P.O Box 19535, Cleveland, Ohio 44119-0535 United States
By Bob MacCallum
The Roller Coasters of Euclid Beach Park
On Sept. 28, 1969, Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland, OH, closed for its final season. On that day it was still possible to ride all three of the wood coasters that had thrilled Clevelanders for much of the 20th century.
To the left is a long shot of the Racing Coaster from a Euclid Beach Park postcard
If you arrived at the park by streetcar or in later years by bus, the transit station and pedestrian entrance was right in the shadow of The Thriller on Lake Shore Boulevard, just east of East 156th Street, as the "dog leg" of The Thriller ran right along the road. If you walked under the coaster and went straight ahead after entering, you would come to the eastern end of the park by the entrance to The Thriller.
The Herbert Schmeck masterpiece first opened to the public in 1924. This coaster featured a 71'5" high first hill, and an out-and-back layout with the above mentioned "dog leg," and was the most popular ride in the park. In early years on a peak day, three trains, each with three four-bench cars, operated. By the 1960s the ride ran with a two train maximum.
Photo to the left, Thriller, Over the Top Courtesy of Jim Wise
Just east of these two coasters was the entrance to The Flying Turns, a unique joint creation of John N. Bartlett and John A. Miller. It was the highest of the rides with that name, and a track that featured "barrels" for the free-wheeling trains to transverse. Each train had three articulated cars with six caster-style wheels apiece. Passengers rode two to a car, one person directly in front of the other. This ride opened at the beginning of the 1930 season.
Photo to the left: NBC during a radio broadcast from the Flying Turns in 1934
The American Coaster Enthusiasts, (ACE), was founded in 1978 as a not-for-profit, all volunteer club to foster and promote the conservation, appreciation, knowledge and enjoyment of the art of the classic wooden roller coaster and the contemporary steel coaster. The club has grown to nearly 7,000 members representing all 50 states, DC, and 12 countries. ACE publishes a bimonthly newsletter and a quarterly magazine. They also sponsor several events at parks each year. For information, visit www.aceonline.org or call (740) 450-1560.
The above article originally appeared in The Carousel News & Trader, January 2009 Volume 25, Number 1. Reprinted courtesy of the CN&T and with the permission of contributing author, Bob MacCallum.
Bob MacCallum is a Board Member of Euclid Beach Park Now and a member of the following:
- American Coaster Enthusiasts
- Great Ohio Coaster Club
- Western New York Coaster Club
- National Amusement Park Historical Society
- American Theater Organ Society
- Western Reserve Theater Organ Society
The Early Roller Coasters of Euclid Beach Park
Switchback Railroad
Euclid Beach Park's first operating season was in 1895. Greeting the first patrons were the Pier, German Village, Theater, Dance Pavilion, and Bath House. The parks second season, 1896, saw the addition of amusement rides: Ferris Wheel, Swings, Merry-Go-Round, and the Switchback Railway. The ride was modeled after the Switchback Railway designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson and constructed at New York's Coney Island in 1884. Riders climbed stairs to a tower, boarded a car which was pushed out of the loading platform where gravity would take the riders down a one set of parallel tracks at about 6 mph. At the opposite end the passengers would disembark the train and a group of men would push the car up the other tower and loading platform and switched to the other set of tracks for the return back to the first tower. The ride was dismantled and removed from the park in 1903.
Image to the left is of an early Euclid Beach postcard.
Figure Eight
With the Switchback Railway removed the Roller Rink was enlarged and a new roller coaster built. The new coaster built in 1904 was called the Figure Eight, built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
Photo to the left, the Figure Eight. Photo Courtesy of Euclid Beach Park Now
It was a gravity ride carrying four riders in two seat trains and pulled up the lift hill by chain. It had a figure eight layout and a circular loading platform. The Figure Eight was razed in 1908.
Image to the right "A trip in the Figure 8 at Euclid Beach Park, Cleveland, Ohio", from the Collection of John Marn
Scenic Railway
LaMarcus Adna Thompson, sometimes called the "Father of the Gravity Ride," had one other contribution to the roller coasters at Euclid Beach Park. In 1907 at the cost of $50,000 the Scenic Railway was constructed, a wooden double out-and-back scenic railway. When first installed the train consisted of three cars pulled up the starting hill by cables. Besides the loading platform crew, two brakemen rode the three car trains to control the speed of the train especially when approaching the cable sites.
On the left an old postcard vies, "SCENIC RAILWAY AT EUCLID BEACH PARK, CLEVELAND, OHIO"
In the twenties the trains were reduced to two cars only requiring one brakeman. The loading station was very unique with its four towers. In many old photos of other rides at Euclid Beach Park the towers are visible.
On the right an old postcard view, "SCENIC ROAD AT NIGHT, EUCLID BEACH PARK, CLEVELAND, FIFTH CITY"