[montumax]

So, does anybody have any personal recollections that they'd like to share about the coaster? Any personal records set on it? Any embarassing moments? Any treasured memories?

Expound away...

[RollerBee]

Ah, one of the classic Carowinds coasters. One time I was riding Thunder Road and for some reason they closed the ride, but let every one stay. They cleared out the station, and closed que. I rode the Backwards 8 times in a row, 5 by myself. I had the whole ride to myself. It was great.

[swampfox43]

I can't resist the bait Max. I'll bite for sure!

Max, there's only a few of us on this board that remember Thunder Road when it opened. You, myself & Foreseer are the only ones that come to mind offhand. Any others??

First off..CONGRATULATIONS TO THUNDER ROAD ON YOUR BIG 30!!!!

I was 15 when they started building Thunder Road. Having only ridden Swamp Fox in 1969 and Great American Scream Machine (SFoG) in 1973, I was in complete furor when the news hit about Carowinds building their new wooden coaster.

Since I was too young to drive in 1975, I would coax my Dad to drive me out to Carowinds after church on Sundays during the winter so I could see them building the coaster. He would lift me up above the fence line so I could take pictures with my snazzy Kodak pocket camera (110 film)!! If I could only find those pictures.

I remember staring in amazement at how high this thing looked. I remember all the bents being pre-painted white before they were raised into place. That gleaming white paint against the sunny blue Carolina sky was a sight to behold for a young coaster nut.

Flash ahead to opening day, April 3rd, 1976, Carowinds first operating day of the new season. Me and my 2 best friends were dropped off at the park by the parents. We paid our $7.50 admission and went straight to Thunder Road.

I remember this like it was yesterday! It was cccccold! We were in the front seat of the very comfortable, cushy seated coaster train on the right side (currently the forward side). The lap bar fell into place and we were off! I wish I had known the significance of those old coaster trains back then. As most of you all know, those 2 trains were formally run on the Jetstream coaster at the now defunct Riverview Park in Chicago.

I was so excited as the train crested the top of the lift hill. I had never been on (or seen for that matter) a racing coaster before. Back then, they raced EVERY time!! It really heightened the ride experience and I wish they raced them more today.

Flash ahead again to 2006 and here we are celebrating the BIG 30 for Thunder Road. I know we all have expressed our opinions on the condition of TR's paint, but I would gladly give up my free time and help them paint this coaster if they ever decided to do that. What a gift that would be! Bring it back to it's original glory.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have some sort of TR Celebration at C3 Max? Maybe some "racing" ERT! Anyone up for that?

[MarkD]

The grand old Lady.

Thru out the years she has been a source of scares, air-time, laughter, and crushing vertebra. I have ridden on her back for 25 of the 30 years she has been around and have enjoyed them all. Yes, some better than others, but still fun year in - year out. It is on her back where I broke my teeth into woodies and it has been on her back that my kids have also got broken in. From being a young teenager to a married man to a single man again and with kids she has always provided us with fun and conversation.

Listening to my Son cry all the way up the lift to yelling down the drop and wanting more tells me the ole gal still has it. Having my Daughter ride non stop for an hour on Sunday mornings with hands flying in the winds means the ole gal is still worth her weight in wood. Watching my ex-wife, adorned in a fishnet tube top, come out of her tube top for the entire ride was priceless. Crushing my spinal cord and going over washboard sections thru out the years has also brought back many memories. To watch the eyes of youngsters as they take her on for the first time is a testament to what she has brought many of us over the years.

Yes, I think I have seen it all when it comes to Thunder Road. I have seen her all shiny and new and I have seen her naked an in despair. I have seen her run with cars of glory to simple cars and all the way to where one car was going in reverse of sorts. She has brought excellent ERT at night with wonderful views and has brought many scares around the All Hallows Eve. The rain has not bothered her either but has enhanced the ride to make her go faster. She shows her age from time to time but has many care workers there to aid in a nip and tuck here and a minor surgery there. If only money wasn’t an object so she could get her body paint as she once had to really make her shine again and stand out amongst the other gals out there.

Thunder Road may be 30 but is still a grand ole gal and I only hope she stays fit enough so I can take my grandchildren on her one day.

[RollerBee]

I am up for racing ERT! You got my attention.

[swampfox43]

The grand old Lady.
I have ridden on her back for 25 of the 30 years she has been around and have enjoyed them all. It is on her back where I broke my teeth into woodies...
I have seen her all shiny and new and I have seen her naked an in despair. She shows her age from time to time but has many care workers there to aid in a nip and tuck here and a minor surgery there.

Are you referring to your ex-wife or Thunder Road??



>>couldn't resist<<

[montumax]

QUOTE (Foreseer @ Feb 7 2006, 06:24 PM)
The grand old Lady.
I have ridden on her back for 25 of the 30 years she has been around and have enjoyed them all. It is on her back where I broke my teeth into woodies...
I have seen her all shiny and new and I have seen her naked an in despair. She shows her age from time to time but has many care workers there to aid in a nip and tuck here and a minor surgery there.


SF43 proclaimed:

Are you referring to your ex-wife or Thunder Road??

I followed up with:
I was curious about the part about where he broke his teeth into woodies! I know they do bite <eg>

[MarkD]

Well, some things are better left a mystery!



Me...had oral surgery the other day and am enjoying my meds. I can't talk but can type.

[bgwfreak]

Hmmm... where to begin. (Oh no they say, another book from Wes)

Actually this should be pretty short.

I can recall being a kid in the 70's and thinking how huge Thunder Road looked. That hill was just gigantic! Little did I know that gigantic was a lot bigger than that. lol

I can't recall the first time I rode it or anything. My parents didn't take us to the park but a couple times growing up, so I really didn't get into going to the park until I was an adult.

Sure it's a clone and sure they don't race her in anymore, but it's still a good wooden coaster and they've kept up the maintenance on it over the years so it's still a very smooth coaster for it's age.

I also like the fact that the turnaround is out by the road. So it's fun to see people's reactions as they drive by and look up.

That's about it for me. Here's to another 30 years of TR! Now bring back the still!

[coasterbruh]

Im not even THAT old yet...I cant remember TR until recent years!

[MarkD]

Me wonders...which is a bad thing usually.

IF...they supplied the paint and WE supplied the manpower...how long do you think it would take to paint her? I got the next 2 weekends free.

[swampfox43]

IF...they supplied the paint and WE supplied the manpower...how long do you think it would take to paint her? I got the next 2 weekends free.

I bet if we could get 30 people, we could get it done in a month.

[AMartin777]

TR was my first coaster.

Visiting when I was 10 with my family, my older brother Paul spent the best part of a day trying to convince me to ride any coaster in the park. I was petrified of the very idea and refused to even consider it. Besides, I was enjoying ride after ride after ride on on Kalidescope. I adore mixer rides and I had nievely agreed to stay on the ride for the entire morning since Paul was "just gonna be over here talking to this girl". Several dozen rides later I was in heaven and my brother was equally happy spending the time chatting up the ride-op.

Later in the day Paul was back to coercing me into a ride on TR and with a tremendous amount of trepidation I agreed to try it. I can clearly, very clearly, remember the first time up the long ramp leading to the stationhouse. As we approached, I remember how impossibly enormous the lift-hill seemed and my anxiety grew to a fever pitch.

Ironically, even though I was scared, I was instantly intrigued by the environment of the station. The trains flowing in and out, the ride-ops making their announcements, the smell of the grease from the rails, the squeeling of the wheels... and the riders.

Finally it was our turn and we boarded the train. We had qued about mid-way back and moved to settle into our seats. My heart was racing like crazy as Paul continued to assure me that he wouldn't let anything bad happen. We exited the station and rolled around the first turn to the lift hill. The strange mix of interest and horror I was feeling sat like a lump in my throat as we hit the chain and began our ascent.

Nearing the middle of the lift, Paul invited me to join in the ritual of raising your arms to which I held the restraint that much tighter. Was he crazy? I looked around at the others on the train, ARE THEY CRAZY??? There is NO WAY I'm gonna let go of this bar.

As we crested the top and leveled out, I really started to think that I had made a serious mistake in climbing aboard this crazy machine. Suddenly, we were over the top and plumitting down the first drop with a ferocity that was unlike anything I had known before. Then, without warning, I felt something in my stomach... something I had never felt before. A funny tickle that instantly turned my fear to sheer joy. My first moment of air-time was a brief moment in time that I will never forget. To this day I can close my eyes and with a little concentration I can recall that first feeling of dropping into the abyss. Dropping what seemed, at the time, a million-billion feet straight down that insanely tall hill. I couldn't help myself and I began to laugh, an action that I find impossible to control even to this day. When I feel air-time, I just start laughing with glee.

The train roared and rumbled down the track as it lunged forward at a million miles an hour. We rushed through the air leaping over the next two hills then up severly to the turnaround. I decided that despite my joy, I wasn't going to brave letting go even though I was clearly in the minority. I was being thrown around by this violent beast and yet, I had already made peace with it in a matter of moments. Paul was yelling and watching my reactions as we plumitted down the next drop. A little twinge again and my thrill increased. This was the greatest feeling I had ever known and was realizing my mistake in having pushed it away before.

We screamed into the tunnel as I was assaulted by the tremendous roar of the wheels and screams of the riders around me. We hit the brake-run and quickly came to a jolting hault. Paul immediately asked if I was ok and I responded with a gulp of air and a declaration, "That was SOOOO FUNNN!" and I laughed some more. Paul responded, " I knew it! I knew you would like it".

After we exited the ride, I immediately insisted that we ride again. We reboarded and off to the races. I recall that we must have ridden it at least another half-dozen times before meeting back up with my parents to end our day.

I was an instant coaster fan. On a return trip the following year I rode my first looper ever, the Carolina Cyclone, and fell in love with a whole new kind of roller-coaster all over again.

Though I can't say that TR is my favorite coaster by any stretch, it certainly stands as a personal symbol in the genesis of my love of thrill-parks and coasters. I'm glad it's still standing and handing out those incredable first time experiences to others. It has had it's ups and downs but has always been a fun ride over the years.

Long let it stand... Thunder Road.

[bgwfreak]

Now that makes me kind of sad my first two coasters (kiddie and adult) weren't at Carowinds.

I was too chicken to ride an adult coastr until I was a teenager and I finally rode Mind Bender at SFOG (what a first coaster, eh!)

I was too scared of Scooby Doo as a kid, but I did ride the little jr. steel coaster at Opryland (may she rest in peace).

[MarkD]

With all of us wishing Thunder Road would race all the time as it once did I did a little research on the net and found this compnay <a href='http://www.consignag.com/projects.html#wooden' target='_blank'>Consign AG</a> that has several Paramount projects along with all the other big boys.

I wonder what it would cost for them to "upgrade" Thunder Road so it would be more easily raceable every time. Yes, I know it may not be as simple as it seems but it sure would bring back alot of charm and make even more memories.