Thunderbolt (Kennywood)

Thunderbolt
Previously known as Pippin (1924–1967)
Kennywood's Thunderbolt
Kennywood
LocationKennywood
Park sectionKennyville
Coordinates40°23′20″N 79°51′54″W / 40.38889°N 79.86500°W / 40.38889; -79.86500
StatusOperating
Opening date1968 (1968)
ReplacedPippin
General statistics
TypeWood
Designer
Track layoutTerrain
Lift/launch system
Chain lift hill
Height70 ft (21 m)
Drop90 ft (27 m)
Length3,250 ft (990 m)
Speed55 mph (89 km/h)
Inversions0
Duration1:41
Height restriction
52 in (132 cm)
Trains3 trains with 4 cars; riders arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 24 riders per train
WebsiteOfficial website
Thunderbolt at RCDB

Thunderbolt is a wooden roller coaster located at Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, United States. The original version of the historic coaster opened as Pippin in 1924 and was designed by John A. Miller. The park hired Andy Vettel to renovate and expand the original layout, and it reopened to the public as Thunderbolt in 1968. Thunderbolt consistently ranks as one of the top 50 wooden coasters in the world by Amusement Today in their annual Golden Ticket Awards publication.

History

In 1924, Kennywood debuted Pippin, a roller coaster designed by renowned coaster architect John A. Miller. The original trains, built by Miller and Baker, were replaced by Century Flyer trains from the National Amusement Device Company in 1958.

Kennywood hired Andy Vettel in the late 1960s to renovate Pippin and expand its layout. Most of the layout was left intact and refurbished, while some elements were removed to accommodate a new set of helix hills. The four original drops into the ravine were retained. The refurbished coaster reopened as Thunderbolt for the 1968 season. The following year, a small speed hill was removed from the inner helix near the loading station.

A 1974 New York Times article rated Thunderbolt as the top roller coaster in the US. In 1991, the tunnel located at the end of the first dip was removed to allow riders a view of the new Steel Phantom, and for Kennywood's 100th anniversary in 1998, headlights on the front of each train were restored during a refurbishment.

Incidents

On May 16, 1968, a 15-year old boy from Greensburg died after a fall from the roller coaster. The exact cause of death was stated to be under investigation but has never been confirmed.[1]

In 1999, an accident occurred when operators failed to brake the train coming into the station, causing a collision with the train being loaded. Thirty people were injured in the crash.[2] After the accident, the headlights on the trains were removed due to damage sustained.

Ride experience

Thunderbolt follows the surrounding terrain with a track length of 3,250 feet (990 m). Its maximum height is 70 feet (21 m), but because of the track layout and the natural ravines, the maximum drop is 90 feet (27 m). Reaching a maximum speed of 55 mph (89 km/h), the ride takes 1 minute and 40 seconds to complete its circuit.

A unique feature of Thunderbolt is that after departing from the station, the train does not immediately ascend the lift hill like most coasters. Instead, it enters the first drop, with the lift hill being located in the middle of the ride after the second drop. After the lift hill, riders descend a 90 ft (27 m) long drop. After this drop is a tight bend which results in the rider on the right being pushed into the rider on the left due to the lack of a seat divider. After this, riders experience several turns and hills before returning to the station.

Awards and rankings

Thunderbolt's lift hill

Thunderbolt is an ACE Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark.[3][4]

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters
Year19981999
Ranking 9[5] 11[6]
Year2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Ranking 14[7] 14[8] 15[9] 19[10] 18[11] 22[12] 19[13] 21[14] 19[15] 23[16]
Year2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Ranking 14[17] 14[18] 15[19] 15[20] 14[21] 15[22] 21[23] 17[24] 15[25] 18[26]
Year202020212022202320242025
Ranking N/A 19[27] 20[28] 18[29] 21[30] 27[31]
NAPHA Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster[32]
Year 2005
Ranking
4

References

  1. ↑ "Death on Kennywood Thunderbolt". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. May 17, 1968. p. 1. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  2. ↑ "RideAccidents.com – 1999 Accident Reports and News". Archived from the original on June 6, 2004.
  3. ↑ "Coaster Landmark Awards". Archived from the original on October 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ "ACE Coaster Classic Awards".
  5. ↑ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 1998. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 1999. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  20. ↑ "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. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  21. ↑ "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  22. ↑ "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ "2016 top 50 wooden roller coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  24. ↑ "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  25. ↑ "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  26. ↑ "2019 Top Wood". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  27. ↑ "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  28. ↑ "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  29. ↑ "2023 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Amusement Today. 27 (6.2): 71–72. September 2023. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  30. ↑ "2024 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2024. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  31. ↑ "2025 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2025. Archived from the original on September 7, 2025. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Member Survey". napha.org.
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