 For a mark, let's all go down to the amusement park. Hey, hey, hey, hey, come and have fun. Come on everybody, let's go and do high. And ride the big coaster right up to the sky. Come on, come on, out to the park, where the gang has the ball on the midway. In the late 1800s, there was a farm overlooking the Monongalia River near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, owned by Anthony Kenny. The farm was known as Kenny's Grove, thanks to its many beautiful trees and scenery, and was a popular spot for local residents after the American Civil War. In 1898, a banker named Andrew Mellon and the Monongalia Street Railways Company leased the land from the Kenny family in hopes to create profits from charging patrons' fares on weekends by creating a trolley park on the land. The following year, in 1899, they added a carousel, casino hall, and dance pavilion to attract even more visitors. In 1900, a bandstand was added. In 1901, the old mill was constructed, and in 1902, the park's first roller coaster, the Figure 8 Toboggan, was also constructed. Over the course of those five years, the fate and the future of Kenny's Grove was sealed as an amusement and entertainment destination. Only a few short years later, when the trolley company shifted focus and no longer wanted to manage the park, the lease was taken over by the manager at the time, Andrew S. McSwiggan, and his partners, Frederick W. Heninger and A.F. Megan. They leased and operated the park starting in 1906, renaming it Kennywood Park, and that's when the fun really began. Though Megan didn't remain part of this management group for long, leaving the company and selling his shares to the other two partners in 1908, McSwiggan and Heninger had a vision of progress, technology, and innovation, and the park entered an era of growth. This period of growth was impressive and helped the park to survive the First World War. New additions continued as soon as the war ended and the era of growth continued right up until the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was during this era of growth that three classic wooden coasters were built. The racer, first constructed in 1910, the jackrabbit, built in 1920, and the pipin, known today as the Thunderbolt, originally built in 1924. Together, these rides make up the Kennywood Trio. The racer could be described as simultaneously the oldest and the newest of Kennywood's trio of classic woodies. Let me explain. The original Kennywood racer was built in 1910, making it by far the oldest of the three. The original design was a side-friction roller coaster, similar to the Leap the Dips coaster we looked at in a previous episode. This original version of the racer was designed and constructed by Frederick Ingersoll and John Miller and was the largest racing coaster in the world at the time of its opening. The racer cost roughly $50,000 to construct and, like other side-friction coasters, provided a notoriously smooth ride, racing its two trains on separate tracks. The trains consisted of three-seat cars with a capacity of 18 riders total. Unfortunately, this original racer was torn down in 1926 and the land was used for the new Kitty Land expansion. Kennywood did not intend to go along without its signature racing coaster, however, and in 1927, the new version of the ride was being designed by John Miller and built by Charlie Mock. Miller was chosen to design the ride thanks to the success of his previous work. McSwiggan wanted a new take on the racer that would be fun for children and adults alike. This new racer cost a fair bit more to build, $75,000, due to the way Miller designed the ride around the topography, with the highest hill being in a ravine and requiring much more lumber to compensate for the height. This version of the ride was also a mobius coaster, meaning that, though it appears to be two separate racing tracks, it's actually one continuous loop of track. This is a very unique type of ride and the Kennywood racer is one of only three mobius coasters remaining in the world and the only one in the United States. The trains on this mobius track turn away from each other as the riders depart the station and when they meet again at the lift hill, they have switched sides and they're on the opposite side that they were in the station, remaining that way for the remainder of the ride. After this reconstruction, the ride was no longer a side-friction coaster with the new trains locking onto the track using an additional set of wheels underneath the track rails. This allowed for more flexibility with the ride design, including banked curves and curves on the dips. Now, there were some changes made to this version of the racer throughout the years, with Andy Vettel removing the final hill on the coaster in 1949 and numerous redesigns of the loading platform, including an Art Deco redesign in 1946 and a modern redesign in the 1960s. The platform was brought back to its original 1927 glory after a restoration in 1990. To this day, the racer still stands with its max drop of 50 feet and max speed of 40 miles per hour, sending riders through its mobius track and pitting family members and friends against each other in friendly competition, not to mention famously allowing them to high-five each other along the way. Hopefully for many years to come. Hurry to Kennywood. We, those roller coasters, are really something and Kennywood has four of them. Lots of other rides too, something for everyone in the family. You're never too young or too old to have fun at Kennywood, the nation's greatest picnic park. Kennywood's kiddie land is the nation's largest. All kinds of rides through mother goose land, even the smallest tots will enjoy it. And the merry-go-round always a favorite. Don't leave anyone at home when you go to Kennywood, where there's always more to do and more to see. No, sir, never a dull moment at Kennywood, the nation's greatest picnic park. It's an unbelievable wonderland of fun. The tri-state's favorite playground, bigger and better than ever this year. Hurry, hurry, hurry. All aboard, let's go to Kennywood. The Jackrabbit is the only one of the Kennywood trio of classic woodies that still stands today in its original design, one of the oldest in the world to be still running in its original design and location. This awesome woodie was designed and built in 1920 by John A. Miller and Harry C. Baker. The Jackrabbit was actually one of the first rides built after Miller patented his new track design, which involved additional sets of wheels under and over the track, securing the cars to the track below and allowing for a myriad of new design possibilities. This allowed for many features of the Jackrabbit, including the 70-foot drop and double dip drop design, which gave riders their first taste of true ejector airtime and which is one of the signature elements of this ride. The Jackrabbit has faced a few small changes over the years, most notably the trains. The original trains for the Jackrabbit no longer sit on the ride, and the trains that you see today were manufactured by Edward Vettel Sr. in 1951, consisting of three cars with six seats each. These classic cars are well known for their small lap bar, which, though it disallows younger, shorter riders onto the ride for safety reasons, are considered a classic part of the coaster's history and allow for awesome airtime. Another significant change to the ride was the removal of the tunnel that once covered the turnaround section following the first drop. The removal was first done in 1947 when park officials were planning for the new train cars. A newer, shorter version of the tunnel was eventually built in its place during restoration efforts in 1991. The Jackrabbit, thanks to its rare preservation and wealth of history, has been designated an ace roller coaster landmark, as well as receiving ace coaster classic status. A legendary wooden classic, hopefully this ride continues to be preserved for generations of riders to come. If you like the Pippin, you'll love the Thunderbolt, Kennywood's fast track coaster. Free Circus acts daily at Kennywood, where the fun people are. The Kennywood Thunderbolt is the third and final of the Kennywood Trio. Built by John A. Miller in 1924, this ride was originally named the Pippin. The original version of this ride, the Pippin, was a terrain style layout, with its design largely based around the terrain on which it was built, utilizing the natural environment to its benefit. The ride was a fan favorite and went largely unchanged until 1958 when the original open front trains were replaced by the National Amusement Device Company trains from the Century Flyer. These are the same trains that can be seen on the Thunderbolt today. In 1967, the Pippin faced its largest change yet, undergoing an expansion of the track headed by Andy Vettel and transforming it into the Thunderbolt for the 1968 season. Most of the ride was left intact during this renovation, though the double dip, station turnaround to the first hill, and the original station itself were all removed for the transformation. Instead, new front helix hills and four drops down a ravine were added to make the new Thunderbolt design of the ride. Just like the Pippin did, the Thunderbolt follows the surrounding terrain with the maximum height of 70 feet, but a maximum drop of 90 feet, utilizing the ravine of the ride's terrain. In fact, the lift hill doesn't actually occur out of the station like most coasters. Instead, the riders go straight into their first drop coming out of the station, and the first lift hill takes place about halfway through the ride after the second drop. With a max speed of 55 miles per hour, the Thunderbolt completes its unusual circuit in 101 seconds and is a truly unique design. Now, the Thunderbolt has seen a few changes over the seasons, with one small speed bump hill from the inner helix at the front of the ride being removed in 1969, and the tunnel at the end of the first dip was removed in 1991 to allow for a view of the steel phantom when it was constructed. In addition, a small change was made to the ride cars in 1998 for Kennywood's 100th anniversary, with the headlights being restored and the trains being refurbished. Unfortunately, the ride did face some controversy in 1999 when ride operators failed to break a train approaching the station while another train was still being loaded. 30 people were injured in the crash, and some small electrical changes were made to the ride following the incident, including a partial removal of the headlights. The Thunderbolt, however, did make a comeback, and the necessary safety changes were put in place. This ride has been celebrated as a classic and a favorite over the years. The coaster was hailed by the New York Times as their number one roller coaster in 1974, and the ride has also achieved both ace coaster classic and coaster landmark status. So, this rounds out the historic Kennywood Trio. Kennywood is by far one of America's oldest amusement parks still operating and has some of the most classic and historic attractions in the US and in the world within its walls. Did you know about its rich history? Do you have a Kennywood story of your own to share? Please leave us a comment down below. We'd love to hear your thoughts. We'll see you guys on this week's ride through the coaster history at Kennywood. We hope to see you again next week when we continue exploring the historic rides of the USA. Thanks for watching.