,001 times over a 45-hour period.[74] Nineteen-year-old Richard Rodriguez broke the record from August 18 to 22, 1977, riding the coaster for 104 hours. He took short bathroom breaks between rides, eating hot dogs and M&Ms and drinking shakes during the ride itself. Rodriguez broke his own record for the longest roller-coaster marathon in 2007, riding for 405 hours and 40 minutes at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the United Kingdom.[74] In 2009, the Coney Island History Project gave an award to Howie Lipstein, who had ridden the Cyclone for fifty consecutive years.[75][76] In 2019, Luna Park honored him for riding for sixty consecutive years.[77]

Impact

The Cyclone was named a city landmark in 1988[3] and a National Historic Landmark in 1991.[78] An ACE Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark,[79][80] it inspired the name of the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team, which plays at nearby Maimonides Park.[81]

Replicas

The popularity of the Cyclone has inspired eight replica coasters that share (or mirror) a similar layout.[17][82] Four replicas of the Cyclone were built at Six Flags parks: Viper at Six Flags Great America;[83][82] Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain;[84][85][82] the Texas Cyclone at Six Flags AstroWorld;[86][87][82] and the Georgia Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia. [88][82] Of these, only Viper is still operational in its original state.[82][b] International replicas include Bandit at Movie Park Germany; the defunct White Canyon at Yomiuriland in Japan, and the defunct Aska at Japan's Nara Dreamland.[92][82]

The Riverside Cyclone, built in 1983 at Riverside Amusement Park (now Six Flags New England), was inspired by the design of the Coney Island Cyclone.[93] Later known as the Cyclone, it was closed in 2014 and replaced with Wicked Cyclone,[94] constructed by Rocky Mountain Construction.[95] Despite the shared name, the Riverside Cyclone was not a replica of the Coney Island Cyclone.[95]

Rankings

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters
Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022
Ranking 7[96] 8[97] 11[98] 11[99] 13[100] 16[101] 16[102] 14[103] 16[104] 14[105] 16[106] 14[107] 13[108] 15[109] 14[110] 19[111] 22[112] 16[113] 27[114] 22[115] 29[116] 28[117] 13 (tie)[118] 17[119]

Notes

  1. ^ The Roller Coaster DataBase also cites the ride as being a hybrid roller coaster.[52] This is because the track is made of wood, while the support structure is made of steel.[52][13]: 2 
  2. ^ The Texas Cyclone was demolished with AstroWorld's closure in 2005,[28] Psyclone was demolished in 2007,[89] and the Georgia Cyclone was converted by Rocky Mountain Construction into Twisted Cyclone in 2018.[90][91]

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External links

  •   Media related to Coney Island Cyclone at Wikimedia Commons
  • Oral History of the Cyclone collected by the Coney Island History Project
Preceded by World's Fastest Roller Coaster
June 1927 – April 1976 		Succeeded by

January 20, 2023
coney, island, cyclone, cyclone, roller, coaster, redirects, here, other, roller, coasters, named, cyclone, cyclone, disambiguation, roller, coasters, cyclone, also, wooden, roller, coaster, luna, park, coney, island, brooklyn, york, city, designed, vernon, ke. Cyclone roller coaster redirects here For other roller coasters named Cyclone see Cyclone disambiguation Roller coasters The Cyclone also the Coney Island Cyclone is a wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island Brooklyn New York City Designed by Vernon Keenan it opened to the public on June 26 1927 The roller coaster is on a plot of land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street The Cyclone reaches a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour 97 km h and has a total track length of 2 640 feet 800 m with a maximum height of 85 feet 26 m Coney Island CycloneSeen from Surf Avenue in 2013Luna Park Coney IslandLocationLuna Park Coney IslandCoordinates40 34 27 N 73 58 40 W 40 57417 N 73 97778 W 40 57417 73 97778 Coordinates 40 34 27 N 73 58 40 W 40 57417 N 73 97778 W 40 57417 73 97778StatusOperatingOpening dateJune 26 1927 1 Cost 175 000ReplacedGiant RacerU S National Register of Historic PlacesDesignatedJune 25 1991 2 Reference no 91000907New York City LandmarkDesignatedJune 12 1988 3 Reference no 1636General statisticsDesignerVernon KeenanTrack layoutCompact TwisterLift launch systemChain liftHeight85 ft 26 m Length2 640 ft 800 m Speed60 mph 97 km h Inversions0Duration2 30Max vertical angle58 1 Capacity1440 riders per hourG force3 75Height restriction54 in 137 cm This is a Pay Per Use attractionConey Island Cyclone at RCDBThe roller coaster operated for more than four decades before it began to deteriorate and by the early 1970s the city planned to scrap the ride On June 18 1975 Dewey and Jerome Albert owners of the adjacent Astroland amusement park entered an agreement with New York City to operate the ride The roller coaster was refurbished in the 1974 off season and reopened on July 3 1975 Astroland Park continued to invest millions of dollars in the Cyclone s upkeep The roller coaster was declared a New York City designated landmark in 1988 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 After Astroland closed in 2008 Cyclone Coasters president Carol Hill Albert continued to operate it under a lease agreement with the city In 2011 Luna Park took over the Cyclone Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 2 Decline 1 3 Preservation 2 Characteristics 3 Ride experience 4 Incidents 4 1 Deaths 4 2 Other incidents 5 Notable riders and records 6 Impact 6 1 Replicas 6 2 Rankings 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksHistory EditEarly history Edit South wall of the New York Aquarium commemorating the Cyclone s 1927 opening Coney Island was the largest amusement area in the United States from about 1880 to World War II attracting several million visitors per year At its height it contained three amusement parks Luna Park Dreamland and Steeplechase Park and many independent amusements 4 147 150 5 11 3 3 The Cyclone site was occupied by the Giant Racer from 1911 to 1926 6 7 The success of 1925 s Thunderbolt coaster and 1926 s Tornado led Irving and Jack Rosenthal to acquire land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street for a coaster of their own 3 5 8 The Rosenthal brothers leased a land lot for 19 years from the Coast Holding Company a syndicate composed of many prominent business and amusement men of Coney 9 With a 100 000 investment they hired leading coaster designer Vernon Keenan to design a new ride 3 5 8 9 Harry C Baker supervised the construction while local companies provided the material including steel contractor National Bridge Company and lumber contractor Cross Austin amp Ireland 3 5 8 Its final cost was reportedly 146 000 to 175 000 When the Cyclone opened on June 26 1927 a ride cost 25 cents equivalent to 3 9 in 2021 10 except on Sundays and holidays when the Rosenthals charged 35 cents 9 With the success of the Cyclone the Rosenthals installed a similar ride at Golden City Park in Canarsie Brooklyn in 1928 11 In 1935 the Rosenthals took over the management of New Jersey s Palisades Park 12 The Cyclone was placed under the supervision of Christopher Feucht a Coney Island entrepreneur who had built Drop the Dip in 1907 Feucht performed minor retracking work on the Cyclone 3 6 The ride s first drop was reduced by 5 feet 1 5 m in 1939 13 2 By that time New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses planned to clear a 100 foot wide 30 m area inland of the Riegelmann Boardwalk which would have required the relocation or closure of the Cyclone 14 15 These plans were subsequently modified to preserve the amusement area there 16 The ride remained extremely popular 3 6 A person with dwarfism would originally zap disembarking riders with an electric paddle a practice which ended during the 1950s 17 Decline Edit Sylvio and Al Pinto acquired the Cyclone in March 1959 18 By the 1960s attendance at Coney Island was declining 17 19 Increased crime insufficient parking poor weather and the post World War II automotive boom were all cited as contributing factors in the decline 20 Coney Island s last remaining large theme park Steeplechase Park was closed in 1964 and subsequently demolished 21 22 172 23 The Cyclone was sold to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation NYC Parks in 1965 17 Around that time the New York City government wanted to construct an expansion to the New York Aquarium 24 which had been constructed east of the Cyclone in 1954 25 The city began planning to acquire the Cyclone via eminent domain in 1967 Its owners East Coaster Corporation unsuccessfully fought the city they did minimal long term maintenance enough to keep the ride operating safely 24 The city bought the Cyclone for 1 2 million in 1969 23 The Cyclone was then operated under contract by East Coaster Corporation while the city worked with the New York Aquarium on plans to redevelop the site There was a lack of long term maintenance by the city and the coaster soon received 101 safety violations 24 In 1972 aquarium officials announced that they would replace the Cyclone with a swamp display Opponents of the plan organized a Save the Cyclone campaign to contest the proposed demolition of the coaster 26 This created a conflict between the aquarium which supported the Cyclone s demolition and the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce which opposed it 27 The owners of the AstroWorld theme park in Houston were considering buying the Coney Island Cyclone and moving it to Houston This was eventually rejected as being too expensive and AstroWorld s owners instead built a replica which they branded as the Texas Cyclone 28 29 By 1974 city officials doubted their decision to purchase the Cyclone and considered leasing the coaster to a private operator 30 31 The proposed demolition of the Cyclone was seen as potentially disastrous to Coney Island s economy 23 The city changed its plans to dismantle the coaster and in April 1975 invited sealed bids to lease operation of the ride 24 The owners of the Astroland amusement park won the lease with a bid of 57 000 per year 32 After Astroland spent 60 000 to refurbish the Cyclone the coaster reopened on July 3 1975 24 3 6 7 Preservation Edit The Cyclone in 2010 During the 1986 season insurance disputes forced the Cyclone to stay closed until July 33 The Cyclone remained in operation as a separate enterprise following the 2008 closure of Astroland 34 35 and during the single operating season of Dreamland in 2009 36 The adjacent Luna Park took over management of the Cyclone in 2011 37 38 and began a major refurbishment of the coaster during the off season 39 The ride had not been refurbished since the 1970s and various planks and other elements of the structure had come loose Although Luna Park officials said the Cyclone s maximum speed and layout would remain unchanged roller coaster enthusiasts expressed concern that the refurbishment would make the ride experience smoother saying that the Cyclone s roughness was a major characteristic of the ride 40 41 Luna Park hired Great Coasters International GCI to refurbish the roller coaster 42 43 The roller coaster remained largely intact after the surrounding area was flooded during Hurricane Sandy in late 2012 44 45 GCI completed its refurbishment of the Cyclone in 2016 46 47 The Coney Island Cyclone did not open for the 2020 season due to the COVID 19 pandemic in New York City 48 49 it ultimately reopened during the 2021 season 50 51 Characteristics EditThe wooden roller coaster a covers 75 feet 23 m at 834 Surf Avenue and 500 feet 150 m on West 10th Street 3 12 which is owned by NYC Parks 23 The former concession stands built into the coaster s structure was home to the Coney Island History Project 53 which was moved to a space near the Wonder Wheel 54 A souvenir stand selling Cyclone based shirts hats and on ride photos remains 53 The Cyclone is considered an irreplaceable structure since timber supported coasters can no longer be built under modern New York City building codes 55 The track is 2 640 feet 800 m long including six fan turns and twelve drops The ride s top speed is 60 miles per hour 97 km h and each ride takes about one minute and fifty seconds The brown wooden track has red wood fencing alongside it and has a white structural framework giving it a distinctive appearance 56 57 52 The steel framework is composed of vertical I beams horizontal tie bars and diagonal cross bracing beams connected by riveted steel plates 13 2 Cyclone appears in large red incandescent letters on the east and west sides of the lift hill 13 3 3 6 the letters on this sign were originally 10 feet 3 0 m high 9 The coaster is surrounded by a fence 13 3 Before 2000 the Cyclone s 58 1 degree initial drop was the third steepest drop of any wooden coaster in the world As of 2014 update it has the ninth steepest drop of any wood coaster worldwide 58 The Cyclone has three trains each with three cars one train can run at a time Riders are arranged two across in four rows for a total of 24 riders per train The trains have bench seating rather than individual seats for each passenger and a single position lap bar restraint system which drops across the entire row The seats do not have headrests 56 52 3 6 Each ride in Luna Park charges a number of credits for admission with each credit typically costing 1 59 As of July 2019 update each ride on the Cyclone costs 10 credits 10 free and reduced price re rides have been eliminated Ride admission is also included in Luna Park s fixed date and any date passes 60 Bonus credits accumulated by the purchase of ride credits cannot be used for the coaster 59 The station is accessed from the ticket booth on West 10th Street It consists of two wooden platforms one on each side of the track the outer western platform is for riders who are boarding and the inner eastern platform is for exiting riders The station is under a gable roof canopy supported by a steel arch frame which has segmented arcades along its sides A mechanical room is partly underneath and next to the platform 8 13 3 Outside the station is a vertical sign with incandescent letters spelling CYCLONE 8 13 3 which measures 45 feet 14 m high 9 Ride experience Edit Seen from the west The train leaves the station heading north and immediately turns right at an almost 180 degree angle which leads to an 85 foot 26 m lift hill It then moves over the first 58 1 degree drop as the train reaches the bottom of the drop it comes close to the track above for a headchopper effect The train then ascends into the first high speed U turn to the left descending again beneath the lift hill and rising to the second 70 foot tall 21 m U turn to the right It descends parallel to the lift hill enters a camelback hill and rises to a smaller banked right U turn where it dives under the first high speed curve After the third U turn the train enters a second camelback hill with a fan turn and a smaller airtime section as it approaches a fourth U turn to the right The train hops several times more paralleling the second drop before entering a final right curve It drops slightly ascends into a tunnel with a small left fan turn and enters a brake run just before re entering the station 56 57 Incidents EditDeaths Edit As seen from West 10th Street At least three people have died after riding the Cyclone On May 26 1985 a 29 year old man was killed when he stood up and hit his head on a crossbeam 61 On August 23 1988 a 26 year old maintenance worker was killed after falling from the coaster The man was the only passenger and was riding in the back seat during his lunch break Apparently avoiding the safety bar he was seen standing up as the train began its descent down the first hill He fell 30 feet 9 1 m landed on a crossbeam of a lower section of track and died instantly The ride was closed after the incident but was reopened a day later after safety inspectors concluded that it was safe 62 Keith Shirasawa a 53 year old man suffered several crushed vertebrae in his neck while riding the Cyclone on July 31 2007 He died four days later due to complications during surgery 63 64 Other incidents Edit On June 12 2008 a woman rode the Cyclone and later claimed that she had been seriously injured due to the ride She was awarded 1 5 million in damages in 2015 despite being found partly at fault 65 In March 2018 a man claimed to have been struck by a metal bolt while waiting in the ride queue 66 The Cyclone has been evacuated several times due to mechanical problems On March 28 2015 a mechanical failure caused a train to be stuck at the top of the lift hill no one was injured 67 68 On June 13 of that year a mechanical issue caused the ride to stop completely 69 The Cyclone stalled again on July 28 2018 after it lost power 70 Notable riders and records EditAviator Charles Lindbergh was said to have ridden the Cyclone two years after it opened 71 and reportedly called the experience greater than flying an airplane at top speed 72 55 Emilio Franco a mute coal miner with aphonia visited Coney Island in 1948 and reportedly screamed while going down the Cyclone s first drop Franco also reportedly said I feel sick as his train returned to the station According to multiple accounts he fainted after realizing that he had spoken 3 6 17 73 Although one version of the story reported that Franco had been mute since birth 72 a contemporary New York Times story said that he had been mute for five years 73 Michael Boodley set a record in 1975 for the most consecutive trips on the Cyclone riding it 1 001 times over a 45 hour period 74 Nineteen year old Richard Rodriguez broke the record from August 18 to 22 1977 riding the coaster for 104 hours He took short bathroom breaks between rides eating hot dogs and M amp Ms and drinking shakes during the ride itself Rodriguez broke his own record for the longest roller coaster marathon in 2007 riding for 405 hours and 40 minutes at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the United Kingdom 74 In 2009 the Coney Island History Project gave an award to Howie Lipstein who had ridden the Cyclone for fifty consecutive years 75 76 In 2019 Luna Park honored him for riding for sixty consecutive years 77 Impact Edit American Coaster Enthusiasts plaque The Cyclone was named a city landmark in 1988 3 and a National Historic Landmark in 1991 78 An ACE Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark 79 80 it inspired the name of the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team which plays at nearby Maimonides Park 81 Replicas Edit The popularity of the Cyclone has inspired eight replica coasters that share or mirror a similar layout 17 82 Four replicas of the Cyclone were built at Six Flags parks Viper at Six Flags Great America 83 82 Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain 84 85 82 the Texas Cyclone at Six Flags AstroWorld 86 87 82 and the Georgia Cyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia 88 82 Of these only Viper is still operational in its original state 82 b International replicas include Bandit at Movie Park Germany the defunct White Canyon at Yomiuriland in Japan and the defunct Aska at Japan s Nara Dreamland 92 82 The Riverside Cyclone built in 1983 at Riverside Amusement Park now Six Flags New England was inspired by the design of the Coney Island Cyclone 93 Later known as the Cyclone it was closed in 2014 and replaced with Wicked Cyclone 94 constructed by Rocky Mountain Construction 95 Despite the shared name the Riverside Cyclone was not a replica of the Coney Island Cyclone 95 Rankings Edit Golden Ticket Awards Top wood Roller Coasters Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022Ranking 7 96 8 97 11 98 11 99 13 100 16 101 16 102 14 103 16 104 14 105 16 106 14 107 13 108 15 109 14 110 19 111 22 112 16 113 27 114 22 115 29 116 28 117 13 tie 118 17 119 Notes Edit The Roller Coaster DataBase also cites the ride as being a hybrid roller coaster 52 This is because the track is made of wood while the support structure is made of steel 52 13 2 The Texas Cyclone was demolished with AstroWorld s closure in 2005 28 Psyclone was demolished in 2007 89 and the Georgia Cyclone was converted by Rocky Mountain Construction into Twisted Cyclone in 2018 90 91 References Edit Denson Charles 2002 Coney Island Lost and Found Berkeley Calif Ten Speed Press ISBN 9781580084550 National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Cyclone PDF New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission July 12 1988 Archived PDF from the original on December 23 2016 Retrieved August 24 2019 DeSena Judith N Shortell Timothy 2012 The World in Brooklyn Gentrification Immigration and Ethnic Politics in a Global City Lexington Books pp 147 176 ISBN 978 0 7391 6670 3 Archived from the original on May 7 2016 Retrieved August 24 2019 Parascandola L J 2014 A Coney Island Reader Through Dizzy Gates of Illusion Columbia University Press p 24 ISBN 978 0 231 53819 0 Archived from the original on September 21 2020 Retrieved January 20 2019 Ride America s Most Historic Roller Coasters www smithsonianmag com Archived from the original on February 13 2017 Retrieved July 9 2019 Marden Duane Giant Racer Luna Park Roller Coaster DataBase a b c d e Cyclone 101 The Washington Post August 4 2002 Archived from the original on November 7 2017 Retrieved September 5 2008 a b c d e Coney s Latest Ride The Cyclone Opens The Billboard Vol 39 no 28 July 9 1927 p 74 ProQuest 1031835440 1634 1699 McCusker J J 1997 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States Addenda et Corrigenda PDF American Antiquarian Society 1700 1799 McCusker J J 1992 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States PDF American Antiquarian Society 1800 present Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Price Index estimate 1800 Retrieved April 16 2022 Golden City Park To Install Ride The Billboard Vol 40 no 34 August 25 1928 p 81 ProQuest 1031879664 Park Resorts Pools Palisades Let To Rosenthals The Billboard Vol 47 no 22 June 1 1935 pp 46 49 ProQuest 1032072390 a b c d e f g Historic Structures Report Coney Island Cyclone PDF National Register of Historic Places National Park Service June 25 1991 Archived PDF from the original on June 27 2021 Retrieved September 25 2019 Coney Island Plan Revised By Moses He Offers Alternate Schemes to Mayor Both Retaining Present Atmosphere The New York Times August 21 1939 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 25 2019 Moses Submits 2 Plans to Add To Coney Beach Urges Slart Next Year on One ofProposals Putting Cost at 3 to 6 Million New York Herald Tribune August 21 1939 p 1 ISSN 1941 0646 ProQuest 1266816402 Coney Improvement Brooklyn Citizen December 16 1939 p 1 Archived from the original on May 9 2022 Retrieved January 6 2021 via newspapers com a b c d e Osterhout Jacob E 8 questions for Coney Island s Cyclone roller coaster master Jerry Menditto nydailynews com Archived from the original on July 6 2019 Retrieved July 6 2019 Parks Kiddielands Rinks Cyclone at Coney Island Sold to Pinto The Billboard Vol 71 no 9 March 2 1959 p 55 ProQuest 1475620392 Coney Island Still Lures Millions of Visitors Some Call It Tawdry but Famous People Are Among Throngs at Home of Hot Dog Los Angeles Times May 16 1968 p C20 ProQuest 155979948 Coney Island Slump Grows Worse Decline in Business Since the War Years Has Been Steady The New York Times July 2 1964 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 31 2018 Retrieved July 30 2018 Chan Sewell July 21 2005 Leaps of Imagination for the Parachute Jump The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 6 2019 Immerso Michael 2002 Coney Island the people s playground illustrated ed Rutgers University Press ISBN 978 0 8135 3138 0 Archived from the original on November 8 2021 Retrieved August 24 2019 a b c d The Cyclone Highlights NYC Parks www nycgovparks org Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 a b c d e Futrell J 2006 Amusement Parks of New York Amusement Parks Series Stackpole Books p 66 ISBN 978 0 8117 3262 8 Archived from the original on July 29 2020 Retrieved September 15 2018 Salerno Al October 24 1954 Break Ground for World s Greatest Aquarium at Coney Island Brooklyn Daily Eagle pp 1 21 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 via Brooklyn Public Library newspapers com McQuiston John T March 5 1972 Aquarium is Getting a Piece of Old Long Island The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on October 13 2012 Retrieved September 5 2008 Aquarium Urges Razing Of Coney Island Cyclone The New York Times May 27 1975 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on September 15 2018 Retrieved July 9 2019 a b Marden Duane Texas Cyclone Six Flags AstroWorld Roller Coaster DataBase Rouner Jef March 18 2015 Where Are AstroWorld s Roller Coasters Now Houston Press Archived from the original on August 12 2019 Retrieved August 12 2019 Lichtenstein Grace December 20 1974 City Is Leaning to Keeping Steeplechase a Fun Place The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 Coney Showdown Thriller vs Killer New York Daily News July 30 1974 p 35 Archived from the original on May 30 2022 Retrieved July 9 2019 via newspapers com This Ride s Dips Are a Real Up New York Daily News June 27 1977 p 282 Archived from the original on May 30 2022 Retrieved July 9 2019 via newspapers com Blau Eleanor July 11 1986 Cyclone at Coney Island Rolls Again at Last The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 Chatelain Ryan September 5 2008 End of an ara at Coney Island PDF AM New York Archived from the original PDF on September 15 2008 Retrieved September 5 2008 Calder Rich May 29 2007 B klyn Big Top The New York Post Archived from the original on December 31 2008 Retrieved September 5 2008 Sederstrom Jotham Dreamland amusement park 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April 9 2021 Photos Coney Island Joyfully Reopens After 18 Month Shutdown Gothamist Retrieved April 5 2022 Passy Charles April 8 2021 Coney Island s Wonder Wheel Set to Spin After Covid 19 Pause Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved September 12 2022 a b c d Marden Duane Cyclone Luna Park Brooklyn New York United States Roller Coaster DataBase a b Newman Andy May 29 2007 Beneath the Speeding Cyclone a Look Back in Time The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on August 2 2016 Retrieved July 9 2019 Coney Island History Project Museums amp Galleries NYCgo com Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 a b Diamonstein Spielvogel Barbaralee 2011 The Landmarks of New York Albany New York State University of New York Press p 583 ISBN 978 1 4384 3769 9 a b c Cyclone at Luna Park COASTER net Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 a b Cyclone front seat on ride HD POV Luna Park Coney Island CoasterForce June 4 2013 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City nydailynews com Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 Marzulli John Exclusive Woman awarded 1 5 million over claim she was seriously injured riding Cyclone roller coaster in Coney Island nydailynews com Archived from the original on June 29 2019 Retrieved July 20 2019 Balsamini Dean March 17 2019 Man struck by metal bolt waiting for Coney Island s Cyclone roller coaster suit New York Post Archived from the original on July 22 2019 Retrieved July 22 2019 Otterman Sharon March 29 2015 Cyclone Roller Coaster at Coney Island Gets Stuck at Top of Track The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 Coney Island s famed Cyclone strands riders on season s first run www cbsnews com Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 Riders climb down Cyclone after it breaks mid ride New York Post June 13 2015 Archived from the original on July 20 2019 Retrieved July 20 2019 Coney Island Cyclone Evacuated After Losing Power July 28 2018 Archived from the original on July 22 2019 Retrieved July 22 2019 Clines Francis X June 24 1977 50 Years of Ups and Downs for Cyclone The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 a b Associated Press Coney Island s iconic Cyclone roller coaster to celebrate its 85th anniversary with 25 cent rides on Saturday New York Daily News Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 a b Roller Coaster Ride Brings Back Speech To Army Veteran Who Lost Voice in 1943 The New York Times August 12 1948 ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved July 9 2019 a b Kilgannon Corey June 23 2017 Coney Island s Coaster King Takes Another Spin The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on September 1 2018 Retrieved September 1 2018 Monahan Rachel April 6 2009 A 50 year constant in Coney Island New York Daily News Mortimer Zuckerman Archived from the original on July 26 2016 Retrieved July 26 2016 Howie Lipstein Devoted Cyclone Rider Coney Island History Project April 5 2009 Archived from the original on July 26 2016 Retrieved July 26 2016 Cyclone in New York City 5DGUIDE June 26 2018 Archived from the original on July 16 2020 Retrieved July 14 2020 Kristen King August 4 1995 Cyclone Honors to Roll The Daily News New York Archived from the original on April 23 2009 Retrieved September 5 2008 Coaster Awards aceonline org September 8 2015 Archived from the original on September 8 2015 Retrieved August 24 2019 Coaster Awards www aceonline org Archived from the original on December 12 2010 Retrieved January 17 2018 Lipton Eric November 28 2000 Plus Baseball Affiliate Named Brooklyn Cyclones The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 a b c d e f g Marden Duane Roller Coaster Search Results Roller Coaster DataBase Six Flags Great America to run Viper and American Eagle coasters backwards during 2013 Theme Park Tourist May 27 2013 Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 Shuster Fred February 17 1991 Ride a Tribute to Roller Coaster History OrlandoSentinel com Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 Six Flags Magic Mountain DeseretNews com April 30 1995 Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 Callahan Michael January 15 2016 1976 Astroworld coaster construction under way www chron com Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 Communications Emmis June 1976 Texas Monthly Emmis Communications Archived from the original on May 30 2022 Retrieved November 26 2020 Greg Bluestein The Atlanta Journal Constitution Six Flags shutters the Georgia Cyclone after one last hoorah The Atlanta Journal Constitution Archived from the original on July 5 2019 Retrieved July 5 2019 Marden Duane Psyclone Six Flags Magic Mountain Roller Coaster DataBase Marden Duane Georgia Cyclone Six Flags Over Georgia Roller Coaster DataBase Marden Duane Twisted Cyclone Six Flags Over Georgia Roller Coaster DataBase Rutherford Scott 1961 2004 The American roller coaster St Paul MN Motorbooks International ISBN 0760319294 OCLC 56339670 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Marden Duane Cyclone Six Flags New England Roller Coaster DataBase Blair Russell August 28 2014 Six Flags New England Announces Plans To Replace Cyclone Coaster Hartford Courant Retrieved July 6 2022 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint url status link a b Marden Duane Wicked Cyclone Six Flags New England Roller Coaster DataBase Top 25 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 6B August 1998 Top 25 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 6B August 1999 Top 25 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today August 2000 Top 25 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 6B August 2001 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 25 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 6B September 2002 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 10 11B September 2003 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 14 15B September 2004 Archived from the original PDF on April 3 2007 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 22 23B September 2005 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 30 31B September 2006 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 11 6 2 42 43 September 2007 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 12 6 2 42 43 September 2008 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 13 6 2 38 39 September 2009 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 14 6 2 38 39 September 2010 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 15 6 2 46 47 September 2011 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 16 6 2 46 47 September 2012 2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 17 6 2 40 41 September 2013 Archived from the original PDF on October 19 2013 2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 18 6 2 38 39 September 2014 2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters PDF Amusement Today 19 6 2 45 46 September 2015 2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters Golden Ticket Awards Amusement Today September 2016 2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters Golden Ticket Awards Amusement Today September 2017 2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters Golden Ticket Awards Amusement Today September 2018 2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters Golden Ticket Awards Amusement Today September 2019 2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners Golden Ticket Awards Amusement Today September 2021 Archived from the original on November 15 2021 2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners Golden Ticket Awards Amusement Today September 2022 Archived from the original on September 12 2022 External links Edit New York City portal NRHP portal Media related to Coney Island Cyclone at Wikimedia Commons Cyclone History Oral History of the Cyclone collected by the Coney Island History ProjectPreceded byGiant Dipper World s Fastest Roller CoasterJune 1927 April 1976 Succeeded byScreamin Eagle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Coney Island Cyclone amp oldid 1132929516, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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